I BARREL RACE!!
Hi,
first of all, Barrel racing is really, really fun! You'll love it.
. Secondly, its pretty easy to teach yourself and your horse to do on your own. ALl you need is a flat riding surface that has good traction (no slick grass.) and three barrels.
Hopefully you already know the clover pattern. If you've been riding for awhile, you should know what direction your horse turns best in. Most people take the right barrel first, but if your horse does better right hand turns, take the left one. That way two of the three turns are towards the right.
The first thing you need to do is "pattern" your horse. The fastest horses are that way because they know exactly where they are going. If your horse is trying to gallop the course and doesnt know before he gets to the barrel which way he turns, he's going to hestiate, boggle or slow down.
Patterning your horse is simple repition. Do so at the trot first. Trot the course many many times (but dont practice more then 20 minutes or your horse will get bored and start acting up.) . The key here ismaking the horse memorize the pattern, as well as tightening its turns aroound the barrel. Any time your horse swings too wide, circle the same barrel again, until you've tightened your turn. Then move on to the next one.
Although some people practice going both directions, i reccomend starting out only practincg the direction you've chosen. It keeps your horse on track and helps him memorize the course easier. Eventually you won't have to pull him up to make your turns, because he will be able to gauge his own abilities because he knows exactly where he's going to turn before you tell him to.
Rather then slowing him down and turning him, just pull your inside rein towards teh barrel and lean in a bit. He will slow down himself as he sees fit in order to make the sharp turns you've asked for.
After trotting it many many times ( a couple weeks worth of sessions.) move into the lope. Do so only after his turns have improved to the point that you are turning tightly. Keep the lope slow and controled, working always on the turns and not the speed. Soon you will be turning so close to teh barrel you'll have to worry your going to knock it down!!!
In between practice sessions, work on transitiong from a stop to a lope, as well as your stops and your lead changes. Your horse needs to be very balanced and comfortable on the right AND the left lead so that he can change leads himself when eh turns opposite directions. Barrel horses usually begin to do flying lead changes on their own as they get better and better.
Having an ex-reining or roping horse will be an asset in your exercises. cow horses make excellent barrel horses!!
Lastly, don't stress the small stuff. YOu'll find that going to gamedays or rodeos is MUCH differen then performance shows. People are wonderfully laid back because they know its their own time that matters. There's little competitiveness outside the ring, which I find wonderful. Don't make things difficult on yourself! Just practice over and over and have fun.
If you want to talk more, email me at
pandapotato@msn.com or check out my 4-H club website! We've got some great pictures of lots of my members doing barrel racing, flags, key, etc. its
www.geocities.com/turnburn4hclub
Thnx,
Amanda