Originally a sports activity created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has become a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for quite a while now. This is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the intention of the racer is always to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each and every 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 use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting applies to all competitors.
The game begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much simpler for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving towards the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time around 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 need to accelerate to the starting line, and that is considered as the finish line.
Like many other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a couple of things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.
The first barrel is generally termed to as being 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 this game should be to take it as fast as you can. This really is probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to lack of 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 problem is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses often have problems entering the arena. In cases like this, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is recognized 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 in the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not let 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 when you happen to be confident enough of its speed as well as its capability to halt.