What is gate schooling?
A racehorse needs to learn how to break from the gate. This takes multiple visits, starting with simply showing the horse the starting gate for the first time, and perhaps just walking through it. After 2 – 3 visits to the gate the horse will be ready to be closed in (walking in with the front gate closed, the back gate closed once in). The front gates will be opened (manually) and the horse will walk out first, and then in subsequent visits jog out, canter out, gallop out and finally breeze out, in company with another horse. The key to helping the horse become a good gate horse is to always focus on keeping the horse straight as it exits the gate. During each of the visits to the gate the gate crew will get the horse familiar with a person climbing around the gate. A horse needs to acquire a gate card before it is approved to run for the first time. If a horse has not run in six months some racing jurisdictions will require a six month card, which may require the horse to break from
