Barrel Racing Help..horse stops in the middle of a turn?
I’m starting my horse out on barrel racing. He’s doing pretty good so far, but for some reason he always wants to slow down to a trot half way through the turn. What are some things I could do to help him complete his turn? Right now I also have him in a curb bit. I used to ride him with a snaffle, but I took him to the county fair this past year and changed to a curb because of the rules. I was wondering if taking him back to a snaffle just for barrel racing would help on his mouth..or would that just confuse him?? Thanks for the help!!
I train him at my house..on grass. I do it in the open, not in an arena or anywhere near a fence or wall that he would run into. He’s eight years old and in great health..I’m thinking I have figured it out though..I think i need a bigger pocket?
First, yes, change his bit. You may have to show western pleasure in a curb, but it isn’t a good bit to barrel race in. I would use something with a dog bone mouthpiece and short to medium shanks. I started out with a reining training bit, It doesn’t have a dog bone, but it is still a pretty nice bit. Here are a few links to nice bits.
http://www.horse.com/Black-5-Snaffle-Training-Bit-WBR56.html
http://www.horse.com/Sharon-Camarillo-Touch-Plus-Bit-WBR88.html
I especially like the second one, that is what I am going to order for my 2 year old when he’s ready to move out of the d ring.
As far as the slowing down thing, it is possible that since you are just starting him in barrels his balance may not be good enough yet to be able to lope all the way around a barrel. Before you ask him to lope all the way, be sure that he can do the entire pattern in a trot, and be sure that he is really able to bend and flex at a trot. He should be able to lope larger and medium circles calmly before you ask him to lope around the barrel. If he is uncomfortable loping it, that could be the issue. Otherwise, if he is beyond the point of still needing to trot it, perhaps you aren’t riding him through the whole turn. If you let up on him to ba able to turn, he might just be learning that he doesn’t really have to lope the whole way around. Be sure to keep your legs on him and use verbal commands to keep him going.
Also, make sure that you are leaving yourself enough of a pocket where you aren’t putting him off balance by turning him too sharp. As a general rule, I use truck tires on the sides of my barrels to visualize where we should be. Of course that can be adjusted to your horse in particular, for instance, most Arabs don’t need that much room, and a larger lanky Quarter Horse might need even more room than that.
The biggest thing to remember though is that if you ask your horse to do something that he isn’t ready for physically, you are putting yourself and your horse in serious danger, just be sure to take things slowly. Have Fun!
Oh and just because, I used my last horse in everything, english, jumping, western pleasure, english and games and trail riding. I used a different bit for EVERYTHING! A kimberwick for english, d ring for jumping, high port curb for western pleasure, twisted s shank snaffle for games (My horse was a high caliber barrel horse, I wouldn’t recommend that bit for a horse just starting out) and a hack for trail riding. That way my horse knew exactly what we were going to be doing, he knew the difference. Just a though.
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