Originally a sports activity created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now turned into a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around 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 actually played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the goal of the racer is to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards as to the distance of each barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences on how far each barrel should be set from one another.
The typical distance is 90 feet from each barrel. However, some may 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 for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much simpler for that racer if he would not come straight onto it. A complete turn must be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards 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 need to race towards the third barrel. The 3rd barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. Following a complete loop, the rider will have to accelerate to the starting line, which is also regarded as the finish line.
Like many other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We will help you distinguish many of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The first barrel is usually termed to as being the “money barrel”. This may cause by far the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the main aim of the game should be to take it as fast as you possibly can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you are sure to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the chance to take a little money with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to lack of rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they could pass over it. This problem can be resolved through conditioning your horse to perform the turn perfectly.
Some horses often have problems entering the arena. In cases like this, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known to have rooted from running a lot in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through a little time off the track and giving your horse a rest in the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not let your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Fix for your problem can start with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you are confident enough of its speed and its capability to halt.
