(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

At the break of dawn, jockeys and trainers at Dubai Racing Club (DRC) start the meticulous process of drilling and conditioning champion horses and thoroughbreds to make sure that when they head to the racetrack, they are ready to go and do their job.

Speed and stamina define a horse's career, and skilled trainers provide the proper conditioning through intense workouts, balanced diet, and grooming. Seeing these horses and humans interact is definitely an exhilarating visual treat, especially when you come up close to watch horses gallop and see the rhythm of their hind legs propel them forward, and their abdominal muscles contract as their four feet go off the ground - flying for a split second - and then, after a moment of suspension, you hear their front legs landing and absorbing the impact.

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Experiencing that sound and poetry in motion in person is what visitors will enjoy when they join Dubai Racing Club's Stable Tour.

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KT Luxe recently joined a small group of people who had a behind-the-scenes equine journey as we were hosted by DRC and welcomed into the stables to see some of the region's finest thoroughbreds live, train, and prepare for their biggest Dubai Racing Carnival race.

The tour started a few metres away from the iconic Meydan Grandstand, and just right in the middle of the turf and dirt official racetracks, where we were given a chance to interact with some local jockeys before they started the training.

Then we were brought into one of the stables, where tour guides gave us more details how horses live and are being taken care of. The expansive Meydan Racecourse, that opened on March 27, 2010, has seven stables – five of which are dedicated for local breeders and two are reserved for international breeders, who come weeks or months ahead of the prestigious Dubai World Cup, happening every year in March.

Getting inside the stables gave us a more intimate glimpse into the world of race horses. We even learned the genealogy of each colt and filly that train and live there. We touched and felt the wood shavings that are placed on the floor of each stable for the comfort of the horses.

We saw how horseshoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, as the farrier (the person who puts on horseshoes is called) nailed and fitted them.

We learned about what horses consume daily (about 9-10kg of combo feeds daily) and where they are sourced (locally in the UAE, from Zabeel Feed Mills) and what time they are fed and what type of feeds they are given during racing and off season.

Of course, we were not allowed to feed them - these are race horses and not pets or show horses. But each detail of a racehorse's life was shared to us; we gained an insider's perspective before they race, we even learned a trick or two on how they are given a bath by a stablehand.

Yes, the tour was not complete without taking selfies with the horses. We came really up close – within a hair's breadth, so to speak, with the horses. Who knows the one we have taken a photo with would be the champion in the next Dubai World Cup?

After learning about their (horses) care and training, we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast buffet while overlooking the training track as horses stretched out on their morning gallops.

The Breakfast Stable Tour runs weekly on Wednesdays, from 6.30am. Price is Dh280 per adult and Dh175 per child. Private tours are also available upon request.

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