Soundness
Also called: sound, unsoundness
Soundness is a horse's freedom from injury or mechanical fault — the condition of being able to train and race without pain.
Almost every decision a good horseman makes runs through soundness: how hard to work a horse, when to back off, which surface to use, when not to run at all. A program built around soundness produces horses that 'run back' — that hold up over many starts — instead of burning bright once and breaking down.
Examples
- arrow_rightML Thoroughbreds builds its conditioning around soundness, not the calendar.
- arrow_rightThe buyer's veterinarian checked the colt for soundness before the sale closed.