How do I make my horse faster for barrels?

Question

I just got my horse a few months ago and I'm starting him on barrel racing. He turns real well but does not have speed. He runs back from the last barrel pretty good but getting him to go is the problem. I can kick and cluck to him as much as I want and it just does not seem to work. He trots around the barrels but will not go into a lope real well. Whenever he does go into a lope his lope is slow and I can't seem to get him to run full speed. When I do get him to atleast lope to the barrels he likes to stop once he gets to the barrel. What can I do to make him run faster and run faster around the barrels? please help

Answer 1

Some horses just can't do barrels.. Seems to me like he might just be confused as to what your asking him to do. Did you buy him as an experienced barrel racer?

On the topic of him stopping at the barrels, maybe he's afraid of it. Have you tried letting him sniff and take a good look at the barrels?

Also, try adding some grain or some sort of "hot" feed for your horse - that usually picks them up :)  Good luck!

Answer 2

You already asked this...

He might not like galloping. Just because he's bred to do something, doesn't mean he has to like it. Just like if both your parents were Olympic swimmers, does that mean that you have to love swimming and have to be a great swimmer? NO! You can hate swimming for all anyone cares, and horses can hate running. You might consider selling him and getting a horse who loves running barrells.

Answer 3

Dangle a photo of Jason Mamoa in front of him.

I know that helps me.

Answer 4

You should try breezing him off the pattern. This means just running him as fast as he can run either in an arena or out in a pasture. Run him for short bursts as fast as you two can go then shut him down. Don't do it excessively (since they'll get hot) but doing this will definitely help. It sounds like he  doesn't trust you enough to go fast yet. It will just take time, don't ever rush a barrel horse! Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Barrel racing is the hardest sport for hosres... some horses aren't made to run that way... he might not have the speed you are looking for for this sport.. if your looking to do them easy and slow then it sounds like this horse will be good for it, but if you are looking to compete in the money then I would suggest finding a different one.. I haven't seen your horse do it but when you decide to buy a horse you need to  see if he qualifies for what you want to do with him. He should show you right off the bat if he is fast or not.  Sorry hope that helps  

good luck

Answer 6

Well how old is he? That could be a problem too.

Try lunging him, either with a lunge line or in a round pen [round pens are better!] and get him to canter for a few laps in both directions.  Do that every day to help him get conditioned and build his stamina up. [that could also be a factor! does he sweat a lot even though you hardly had a workout?]

Personal Example: My friend victoria bought a horse a few months ago and rode her pretty much only on trail rides.  This horse, Tuff, is a REALLY muscular American Quarter Horse mare.  I think she's probably almost 16hh. She offered to let me ride her in a fun show a few weeks ago.  So I went to her house to ride Tuff and get used to her.  I don't think victoria wanted to ride her in the show because she is scared to ride tuff because she is so big and intimidating.

When I got on Tuff to do barrels, I had the EXACT same problem you did plus, when she did canter, she would throw her head towards the ground and then try to buck.  Let me know anyone if you want to see a picture of it!

But what was hard is that she doesn't have an arena, so we had to practice in the cow pasture.  So it was open and I didn't have a steady place to just run her with worrying that she would run away.  But all I did was run her towards the first barrel, and then KEEP running for about 30ft and then trotted her.  I did this for a while on each of the barrels and then used the element of SURPRISE and ran her through the barrels for real.  She is really good at turning [and i love her because since she is so big, you don't have to worry about watching your leg so that it won't hit the barrel!  My foot clears it about by 8in!]

Answer 7

First you need to tack up and head for a place that has no barrels in sight. It sounds to me like your horse is kinda lazy so i will tell you a technique my dad uses when we get a new horse that is lazy. fascine a rope to the horn of your saddle. ask your horse to walk then trot after a few minuetes of troting ask your horse to canter. if he does not canter right away lighly tap his rear with the end of the rope. if he still does not pick up speed tap him on the rear with a back and forth motion geting harder and harder every time until he finally picks up speed.

     also make sure he is on the right leads when he is turning it is difficult for them to turn a tight circle if they are on the wrong lead. if you need antmore help you can e-mail me  [e-mail]