advice on galloping

Question
QUESTION: hey ed . i have just been reading a reply you had sent somebody  a while go ..
quoting . GALLOPING  for 30 days and galloping for another 30 days at
different distances i was intereset in finding  out how many times a week you
gallop a horse in training/ racing .. by gallop i mean an open gallop..

many thanks

ANSWER: hi  not a open gallop, just a good gallop. you don't want to sour up a horse by open galloping him or her all the time. i usually gallop them every day for 30 days then a work out. then another 30 days and a workout again till you get at least 60 days of galloping and at least 2 or 3 work outs.  hope this helps you  thanks  ED HESS

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QUESTION: hey ed.. thanks for the reply.. dumb question but what do you mean by
workouts.
am an australian living in the uk so  the terms used here are different

ANSWER: hi ok  well i mean after so many gallops and you think the horse is going well, then you decide to put some fast work outs in the horse . like a 3 furlong work out , either from the starting gate or from the pole. i usually work the horse up to the distance you are going to run the horse and usually work the horse 3-4 times before they race.  hope this helps you. thanks for your questions     ED HESS

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QUESTION: hi again ed... i would like you opinion please...

my race horse had nearly 4 months of training...  he ran 3 weeks ago in a 960
meter race and  came 4th ..  but my question is about his fitness.. he has only
been ridden twice since his last race 3 weeks ago altho he has been lightly
swan every day..   do you think he will have lost much fitness..

he is racing in the morning by the way in another 960 meter race....

with your  experince would you expect him to run well ..
ps he has put weight on from the lack of work..  

Answer
hi -it depends on the individual horse  some need lots of work and some run well off of less work. if the horse ran 4th first time out he should improve. i gallop horses  but not open gallop  just a gallop in hand. i always work them if they need to be sharpened up for the race. your horse will tell you how much work he needs. i had a big stud and i used to work him 3/4 of a mile before he ran , that way he was always sharp. hope this helps  ED HESS