Originally a sport developed 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 around for many years now. This is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite simple to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the intention of the racer is to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there could 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 use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting is applicable to all competitors.
The action begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much easier for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn must be accomplished around 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 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 need 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 some of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution on it. Please read on.
The first barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes by far the most difficult turn because the horse has 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 is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you’re certain to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the chance to take a little cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it’s got the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they could pass over it. This problem is usually 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 called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known to have rooted from running too much in the arena or during practice. This can be 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 tend to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you mustn’t 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 as well as its capability to halt.