What is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Encountered

Originally a sports activity created 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 quite a while now. This is basically a game event that aims to display speed.

The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is played on 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 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each 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 use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting applies to all competitors.

The action begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. For 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 whole turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to the second one.

A 2nd turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will need 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 back to the starting line, and that is regarded as the finish line.

Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing has its common problems too. We shall enable you to distinguish many of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a few things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.

The first barrel is usually termed to as being the “money barrel”. This may cause the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary aim of the game is to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This really is probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you’re certain to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take some cash with you.

The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it’s got the tendency for being too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This problem is usually 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 recognized 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 in the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.

Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In this case, you must not allow your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Solution to this 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.