What is a breeze?
This is exercising a horse at racing pace. This can be anywhere from an eighth of a mile to about 3/4s of a mile. Before a breeze a horse will be galloped (about 18 – 20 seconds an eighth) for about a mile, and jogged about half a mile before the gallop. This is standard, but different trainers vary this. A horse may breeze one day a week when in full training, but of course this will also be dependent on his / her racing schedule. A rider can give a horse an “in hand” breeze. Basically an easy breeze where you do not push the horse out. You let the horse literally run in your hands. Alternatively the rider may urge the horse by pushing agressively from the saddle and with his / her hands. The rider can also use the stick for further urging, usually in a breeze this may only be once or twice. You typically want the horse to progress during the breeze, so the slowest eighth of the breeze is the first eighth, the best running should be at the end.
