purpose of hood

Question
hello sir, i believe that horses gets frightened hearing the public cheers in the final 200m, hence they slow down. so, for this reason trainers put on a hood. am i correct? does this equipment has any other purpose? i dont think so flies distract the horses at that speed they run?

Answer
You will not see many hoods on horses in the U.S.A.. Ear plugs are more common used for this purpose. Blocking some of the horse's sense of hearing may calm him throughout the race, as well at the stretch run, if the horse seems to be more sensitive to sounds than most. You may also have a reverse affect which may throw off his equilibrium. It's another one of those trial and error situations where you may only find out it's effectiveness when put to the test whether performance improves or not.