What is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered
Originally a sports activity created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has turned into a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. It is basically a game event that aims to display speed.
The race is quite simple to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the intention of the racer is always to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies normally have various preferences on how far each barrel needs to be set from one another.
The typical 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 for the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much simpler for the racer if he would not come straight onto it. A whole turn has to be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards the second one.
A second turn, but this time an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race for 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 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 many of the most common problems and would try to advise a few things to find a solution about it. Please read on.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn since the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary aim of the game is to take it as quickly as you can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you are sure to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take a little money with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of lack of rate. Because the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency for being too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the first barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue can be resolved through conditioning your horse to perform the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is recognized 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 break in the barrel routines. One ideal method of doing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In this case, you mustn’t let 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 when you are confident enough of its speed and its ability to halt.