What exactly is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered
Originally a sport created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now become a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. It is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed free racing.
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 quickest speed by circling the three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences regarding 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 as soon as the racer enters the arena towards the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much easier for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to 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 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 considered as the finish line.
Like many other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We will help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to advise a few things to find a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The first barrel is usually 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 aim of the game should be to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you are sure to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get 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. Because the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the first 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 cases like this, 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 doing this is usually to do trail riding site here.
Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In this case, you must not let your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Fix for your problem can begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only when you happen to be confident enough of its speed as well as its ability to halt.