Parading a Thoroughbred Yearling
What the Client is Looking for in a Paraded Potential Racehorse
Nov 3, 2009
Although the majority of the work seems to be invested in the eight week yearling preparation, a lot comes down to the actual sale and pre-sale days. These can be pivotal with regards to the successful selling of a yearling. Generally sales of this nature in the Thoroughbred industry have a few days in which the client has access to every horse for sale, being able to have them paraded and pick out favourites.
Following this is the actual sale day or days in which the horses are taken through the ring. Each horse has a lot number and around 30 lots per hour go through the sale ring. Some people buy on a whim, liking a horse they see in the ring and deciding to take a chance. The majority however will base their preference on previously looked at equines and how the horse paraded for them.
Parading to a Potential Buyer
When a yearling is being paraded to a client, he has generally already determined that he likes the horse’s pedigree. Others may find a horse catches their eye while it is being paraded for someone else and decide to take a closer look. Once they have determined a closer look is needed, they will request for that particular horse to be paraded for them.
This involves the horse being stood up for the client’s viewing with the potential buyer possibly walking around the animal to get a view from both sides, front and behind. If liking what he sees, he will ask for a walk, viewing the horse walking away and toward him before being stood up again. Closer inspection may then involve picking up of the feet, checking for any swellings or abnormalities in the legs, checking the width of the jowl and height of the horse.
What is Required of the Handler
When parading for any client who has requested to see a horse the common protocol is to first bring the horse out of the stable block and stand it up. The side of the horse that is facing the client should be set out so that the front and back leg of that side are slightly in front of the legs on the other side. The horse should be bearing weight evenly on all four feet.
Some clients prefer to look at a particular side of the horse when it is first stood up for them. Consequently, it’s worth checking if the manager of the horses has a preference to how they are first stood up – near or off side facing the client – or if not, to be aware of the potential need to turn the horse around on request.
Some will immediately following this ask for the horse to be walked out while others will move to the front or back of the horse to assess conformation from another angle. The handler should be standing off to the side of the horse, making sure he is not interrupting the client’s view of the horse. When the client moves to the other side, the handler should also so as to best handle the situation should the young horse react badly to something. It also makes it easier to hear requests or questions from the potential buyer.
Following this inspection of the horse standing it is common that the horse be walked for the client. This involves first walking the horse away from the client. The handler should be aiming to walk the horse in a straight line and actively so that the young animal’s features and movement are best shown.
Turning the horse back toward the client should be done to the right, pushing the horse away from the handler. Doing so means that the potential buyer is still seeing the horse, not having the handler blocking his view as he pulls the horse to the left around himself. Walking back toward the client it is worth aiming straight for the client to encourage a walk that doesn’t deviate from a straight path.
If the client moves from the path the horse is being paraded down and places himself off to the side, this generally means he wants you to continue walking the horse away from him again. Stopping a few metres before the client allows for him to again look at the horse standing. At this stage he may further investigate legs, having possibly seen signs of a weakness or conformational fault while the horse was moving.
Once the client has finished viewing the horse and potentially turned away don’t consider the parade over. He may turn back for a last view or the horse may have caught the eye of someone else. Returning to the horse’s stall should be done as if the horse were still being paraded, encouraging an active walk from the equine until it has been put away.
When parading yearlings for any farm or stud, it’s worth finding out how that particular property parades their horses. Some lookers of horses will ask you to carry out unusual tasks so if unsure of what is expected, checking with the manager before the sale is the best bet. In Australia it’s not allowed to trot out a yearling for a client and the handler has the right to refuse to do so if asked. Knowledge of such a rule will aid in the correct parading of any yearling and hopefully in the successful sale of the same animal.
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