What is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered
Originally a sport developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has become a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for many years now. It is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the goal of the racer is to gain the fastest speed by circling the three barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies as a rule have various preferences on how far each barrel needs to be set from one another horse breeding.
The typical 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 action begins as soon as the racer enters the arena towards the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much simpler for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn has to 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 around the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race for 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, and that is regarded as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing has its common problems too. We shall enable you to distinguish many of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.
The 1st barrel is generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes by far the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the game is to take it as fast as you possibly can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, 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 cash with you.
The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they could pass over it. This problem is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to perform 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 too much in the arena or during practice. This can be resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a break from the barrel routines. One ideal method of doing this is usually to do trail riding link.
Some horses tend to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not allow your horse to run unless control is gained upon it. Solution to this problem can start with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you are confident enough of its speed and its ability to halt.