What is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered

Originally a sports activity developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now become a sport event where everybody can join.

Barrel horse racing has been around for quite a while now. It is basically a game event that aims to showcase speed.

The race is quite straightforward 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 always 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 should be set from one another horse racing cards.

The general 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 action begins as soon as 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 onto it. A complete turn must be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards 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 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 shall help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to suggest a few things to find a solution about it. Please keep reading.

The first barrel is usually 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. Keep in mind that the main purpose of the game should be to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out of the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take some cash with you.

The challenge 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 to become too aggressive. Thus, they will often either knock the 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue is usually 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 break from the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is to do trail riding continue reading.

Some horses tend to have no breaks at all. In this case, you mustn’t 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 ability to halt.