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 become a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. This is basically a game event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite simple 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 always to gain the fastest speed by circling the three barrels in 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 should be set from one another.
The general distance is 90 feet from each barrel. However, some may also use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting applies to all competitors.
The game begins once the racer enters the arena towards 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 complete turn has to be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards the second one.
A second turn, but this time an opposite one, will need to be made around the second barrel. And again, the rider will need to race towards the third barrel. The 3rd barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will need to accelerate back to the starting line, which is also regarded as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you distinguish many of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a few 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 since the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary aim of the game should be to take it as fast as you possibly can. This really is probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out of the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of 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 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue can be resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is referred to as “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known 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 from the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is usually 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 on it. Solution to this problem can begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you are confident enough of its speed and its ability to halt.
