The life of a racehorse can be quite the grind. Daily workouts, followed by hot walks and cold baths before getting the rest of the day to relax in the stall. The best horsemen know that happy horses are more likely to produce, and actively look to break up the monotony as often as possible; be it a simple romp in the round pen, going out for a hack, or perhaps bringing a companion animal into the barn-like a goat, chicken, cat, or a…dolphin?
Let’s go ‘Down Un-dah’ to the beautiful Balnarring Beach in Victoria, Australia, where racehorse trainer Sam Pritchard-Gordon often sends his runners for some racetrack recess.
Last week, Pritchard-Gordon’s 5-year-old race mare A Lotta Love trekked down to the shore for a relaxing surf sesh when they were suddenly joined by a family of dolphins. Ok, clearly the rest of us are living in the wrong place because the only creatures I’ve ever encountered on horseback are deer and they are never this happy about it.
You might think being encircled by large marine mammals would be more than enough to send a young thoroughbred into panic mode, but not so according to Pritchard-Gordon. “The horses never seem too bothered, and it isn’t unheard of for a dolphin to dart between legs!” He said.
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