Despite my best efforts, Hi Shinko got absolutely clobbered by the handicappers, who gave him a rating of 36 (about 80 on the British system). This means there is no race for him before Dec. 18, which means we have to manage to keep him down to a dull roar until then. Since his race last Sunday, he hasn’t left a grain of oats uneaten and can’t get enough work. Today, he chucked off his rider and lapped the training track a couple of times before we could catch him. The saddle had slipped onto his side (he’s such a round thing it’s almost impossible to get tack to stay put), so we re-saddled, threw the rider back up and off he went to do the work we planned. You’d think he’d have been a little tired, but there was no sign of that. I’ve already taken his feed down a liter and may have to take it down a little more, since we’re going into a deep freeze and I don’t know how much work we’re going to get done over the next week. Once the sand tracks freeze over, I’ll truck him down to the all-weather so he can let off steam there. For the moment, he reminds me of the old Meatloaf song: All revved up and no place to go.
Maybe the handicappers are reading your blog and knew what you were up to! LOL