How does a horse break out of a starting gate? Best answer 10 points :)?

Hi Kassidy, No horse ever enters a race who hasn't been schooled in the starting gate at their training facility. It takes some longer than others to learn what they are suppose to do. Horses are all loaded in the starting gate and the front and rear gates are closed. The gate opens when the gate keeper pushes the button and the front gates open. Jockey's are ready and know when the gate is about to open, so they are ready to take off. BTW, I have never seen a jock use a crop to get his horse to go when the gates spring open. They take their position and give the horse the signal that it is time to run. Most jockey's do not use the crop until the stretch because that is when they need the horse to give them their best, and run their fastest. Hope this helps you underestand how the starting gate works. Good Luck

Kassidy, you've gotten some very good answers, to which I would add this: Before a Thoroughbred racehorse can be entered for its first race, it has to earn a "gate card." This means that the horse has to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the official track starter (or someone the starter designates) that the horse can be safely loaded in the gate, will stand reasonably quietly in the gate, and will break with the other horses when the starter lets the field go. A horse can earn his "gate card" at either the racetrack, or at a training center (like San Luis Rey Downs here in Southern California, or Fair Hill in Maryland) that is an officially secured racetrack training center with official clockers and someone qualified to approve horses for the starting gate. Josh Pons of Country Life Farm/Merryland Farm wrote a book, Country Life Diary, that details how Thoroughbreds are broken and trained for the track. This is a link to the website: http://www.countrylifefarm.com/Diary/diaryMain.cfm Basically, most trainers prefer to teach their young horses "gate manners" before they start really serious conditioning for the races. The reason for this is that once a horse starts being conditioned for racing, he gets very, very VERY strong, has tons of energy, and can become very "high" or "hot." Training a horse that feels that good gate manners is like trying to hold the lid on a pot of boiling water: you might be able to do it without anyone getting hurt, but you're taking the chance of an explosion! So most Thoroughbreds destined for the races start their gate training before they start serious workouts and conditioning. They're first accustomed just to the sight of the gate. They're walked around it under tack, allowed to hang out near the gate and stand relaxed near it. Eventually they're lead through one of the open stalls: just walked sedately (hopefully!) through it, without any attempt to make them stand still. They just walk through the gate. When the trainer is satisfied they can do that safely and without going nuts, they're asked to stop and stand in the open stall, stand there quietly, then walk out. The next progression in the training is standing quietly while someone closes the stall door in front of them, then walking out when the door opens. The training progresses to being asked to break from the gate at a canter solo, then in company, and finally to break from the gate in company and go right into a racing gallop. How quickly the training progressed depends on the individual horse and on the trainer, and to some degree, on the training center or track and how many young horses they're trying to school. If there are a lot of horses all trying to get their gate cards, then there will be less time spent getting them ready to qualify; as soon as a trainer thinks a horse can qualify, he'll tell the starter he wants to get the gate card for the horse. If a horse ever acts up at the gate during his career, if he does things like refuses to load, refuses to break with the field when the gate opens, breaks crooked (immediately veers to the inside or outside), breaks through the gate prior to the start, or-- worst case scenario-- throws a fit in the gate-- the horse will be put on the "starter's list," which basically means that he has to re-qualify for his gate card before he gets to start in another race. If a horse goes on the starter's list, then comes off the list, then behaves badly again, he (or she) may be banned from track. I don't know how many starter's assistants and exercise riders have been injured or killed in gate accidents while training, but I remember when jockey Alvaro Pineda was killed in the starting gate when his mount, Austin Mittler, flipped in the gate and crushed his skull against the gate. And he wasn't the first and won't be the last. Some videos about starting gates: Trainer Monty Roberts re-schooling a problem horse for the gate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D80miUV_FMs A wreck in the gate in a QH race at Yavapai Downs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrW_jNRySx8 Ever wonder what happens if they can't get the starting gate out of the way as the horses are coming down the stretch? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f25rYfahlfA (don't worry, nobody got hurt.)

Bottom line, it's all taught in training. Race horses know if they are being loaded into a starting gate, they are about to race against all the horses around them. He or She has gone through the steps countless times in training so on race day it's no different. The role of the Jockey and crew is to keep the horses calm and align them properly for the start. Thoroughbreds are taught that when they go to the track they are expected to break out of the gate when the rider/Jockey urges them to go. :)

When horses are closed in the starting gate, the rear doors are manual closing while the front ones are all simultaneous and controlled with either basic electrics or machinery. in that tight of a closed space horses get anxious, and therefore want to get out as soon as possible. when it jolts open, it startles them a little more so they dart out around the same time. Most jockeys use a crop, and kindof flicks the horses rump and jumps them forward. Thoroughbreds im not sure if there more eager or not, but im assuming they are.