Originally a sports activity developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has turned into a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for quite a while now. It is basically a sport event that aims to display speed.
The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the goal of the racer is always to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels in 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 needs to 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 action begins once the racer enters the arena towards 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 on to it. A complete turn has to 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 need to accelerate back to the starting line, which is also considered as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We will enable you to distinguish many of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a few things to find a solution about it. Please keep reading.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This may cause by far the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Remember that the main purpose of the game is to take it as fast as you can. This really is 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 opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Because 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 could pass over it. This problem can be resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses often 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 from the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not let your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Fix for your 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.