What is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Experienced
Originally a sports activity developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has become a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for many years now. This is basically a sport event that aims to display speed.
The race is quite simple to watch. It is played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the intention of the racer is always to gain the fastest speed by circling the three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards as to the distance of each barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences regarding how far each barrel needs to 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 is applicable to all competitors.
The game begins as soon as the racer enters the arena towards the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much easier for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn has to be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made around the second barrel. And again, the rider will need to race for 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 back 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 enable you to distinguish many of the most common problems and would attempt to advise a few 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 purpose of this game should be to take it as fast as you can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you are sure to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity 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 for being too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they could pass over it. This issue is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to perform the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is referred to as “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is recognized to have rooted from running too much in the arena or during practice. This can be resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a break in the barrel routines. One ideal method 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 upon 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.