Last Friday morning temperatures in Chicago made it above zero but the steady breeze kept the air feeling like it was -10. That didn’t stop the horses in training at Hawthorne from making their scheduled workouts in the morning. As you can see, the horses were thriving while their riders bundled up against the cold air..

For some of the horses, the cooler air was energizing and allowed them to show off their rambunctious sides. This youngster would have been more than happy to circle the track another round, but it was time to go. His rider let him carry on a bit before gently yet firmly getting him under control. This type of situation is usually handled one of two ways: with caring and understanding or with brute force. Horses tend to respond better to the former while rebelling against the latter. This rider chose the better method in my opinion, and pulled back into the middle of the track and rubbed on him a bit, the whole time talking softly to him about nothing other than how cold he was!