Originally a sport created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has become a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. This is basically a game event that aims to display speed.
The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is actually played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern on which the goal of the racer is to gain the quickest speed by circling the 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each 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 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 for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much simpler for that racer if he would not come straight onto it. A complete turn has to be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made around the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race towards the third barrel. The 3rd 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, which is also regarded as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing has its common problems too. We will help you distinguish many of the most common problems and would attempt to advise a few things to discover a solution about it. Please keep reading.
The 1st barrel is usually termed to as being the “money barrel”. This may cause the most difficult turn since the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary aim of this game is to take it as fast as you can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take some money with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it’s got the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they will often either knock the first barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known 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 rest in the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not let 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 as well as its capability to halt.