I'm in my mid 30's and want to barrel race.?

Question

I have a goal to barrel race in 5 weeks at a small family rodeo. The problem is that I have never done it before. I have a pretty good horse, but he doesn't have a lot of whoa, so he intimidates me a little. I have only been walking him through the pattern, or at least trying to walk him. I make him stop when we are at the barrel then walk around them. He just can hardly contain himself and I'm scared to go full out on him. How can I get over my fear of going at top speed. My feeling is if he won't slow down when we are just walking, will he listen to me when we are running full speed. HELP!

Answer 1

well first you want to get the horse to stop at a top speed under command so what i would do is get on your horse and go to the place that you are going to race and walk him or her up and down the course and  tell the .horse to stop and pull back on the raines a little harder than  you normaly would and work like that for as long as it takes til the horse gets it down pat then raise it up noch by notch like a trot then a run then the speed that you need it at.

Answer 2

yes ill agree going fast is good but please watch him i had a major phobia of my stock horse going after the LAST BARREL ESPECIALLY they really jump into it. i totally understand your situation but just the truth u have to go full on in practice because he is going to be extremely quick from what i understand and you are not going to be able to control and deal with his eventual speed so just try to be fearless at least once while training because it will happen one day. Ive been barrel racing for a while and the key is courage. good luck babe <3 its the best fun out

Answer 3

to get over ur fear of going at top speed u should get him out in a grassy pen or field and just run him.

Answer 4

it seems likea t the poitn ur at, 5 weeks is too soon. ur horse doesnt have alot of "whoa" u said. so u need to break it down to the basics. make him slow doown, make him think about every thing he does. walk him around the areana loose reined and if he trots, turn him in a circle(emergency break) until he stops. then contiue walking. it teacheas him that YOU hve control and not him.

if u dont have it at a walk, u WILL NOT have it at a run.

just be safe :]

Answer 5

With barrel racing,

I would continue to do what you're doing with your horse.

If your patterning a horse, You should trot and walk it through the barrels MILLIONS of times before going fast. It's better to have a clean pattern than go fast.

I would say an easy way to get over your fear of going that fast is to go to an arena or pasture and Make the horse run as fast as it will go so you know what your in for as far as speed and making him listen and slow down.

Just remember horses can sense fear, and barrel racing horses get really, really worked up when they can tell your nervous.

Hope it helped!

email me if you have any questions: [e-mail]

Kelly♥

Answer 6

u r doing th right thing wt walking him, he needs 2 du faster wrk though. try 2 trot next time just gradually build up. show him who's boss!!!

Answer 7

u should ride as much as u can in the short amount of time. exercise yur horse with light work then practice your pattern and body position only at a walk trot. if your horse is hyper to begin with and ur uncomfortable wen he acts like that the worst thing u can do, in my opinion is to run/rush your horse. go at the speed u r comfortable at and the speed u preform the best. barrel racing is a fast sport but its not all about speed, wat really counts is your pattern. but continue practicing at a walk trot then practice loping your horse in circles  and slowly move up to a lope wen u r both ready. if ur having trouble stopping mayb a stronger bit, and bakc him hum every time u stop him. practice stop at a a walk trot then a slow lope. wen the time comes its not always best to rip around the barrels.

good luck!!!

i agree with samz.

Answer 8

Hi,

Well I would recommend that you practice the barrels at a slow easy pace and take him both directions. (left or right)

Try and choose the side that you feel your horse is most comfortable with. (my horse is left my sisters is right) It does not make a difference.

Now just turn a barrel, be sure to show him how to turn a barrel properly.

Then walk the pattern, nice and slow and just let him get familiar with it. I recommend that you DO NOT lope, canter, or run the pattern. Slow trot or walk only!

If you just let your horse get familiar with the pattern before you know it you will be able to go faster. The best way to train your horse to do something like the barrels is nice and slow!

Believe me you don't want to blow your horse up on the pattern I have seen some pretty sad excuses for "barrel horses" thanks to being blown up on the pattern.

If you are looking for other things to do then just barrels try pole bending or figure eights. Maybe even just turning the last barrel and trotting home! Nice and simple!

Be sure not to over work him on the barrel pattern as well, try and find a nice balance of working and play. I recommend that you trail ride or do other fun activities that are slow and calm.

Just take it nice and slow and you and your horse will have a great time!

You will not be able to control you horse on the pattern at a run if you cannot control him at a walk and trot.  Make certain you exercise him by loping around the arena each direction for 10 minutes to help build muscle.  This too should help you confidence in his ability to listen to your cues.  If he doesn't listen well, and stop right away at a lope after giving him all of the cues (sitting deeper in the saddle, saying whoa, and using the reins), you need to find a different bit.

Hope I helped and Best of luck barrel racing is a blast!

Answer 9

okay so him wanting to go is agood thing...my boy is like that...after you go, get someone to stand at the finish lines with another horse, your horse will stop at there horse..(hopefully) and you'll win, cos he was so darn fast...in theory..have fun, good luck...be careful

Answer 10

If you're only walking now and are not sure you can control him, there is no way he is going to be completely trained in 5 weeks to run.  Even if you could control him, it takes longer than 5 weeks to train a barrel horse properly.  Either buy a horse that is already trained or wait until this same rodeo next years, so you can gain more confidence on the horse and have the horse trained and ready for the event.  People pushing barrel horses before they are fully ready is how you end up with those idiots you see alot of the time, sorry I can't stand those.  Those horses should walk in, run the pattern, stop and walk out.  Mine always have, and I've trained some pretty good horses.

I would not run a horse that I'm intimidated by, because that means I do not have the horse's respect yet.  But that is just my personal opinion.