What is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Experienced
Originally a sport 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. It is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is pretty simple to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the goal of the racer is always to gain the fastest speed by circling the three barrels within 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 should be set from one another horses names.
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 towards the first barrel. On 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 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. After a complete loop, the rider will have 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 shall enable you to distinguish many of the most common problems and would try to suggest a couple of things to find a solution about it. Please read on.
The first barrel is usually termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes by far the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Remember that the main aim of the game should be to take it as quickly as you can. This really is probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out of the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take some money with you.
The problem 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 has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st 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 referred to as “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 taking some time off the track and giving your horse a rest from the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding find this.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In this case, you must not allow your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Fix for your problem can begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you happen to be confident enough of its speed and its capability to halt.