What is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered

Originally a sport created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now 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 display speed.

The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is actually played on 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 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies normally have various preferences on how far each barrel should be set from one another.

The typical 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 game begins as soon as the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much easier for that racer if he would not come straight onto it. A whole turn has to 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 have to race for 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 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 suggest a few things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.

The first barrel is usually termed to as being the "money barrel". This makes the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Remember that the primary purpose of this game is to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you are sure to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take a little money with you.

The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of lack of rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency for being 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 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 rest from the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.

Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In this case, you must not allow your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Fix for your 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 and its ability to halt.