What is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Experienced
Originally a sports activity developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now turned into a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for many years now. It is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite simple to watch. It is played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the goal of the racer is 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 as a rule have various preferences regarding how far each barrel needs to be set from one another.
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 easier for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn has to be accomplished around the first barrel before moving towards 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 3rd 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, and that is considered as the finish line.
Like many other horse racing events, horse barrel racing has its common problems too. We will enable you to distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to suggest a couple of things to discover a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The 1st barrel is usually termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the game should be to take it as fast as you can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it’s got the tendency for being 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 perform the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, 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. This can be resolved through taking some 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 are apt to have no breaks whatsoever. In such a case, you mustn’t let your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Solution to this problem can start with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you are confident enough of its speed as well as its capability to halt.
