What is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered
Originally a sports activity 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 in existence for many years now. It is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is pretty simple to watch. It is played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the intention of the racer is to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 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 typical distance is 90 feet from each barrel. However, some may also use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting is applicable to all competitors.
The action begins as soon as the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much simpler for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A whole turn has to be accomplished around 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 have to accelerate back to the starting line, which is also considered as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing has its common problems too. We shall enable you to distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This may cause by far the most difficult turn since the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the main purpose of the game should be to take it as fast as you possibly can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take a little 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 will often either knock the first barrel off or they may pass over it. This problem can be resolved through conditioning your horse to do 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 a lot in the arena or during practice. This can be resolved through a little time off the track and giving your horse a rest in the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In this case, you mustn’t let 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 are confident enough of its speed and its ability to halt.