I need to know how to figure out what barrel racing pattern my horse knows. I did not know he was a racer.....

Question

I bought him thinking he was a trail horse. Everytime I get him in a gallop on the track, he'll go just so far & then take an unexpected sharp left turn, circle & return to the track without ever slowing up. He's running barrels in spite of the fact that there are no barrels. I'm convinced he's trying to tell me what he's trained to do, what he's the best at & what he loves to do the most. I'll give him what he wants, but there are many patterns. Some racers go around the left barrel 1st...others go around the right barrel 1st. Do I take him around them clockwise or counterclockwise? Is there anyway to figure out what pattern he knows & wants to do? Where do I start?

Answer 1

im pretty sure you can go around either the left or right barrel first. i think its just your priority. but my advice to you is that if you want to run barrels or give it a try you should go watch a show where they run barrels and take note to which way the horse goes [[to the right or left]] and then learn from there.

Answer 2

he might just be freaking out. but if he is that driven to circle barrels, set them out in the pattern in the arena. get on him, kick him up (in no patulicar direction) and see which one he goes to

Answer 3

I believe this is the normal barrel racing pattern:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Barre...

I'm not sure that your horse is necessarily trying to tell you anything... I think it's just a conditioned response... every time in the past when he has been conditioned to gallop, he was supposed to run fast, make a sharp fast circle, then keep going.  He doesn't realize that it's ok now to just go straight.

You can run barrels with him if you want to, but don't feel like you can't teach him to do anything else.  If you want him to go straight, then take him on the track going straight and anticipate when he's going to turn and keep pulling on the reins to keep him going straight.  it'll probably take time to teach him that going straight is ok, but just keep rewarding his progress and he'll eventually understand.