Just found this youtube video of Rachel Alexandra post parade for the NO Ladies...so nice to see Calvin reunited with the filly!  She gets a little bit on her toes at the end and you can her a fan telling her to take it easy and not expend all that energy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_nQtttoTJw

Oh Thank you.  She looked so animated, ready and wonderful and she kept nuzzling up to the pony rider beside her.  She shows her vulnerability and I love that.

I liked seeing her bouncing and happy to be on the track!  'Tho she may have been better off to be more settled.

On another note, I wonder how much this new figure 8 noseband agrees or disagrees with her.  Was hoping to see a video or pic of her from today to see if it was still on.

OK, now you've lost me and I need to be enlightened.  I am in the dark regarding the figure 8 noseband.  Can you give me an example 'before and after' with this particular device?

 

 

 

 

I'll try to find the pic I saw of Rachel with it on but it criss-crosses her nose and is sometimes used for horses with breathing problems but also for control...the understanding was they wanted to keep her under wraps and not be able to run full out, this is a change for Rachel and some believe she does not like it.  She has also been run with it in her recent works. 

there seems to be different kinds of them but here is a good picture of one kind. I dont know what kind Rachel uses

http://classicsaddlery.com/bridles/BobbysFigure8braided.jpg

Is this the first time she has raced in a real competition with this device?  And why would they not want her to run full out in a race where running full out is important?  If she has run with it in 'works', then, obviously there is a reason for it, but if she's never raced with it, I wonder.

 

Yes, this was the first race she ran with the fig8 and the reason, supposedly, was so she didn't run all out in the NO Ladies and have nothing left for the Apple Blossom.  

You can see it under her halter in this photo....

 

http://www.drf.com/news/article/111267.html

Ah, different material in this one...thanks!

Ok, well far be it for me to second-guess the knowledgeable connections who know far more than I do.  But, just maybe, this little 'hold' on her was the differenced between second and first.  Just sayin' ... and we will never know for sure.