What exactly is Barrel Horse Racing and Common Problems Encountered
Originally a sports activity 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 in existence for quite a while now. This is basically a sport event that aims to display speed horse jumping.
The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon 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 regarding 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.
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 action 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 simpler for the racer if he would not come straight on to it. A whole turn has to be accomplished around the first barrel before moving towards 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 need 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 considered as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you 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 generally termed to as the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of this game should be to take it as quickly as you can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out from the game right away and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take a little money with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to lack of rate. Because the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency for being 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 often have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is called “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 taking some time off the track and giving your horse a rest from the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is to do trail riding blog link.
Some horses tend to have no breaks at all. In such a case, you must not let 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 happen to be confident enough of its speed as well as its ability to halt.