Originally a sport developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has turned into a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. This is basically a sport event that aims to display speed.
The race is pretty simple to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the goal of the racer is always to gain the quickest speed by circling the three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences on how far each barrel needs to 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 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 on to it. A complete turn has to 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 around the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race towards the third barrel. The third 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 considered as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We will enable you to distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a few things to find a solution about it. Please read on.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn since the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the main purpose of this game is to take it as fast as you possibly can. This really is 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 get the chance to take some money with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Because 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 problem 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 known to have rooted from running too much in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a break in the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt 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 begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only when you happen to be confident enough of its speed as well as its capability to halt.
