Barrel racing tips. any tips at all to improve my skills at barrel racing? ( 10 points to best )?

Question

I posted a question simillar to this but I'm very interested in the sport of barrel racing and I'm anxious to learn how I can better my barrel skills. So any tips are greatly appreciated! Also- how can I get my horse to really gallop. Not trot and lope to and around the barrels? is it a good idea to try spurs. If so how should I use them. Im not going to kick and kick and kick her with them. any techneques you guys use? THANKS!

Answer 1

go to some shows and watch the people and see who does good and wut they did. Ask them questions... they wont mind. Also try riding an advance barrel horse a couple times and get the feeling of wut a broke broke barrel horse feels like.

  for your horse... id try breezing him first before the barrel work out. He'll get jumpy and excited and put a ton of energy into him, kick him around those barrels, growl at him, get into him! good luck

Answer 2

use LOTS of leg, always look AROUND the barrel not at it, start slow and work your speed up, rate at the perfect time but not too late. if you must use spurs, use bumper spurs.

Answer 3

Barrels - Start slow until you know what you are doing with your horse.  Allow enough room when turning so when your horse leans, he or you won't hit the barrel which will cost you.  Go with your horse  and allow his hind quarters to dig, take off and bending etc.  If you can, watch good barrel racers.  By seeing what they do and how they ride and how their horses respond will help.  Remember speed comes last.

Answer 4

i have been barrel racing for a while and i will never use spurs on a horse barrel racing. i highly suggest not using spurs and to get your horse to go faster  keep her head down.

Answer 5

Hello,

I am going with Don't Ever Look Back and her answers...

She is being modest, she is a 1D barrel racer!

Answer 6

Hello,

Barrel Racing is SOOO much fun!  Here are some of my tips I like to share!

1. Keep both hands on the reins when running towards each barrel including the first. Unless you MUST hold the horn, use both hands to drive your horse deep into your pocket.

2. Rate your horse around the barrels. Do this by shoving you butt down into the saddle deep and saying whoa. *you just want to inforce this now even though you are going slow.

3. Instead of yanking his head around the barrel, lift the rein up and into your saddle horn. This will help a BUNCH!  This will prevent the cans from knocking over.

4. Press your inside leg(the one closest to the barrel you are turning) up and into his side. Tap with the out side continually. Kick normal in-between barrels.

5. Drive your horse into each barrel using two hands and be sure to pass it about 8 feet off and insure that when you come off you are about 2 feet away.

6. Drive your horse out of each barrel using two hands, TURN WITH ONE! GRAB THE HORN WITH THE OTHER!

7. Figure out which lead your horse does better turning on.

If he does better on the left lead, go to the right barrel first.  If he does better in the right lead, go to the left barrel first.

LEFT barrel first: One left turn, two right turns.

RIGHT barrel first: One right turn, two left turns.

8. Make sure your horse is in the correct lead before starting the pattern. If going to the left barrel first, your horse should be in the left lead.  Then the right lead on the other two barrels.  If your horse goes to the right first, your horse should be in the right lead.  The other two barrels should be  in the left lead.

9. DO NOT PUSH YOUR HORSE TO HARD! This is important especially if you are training him. DO NOT CONTINUOUSLY LOPE OR RUN THE PATTERN WHILE PRACTICING! This is important horses can get blown up so easily on the pattern. So just be sure to walk and trot a lot, and only lope a couple of times a week at most!!!!! I cannot stress this enough! Especially once he is patterned!

10. Do not look at the barrel as you are turning them.  You should look at the next barrel or the finish line.  Look when you are around the back side of the can.

And there you have it. All my tips. I wish you the best of luck and GOOD job so far, your horse is looking good!

You should take the barrels slow at first! Do not try to run the barrels immediatly as soon as you get the hang of it, then you run.  You should also only run at barrel races.

I never used normal traditional spurs I used bumper or barrel spurs instead.  They are like a boots heel but a little sharper.  Be sure to turn your heels at the correct angle to get the best affect.



Here are some bumper barrel spurs, I used these to make my horse go faster.  This way I do not feel as though I am hurting him but at the same time applying more pressure.

Here is a link:

If you would like to use spur straps:

http://www.smithbrothers.com/product.asp...

If you just want clip-on ones:

http://www.smithbrothers.com/product.asp...

Hope I helped!

~Do not RUN THE BARRELS UNLESS YOU ARE AT A RACE!~

Answer 7

can i have more detail? i can help u better if i no a little about what u no already do u run to the barrel on the rite first or left?

edit- well lemme tell u about going around the barrels step by step. before u go in i found that if u rubber band ur feet into the stirrups, ur foot will not come out so u can concentrate more on ur horse than ur feet. before u go in make sure  that u are lined up slightly to the rite of the third barrel. kick ur horse or use bumber spurs to give a little more of a nudge, and run to the barrel 2 handed with ur hands up far to give ur horse some room. rite wen ur about to turn, drop ur outside rein and use either ur outside leg to push him away from the barrel if hes too close or outside to move him into it and cut it closely. make sure to bump him around it, neck reining and sliding ur hand down the rein make sure u look up and never down at the barrel. rember if u look down both u and ur horse will go down. coming off the barrel go 2 handed to the 2nd and do the same as u did the first. if ur horse is like mine and his favorite barrel is the third (u dont have to do any thing to him but hold on and let him go) u can just go one handed but if not just go to the barrel normally, coming home, smooch kick let him go rember ur there to win its a race all about timing and speed.

good luck hope i helped! ;)

Answer 8

Make sure your horse knows how to rate and turn correctly before running. You also want to make sure you are in correct positions to turn and run.

Your horse needs to be very flexible before you even start running barrels. Spend a lot of time flexing, riding circles, and just warming up. Do a lot of transitions and bending at different speeds.

When you are riding the pattern, make sure you are riding consistantly. Just because you can run a single great run doesn't mean you are ready. Watch going into the first barrel (that's where most of the mistakes happen). Your horse needs to be paying attention to your aids, not just running. It is different for each horse, but you need to find the spot to lower yourself back into the saddle and start asking for your horse to rate (slow down and get ready to turn) for the barrel.

It is easiest to ride with two hands when you are running barrels. Most riders hold around midway down (or up) their horses' necks. To give their horses' their head to run, they just extend their arms forward. Holding midway down the rein also helps when turning. To turn the barrel, ask your horse to rate (most people check their horse a little and add a voice command such as "easy" as well as sit). Then, as the barrel comes to your hip, drop your outside rein and bring your inside hand back slightly to turn your horse around the barrel. This leaves your outside hand free to brace yourself against (not grip) the horn to keep your balance. You can grab up the outside rein as you are coming out of the barrel.

For the speed you need coming out of the barrels and running home, release your horse's head by pushing your arms forward. Don't go into a two-point position, but bring your rear end a bit out of the saddle. I wouldn't suggest using spurs, but a crop such as a quirt or an over-under. A quirt or an over-under can be very effective when asking for a full gallop. Most people also use a different vocal command when they run, such as "get". (I actually had a friend that growled when she wanted her horse to run.)

Don't always practice at a run. Doing that could burn out your horse. Take it slow and make sure you are doing everything correctly. I hope I helped a bit.

Some extra tips:

Don't watch the barrels as you turn. That will encourage your horse to lean into them (which is bad) and most likely hit them.

Hang on coming out of the barrel because most horses leap out from the side.

Teach your horse to respect your leg aids. They will be indespensible when you need to move your horse around a barrel. Make sure your horse bends around your leg and listens to pressure. You may need to have to push your horse towards or away from a barrel if you make a bad entry to get the pocket right (which is around 6 to 8 feet depending on your horse).

Answer 9

well first off DONT hit the barrels. And if you do wear the spured all you have to do is push you spurs into the side of the horse and they will take off. Also just try and train her to gallop from the start from my expirence its after horses have been trained in barrel racing is that they go faster expescially at turn of the last barrel towards the line.

another tip is to look were your going dont look at the horse and use your legs and reins to get them to go were you want. once you get this down it seems like you and your horse have a connection.

Hope i helped

Answer 10

Take your horse to the arena location where you'd normally ask him to initiate a barrel run. Place one hand on the saddle horn and the other on the reins-just as you would on a run. Maintaining light rein pressure while sitting squarely, not forward in your saddle, ask him to lope halfway to the first barrel. This will enable you to balance yourself, and will help your horse set himself for the turn by tucking his hind legs under his body. (If he becomes chargy or anxious, stop him, then trot him to the midpoint.)

At the halfway point, bring your horse down to an extended trot. Begin lifting his shoulder and positioning his front end for the turn by sliding your hand down the inside rein and slightly picking up on it, so your thumb is facing upward. Use neck-rein cues to guide him to a spot 6 to 7 feet to the side of the barrel, an area known as "the pocket."

  

When your horse's nose is even with the barrel, ask him to stop. Immediately back up 1 or 2 steps, then settle for about 10 seconds. You want your horse to learn to rate himself going into the pocket, and by asking him to stop and settle there you're telling him to do so. The stop also rocks his weight onto his hindquarters; the back-up causes him to drive his inside hind pivot foot under his body, properly positioning him for a strong push off when exiting the turn; the settle will take the "rush" out of his maneuver. If your horse won't stand completely still, do the best you can, gradually asking him to settle longer with each repetition.

Ask your horse to walk around the barrel. As you make the turn, look at the barrel and evaluate your and your horse's position. If your horse drops his shoulder (his front end will become heavy and it'll feel like he's leaning against your inside rein and leg), pick up on your inside rein to lift his shoulder. Apply inside or outside rein pressure as needed to adjust his position. Circle the barrel at least twice to keep him from prematurely exiting the turn, which often leads to a too-wide exit.

With practice at slower gaits, your and your horse's form will become automatic when you increase your speed. Here's the final result : My horse's shoulder is upright and balanced, his front legs are reaching and pulling the ground toward him, and his inside pivot foot is planted under his body. We can take this turn to the bank.

Horses are lazy. Plain and simple. Horses will try anything to get out of work.

Keeping this in mind, you need to show the horse that what you are asking is not going to be too hard for her to handle at the point in training where she is at. If you ask her to do too much, she will begin to regret following your cues in the first place.

For example, when you ask the horse to move faster, she may be thinking that she will have to canter around the pen several times. In her mind, this is hard work, and maybe she's only willing to canter around the pen once. So, she decides on her own to stop after going around the pen just once. We don't want this. When she decides to stop on her own, the trainer is not in control.

What we need to do, is change her mind about all this. We don't want her thinking that every time we ask her to do something, it will be hard, or will take a long time. Remember, horses are lazy. Once she begins to realize that our requests are small and are not very hard to execute, she will begin to enjoy performing them.

You're probably asking, "Well, how do I do that?". Here's how: Start at a walk in the round pen. Ask her to move into a trot. If you think that she will quit and stop listening once she gets 1/2 way around the pen, then ask her to stop and walk when she only gets 1/4 way around the pen.

She will begin to think that it wasn't nearly as bad as she first imagined. By using this technique, you are avoiding the situation when the horse stops listening to your "speed up" cue. You don't want the horse stopping on her own. You must take control and stop her before she decides to stop on her own. Since, you are asking her to obey the "stop" cue before she even begins to think of trying to stop on her own, you are in control. She is then listening to you, and not her own thoughts. You are making the decisions, not her.

In a nutshell, if you begin to ask the horse to move faster (for example: by swinging the rope), you MUST continue swinging that rope until the horse moves faster. If you stop swinging the rope before the horse has begun to move faster, you will have taught her that swinging the rope means "don't do anything".

For every single cue that you give the horse, there must be a reward. If there is no reward, the horse will never learn to obey the cue consistently.

For example, when you swing the rope to ask the horse to move faster, the VERY instant that she begins to move faster, stop swinging the rope. When you stop swinging the rope, that is her reward. She knows that she performed the action correctly because you took away the stimulus of the the swinging rope.

If you continue swinging the rope once she has gone faster, you will "burn-out" the cue. She will soon learn that when you swing the rope, it means "do nothing".

There is NO cue to tell the horse to "keep going". You can create cues that tell the horse to "speed up" and cues that tell the horse to "slow down". But, you can NEVER create a cue that tells the horse to "keep going". The reason for this is: if you ask the horse to "speed up" (for example: by squeezing with your legs), and you use the same cue to ask the horse to keep going (by squeezing with your legs), you will soon burn-out the "speed up" cue. She soon learns that the "speed up" cue does not mean she should actually speed up. And, she stops obeying it since she receives no reward.

If you would like your horse to keep going, and you do not want to burn-out the "speed up" cue, you must wait until the horse begins to slow down on her own (or better yet, you ask her to slow down before she does it on her own!). Once she slows down, you can ask for the "speed up" cue again.

So, the only cues you should use to teach your horse to obey you when asking her to speed up are the "speed-up" cue and the "slow-down" cue. There is no "in-between" or "keep going" cue. If you decide to try using a cue as a "keep going" cue, it may work once or twice, but the horse soon learns that your "keep going" cue actually means "don't do anything", since she does not receive a reward from doing so.