Redgrave rode horses from a tender age and played polo cross for South Africa at U21 level. He had a natural affinity with horses virtually from day one, but his current expertise in equine behaviour also owes a lot to the fact that many of the horses he inherited during his youth were bad tempered sorts. Consequently Redgrave can spot a horse that has issues from the proverbial mile away.

He has also gleaned a lot from the methods of famous “horse whisperers” of the like of Monty Roberts, Pat Parelli and Buck Brannaman. Redgrave revealed that the three cornerstones of human to horse relationships are “trust, love and respect.”

He continued, “You can look at a herd from a distance and immediately see a horse that is saying ‘I don’t like you’. It will always be turning away from you. It is also easy to tell a horse that has been abused. They will try and walk around you and will never approach from the front. The front is the dangerous side of a human being.” Redgrave explained that, besides the physical, horses also mature at a “mental and emotional” level. Therefore, the more unyielding “pressure” a horse has been subjected to at a young age, the harder it will be to reverse the behaviour patterns later on.

In all equine disciplines a horse has to be put under pressure by a trainer at some stage in order to advance. However, the secret is “pressure and release”. If a horse knows there will be a release of pressure, it will become more and more willing and the need to put it under pressure to achieve a goal will become less and less. A simple example of pressure and release is when leading a horse by a halter. If the horse refuses to follow it is pointless pulling it, because it will then fight back. The best approach is simply to maintain the pressure until the horse realises it is not going to win, so steps forward. As soon as the horse steps forward, the pressure on the halter must be released, and hence the horse is rewarded.

“Good schooling is often simply about patience and good timing,” said Redgrave. In the racing game, the pressure and release system can be seen just about everyday on our TV screens. Talented riders are quickly able to relax a horse that begins throwing its head around by subtly releasing pressure on the rein. However, an inexperienced or poor rider will only exacerbate the horse’s headstrong antics by panicking and grabbing a tighter hold of the rein.

During schooling, respect is the first principle that must be taught. After a horse has shown it will be submissive i.e. during lunging it begins licking its lips (equine language interpreted as “I am a herbivore and will not harm you”), it can then be allowed to come in closer. Trust building excercises are the next step. Finally, love must be shown by giving the horse something it will enjoy, such as a watering down after exercise to cool it off.

Another adage Redgraves uses is, “Train the brain and the body will follow.” Poor schooling of a horse will quickly snowball out of control. An example in horseracing is that when a horse has to be loaded on a float to go to the races and refuses to do so, the transporters usually have no option but to use forceful methods, as they have deadlines to meet. The horse will therefore take another step backwards in its relationship with humans due to the inadequate schooling it had received in the first place from its trainer/s.

Of course it would be simplistic to merely blame the current trainer, because they are often quite well down the line in terms of human masters, are often under pressure to race horses as soon as possible and usually have many horses to deal with. “Horse whisperers” can help speed up the process of getting the horse ready for the races and can also help reverse an increasingly bad attitude.

Redgrave pointed out another common phenomenon among sports horses. It has become traditional to do almost everything with a horse from the left side, e.g approach, equip, hold, saddle, mount  etc, and a string of horses will invariably ring left-handed too. Therefore, a horse becomes comfortable with pressure from the left side, but will suddenly become alarmed when receiving it from the right. Redgrave said it would not be uncommon for a horse on a bridal path to trot past a foreign object to its left side without batting an eyelid. However, upon returning the object will now be on the right hand side and the horse will suddenly “spook”.

Although the left side traditions will likely never change, Redgrave said it was vital to put pressure on a horse on both left and right hand sides from as early as possible and throughout the schooling process. The starting pens are the most traumatic part of a racehorse’s schooling and this often has to do with a lack of schooling from the right hand side, because the framework of the stalls will obviously be in close proximity to the horse on both sides. A bad experience at the starting stalls can influence a horse’s perception of them for a long time and possibly even forever. Redgrave does wish that the old adage of “prevention is better than cure” could be applied more often to schooling at the pens. A horse that is showing resistance should never be forced to do what it doesn’t want to, but rather the trainer should be notified and further schooling could then be done even it if requires the help of a “horse whisperer”. In the long run this could well save a racehorse’s career.

Redgrave has already earned the respect of many of KZN’s most experienced trainers and will definitely be a name that is going to be heard of regularly in the horseracing industry in time to come.

The Pinnacle Stakes event over 1000m on Sunday, race one on the card, should not be missed as it boasts some classy horses and should be a classic “puncher versus boxer” affair.

The punch will come from the speedy Cherry Tripper, who came close to stealing a race over course and distance last week by tearing off to the front. She is worse weighted in relative terms this time, as last week’s race was a handicap and she is under sufferance under the conditions on Sunday. However, she is carrying a featherweight 50kg compared to 61,5kg last week so is not going to be easy to catch. The best in at the weights is Pej, and that is even before taking the 4kg claim of her rider Callan Murray into account. Furthermore she is proven on the polytrack and is drawn well in barrier three. She has early pace so should be in a position to challenge Cherry Tripper in the straight.  However, Anton Marcus will be aboard Pej’s stablemate, Normanz, who hasn’t run since showing blistering speed throughout to win the Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville last May. Laird always has his fresh horses fit enough and the trip should be ideal for Normanz after that layoff. He is also well drawn. Mr Whatever has excellent early pace too and this is his ideal trip. He is proven on the polytrack, but this is his first appearance this season. Showmetheway, who has improved since blinkers were removed and hold up tactics employed, is having his first outing since his excellent third in the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint. With so much pace in the race his wide draw shouldn’t be too much of a problem and he should be running at them late. Eddie Sweat is also making his reappearance and has a blistering turn of foot so over his favourite trip he could be a candidate as he is less than a length off Mr Whatever on strict formlines. However, the race looks likely to be decided either by the early speed of Cherry Tripper, the favourable weight of Pej or the Marcus factor. Pej is given the vote ahead of Cherry Tripper and Normanz.

Tonight a MR 87 Handicap over 2000m heads the card and the most interesting runner here is the well regarded Mike de Kock-trained Akii Bua, who lost a length last week over 1600m on the polytrack and proved in need of the run. Anthony Delpech has returned from a holiday, so should be as hungry as ever and gets the ride from a good draw over a distance the horse will relish. The danger could be the stablemate, the well-named Mercurial Brave, who has breathing issues and is therefore in and out, but on his day he has some class.

Race two tonight is an intriguing MR 77 Handicap over 1200m. Black jaguar has always been well regarded and is equally effective over this trip as he is over 1600m. After finally finding his feet and winning three times, he is still merit rated only 74, so can go in again here from  a pole position draw. The Mike de Kock-trained Razed In Black was a touch disappointing in his last two outings but now has his third run after a rest over a suitable trip with Delpech up, so will be a big runner too.

The best bet on tonight’s card could be Dark Eyes in the third over 1200m. She won in emphatic style over course and distance last time and can overcome a six point merit rated raise and a wide draw. Throne from a pole position draw looks to be the danger.

A MR 92 Handicap over 1600m on Sunday has attracted some in-form horses. Auction King had a weight advantage when winning a Graduation Plate over course and distance in eye-catching style last time out, so wasn’t given a raise in the merit ratings. Anton Marcus stays aboard from the same draw and he could follow up. Acapulco is a talented horse but does look to prefer 1400m, so the danger will likely be Zestful, who ran a cracker over the too sharp 1200m last time out and being by Spectrum he will always be dangerous on the poly.

A fillies and mares MR 86 Handicap over 1400m should go to the up and coming Cousin Annie, who is distance suited and ran a cracker last time out behind the highly promising Grey Light, despite having been found to have coughed.

Three horses that make appeal on the Sunday card are Saratoga Dancer in the seventh, a promising sort who will need to win to qualify for the R3,85 million Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup, Rachel Leigh in the fourth, who is better than her form suggests and should represent fair value, and Halloween Night in the eighth, as she showed considerable improvement with blinkers last time out and should enjoy the step up in trip.

Dixon won the inaugural running of the event in 2007 with the Muhtafal gelding Umngazi, but unfortunately for him and owner Bruce Lin the total prize money back then was a relatively paltry R500000, despite their charge having beaten the like of Imbongi, who went on to become a dual Guineas victor and winner of Group races in both the UK and Dubai.

Oi Yoi Yoi, who is also owned by Lin, impressed jockey Brandon Lerena when stepped up to the 1400m trip of the Ready To Run Cup last time out in a Maiden on the Greyville polytrack on September 29. She came from last with a powerful run, despite the race having been run at a slow pace, and scooted clear in commanding fashion to win by 2,5 lengths.

That was only her fourth career start and it will now be up to the panellists to decide whether she is good enough to make the final Ready To Run field. She was only in 28th place on the latest log, but a few of those above her are yet to prove they stay the 1400m trip.

Whether she makes the race or not, she is one to follow this season as the yard rate her and Dixon confirmed yesterday that she was improving all the time.

Justin Snaith said yesterday: “He broke down on both suspensories – the ground was too firm – but I will look after him for the rest of his life. He gave me everything he had and so I will give him everything for the remainder of his days.”

The seven-year-old was frequently unlucky, hence he won only four of his 33 starts, but he was placed in 15 other races and his earnings were almost R1.9 million.

Gaynor Rupert said “I am very much looking forward to seeing the offspring of these two superstars on the track one day.”

Ebony Flyer was a three time Grade 1 winner of the Cape Fillies Guineas, SA Fillies Sprint and Majorca Stakes for trainer Justin Snaith and owner’s Drakenstein Stud (Nom: Mrs G A Rupert), Team Valor International (Nom: Mr B Irwin), Mrs Vanashree & Mr Anant Singh. CEO of Team Valor International Barry Irwin said about the mare: “Ebony Flyer was the most talented female to carry our colours at Team Valor and we are thrilled to welcome her first offspring.”

Ross Fuller (Farm Manager) commented that the colt was “a good size, well balanced and correct for a first foal we are thrilled”. Ebony Flyer visit’s champion sire Captain Al in 2014.

Picture: Ebony Flyer and foal (Drakenstein Stud)