Originally a sports activity created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now turned into a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for quite a while now. This is basically a game event that aims to showcase 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 intention of the racer is to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards regarding the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies normally have various preferences regarding 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 action begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much easier for that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn must be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards 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. Following a complete loop, the rider will have to accelerate to the starting line, and that is considered as the finish line.
Like many 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 suggest a few things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.
The first barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn since the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Remember that the primary aim of this game is to take it as quickly as you can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you’re certain to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take a little 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 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue 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 a lot in the arena or during practice. This can be resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a break in the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks at all. In this case, you mustn’t 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.