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 now become a sport event where everybody 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 quite simple 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 quickest speed by circling the three barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each barrel, governing bodies normally 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 is applicable to all competitors.
The game begins as soon as the racer enters the arena towards the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much simpler for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A whole turn must be accomplished on 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 have to race for the third barrel. The third barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will have to accelerate back to the starting line, and that is regarded as the finish line.
Like many 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 advise a few things to discover a solution on it. Please read on.
The 1st 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. Keep in mind that the primary aim of the game should be to take it as quickly as you can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you’re certain to be out of the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take a little money 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 will often either knock the 1st 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 this case, the horse is referred to as “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 a little time off the track and giving your horse a break from the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks whatsoever. In this 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 once you happen to be confident enough of its speed and its capability to halt.