Originally a sports activity 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. This is basically a game event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon 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 three barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each and every 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 is applicable to all competitors.
The action begins as soon as the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much easier for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A whole turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will need to race for the third barrel. The 3rd barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will need 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 does have its common problems too. We will enable you to distinguish some of the most common problems and would try to suggest a few things to discover a solution on it. Please keep reading.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn since 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 possibly can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take some cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of lack of 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 could pass over it. This problem is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses often have problems entering the arena. In cases like this, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is recognized to have rooted from running a lot in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through taking some 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 such a case, you mustn’t allow your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Solution to this problem can start 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 and its ability to halt.
