Originally a sport created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now become a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for quite a while now. This is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite simple to watch. It is played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the goal of the racer is always to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards as to the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences regarding how far each barrel should be set from one another.
The general distance is 90 feet from each barrel. However, some may also use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting applies to all competitors.
The action begins as soon as the racer enters the arena towards the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much easier for the racer if he would not come straight onto it. A complete turn must be accomplished on the first barrel before moving to the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race towards the third barrel. The 3rd barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will need to accelerate back to the starting line, which is also regarded as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to advise a couple of things to find a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary aim of this game is to take it as quickly as you can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of lack of rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency for being too aggressive. Thus, they will often either knock the 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue can be resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In cases like this, the horse is referred to as “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known to have rooted from running a lot in the arena or during practice. This can be resolved through a little time off the track and giving your horse a rest from the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In such a case, you must not allow your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Solution to this problem can start with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you happen to be confident enough of its speed and its capability to halt.