What exactly is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Experienced

Originally a sport 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 around for many years now. It is basically a game event that aims to showcase speed.

The race is pretty simple to watch. It is actually 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 quickest speed by circling the three barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies normally 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 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. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much simpler for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn has to be accomplished on the first barrel before moving to 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 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 need to accelerate back 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 shall help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to advise a few things to discover a solution on it. Please keep reading.

The first barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes by far the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Remember that the primary aim of the game should be to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This really is probably 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 opportunity to take a little money 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’s got the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the first barrel off or they may pass over it. This problem can be resolved through conditioning your horse to perform 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 recognized 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.

Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In this case, you mustn’t let your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Fix for your 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 as well as its capability to halt.