Originally a sport created 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 quite a while now. It is basically a sport event that aims to display speed.
The race is pretty simple to watch. It is actually played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the intention of the racer is always to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards regarding the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences on 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 applies to all competitors.
The game 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 easier newhorseracing.com for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A whole turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to 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 for the third barrel. The third 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 has its common problems too. We will enable you to distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to find a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The first barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This may cause the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Remember that the primary aim of the game should be to take it as fast as you can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take some money with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the first barrel off or they could 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 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. Sometimes it is resolved through a little time off the track and giving your horse a break from the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks whatsoever. In such a case, you mustn’t let your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Solution to this problem can begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only when you are confident enough of its speed as well as its ability to halt.