What is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Encountered

Originally a sport developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has turned into a sport event where everybody can join resources.

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

The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the intention of the racer is to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies normally have various preferences regarding 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 applies to all competitors.

The game 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 the racer if he would not come straight onto it. A whole turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving towards the second one.

A second turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made on 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 has its common problems too. We will help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution on it. Please keep reading.

The first barrel is usually termed to as being the “money barrel”. This may cause the most difficult turn since the horse has to approach it at full speed. Remember that the main aim of the game should be to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you’re certain to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take some 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 has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they will often either knock the first barrel off or they could pass over it. This problem is usually 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 recognized to have rooted from running a lot 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 article source. One ideal way of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.

Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you mustn’t allow your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Solution to this problem can start 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.