Thomas on Horses
Profile: Bodemeister
Bodemeister (Eclipse Sportswire)
PPs and Pedigree
Bodemeister’s patterns of motion are completely different than any horse in this field or any horse I’ve seen so far. His comfort zone is being alone. That’s not normal in horses.
His sweet spot is a forward distance focus, and he doesn’t need a target. His target is open space. That’s where he does his best. He has a fascinating emotional conformation profile. It’s like he’s looking forever in front of him, yet he has very good stimulus interpretation around him. He engages quickly.
Bodemeister will not be as prone to individual battles for space as some of these other horses. He doesn’t care. He just wants to be free of all of it, and his comfort zone is to move forward and away. Bodemeister knows what is behind him, but he doesn’t lock onto it.
At this point in his development, I think Bodemeister is better at being chased than he is at chasing or moving in a group. Being pushed from behind made him go faster in Arkansas. That puts him somewhat at the mercy of race dynamics. To win this Derby, I think he will have to get out and go. I would not want to see him tangled up in Derby traffic competing for space. That’s not his sweet spot psychologically.
Kerry Thomas is a groundbreaking researcher of behavioral genetics in horses. He created emotional conformation profiling, which measure’s the mental and emotional capacities of the equine. Horse owners around the world use him to profile and unlock the minds of their horses both in training and pre-purchase evaluations. Thomas’ work in the field of equine behavioral genetics has pioneering applications in all the sport horse industries, including Thoroughbred racing and breeding. 