Cross Breeds

Can a thoroughbred race horse be trained to understand whether it has actually won or lost a race.?

Public Comments

1. I doubt it, but if you could would it care? Money means nothing to a horse, neither does fame...unless it's with the mares.
2. race horses absolutely do understand whether they win or lose a race. and they don't have to be trained to do it. they are bred to race, and to win. they understand and recognize the praise and attention they receive when they cross the wire first. i would think that they really enjoy that. some horses are ok with losing. but others and especially the great ones will fight their heart out to win a race. they dig deep and try their hardest not to lose. because they want to win. and those are the ones that almost seem depressed after a loss. i dont know much about wild horses but i would think it has alot to do with the leader of the pack mentality that takes place in the wild. the head of a group of horses in the wild always runs out front guiding the rest of the group where to go. so the race horses that have the alpha male mentality dont want to get passed by the other horses because it would mean that they are no longer the dominant horse. beyond everything else these horses are athletes and like all pro athletes they are competitive.
3. Many trainers of outstanding horses say that horses know when they have won a race; they will also tell you that sometimes when a horse has had a string of losses, it needs to be given a chance to build confidence back up, and sometimes that necessitates dropping the horse into a soft race where he can get an easy win. My observation is that horses can differ greatly as to their basic character. Some horses are basically indifferent to their surroundings and handlers and what they are asked to do; they won't exert themselves, they'll do the minimum they need to do to get by, they don't care if you're pleased with them. Some horses actually seem to take pride in doing what you ask them and doing it well, but those horses are few and far between. I knew a hunter like that, the only horse that I've ever known who would never, ever refuse a fence and who seemed to feel a sense of joy at going around a course of fences. I've also known horses that were smart enough to actively figure out ways to avoid exerting themselves. These were the kind of horses that if you didn't ride them with concentrated attention right up to the base of a fence, they'd stop. If you pulled the novice rider stunt of throwing the reins at them a couple of strides in front of the fence and letting them figure out the pace and distance, you were doomed: they'd run out or stop. When I was in Texas atTexas A&M doing grad studies in the horse department, one of the students in animal behavior was working with horses. She worked with about 90 horses of various age and breeding, characterizing how horses learn to learn, and she said they ran the gamut from one gelding who she swore was learning-disabled, to a filly who seemed able almost to read her mind in figuring out the puzzles she set up for the learning trials. From my experience with horses, I am sure there are horses that don't know and don't care what racing is all about, and there are others who know exactly what they're doing and know when they've won and when they haven't.