Tips for rider on barell racing?

Question

i want to do barell racing on him and he is gelded and he is also an ex-racer but i can control him he runs really fast and turns good but me as a rider i dont know what to do???

Answer 1

I was trained to barrel race from a pro racer, whose hubby is my farrier. She teaches this way so the horse tries not to get too close to the barrel and cause a time fault. She says to start slow, walking or trotting to the inside of the first barrel, keep your eye on the barrel at that time. When your horse gets to the back side of the saddle, then gently pull the horse around the barrel, with your rein as wide to the inside of the barrel as possible. When your horse gets mostly around the barrel, then look ahead to your next barrel. Repeat the process, turning your horse when he/she gets to the back of the saddle and most of the way around, look towards the next barrel. When you get around that last barrel, DO NOT race for home while you are training. She says that racing for home is the best way to sour a horse so they don't want to barrel race. You can "race them home" a couple of times, but don't make a habit out of it. Have fun with it and have your horse have fun with it. :) The faster the horse gets, the closer he will get to the barrel on his own.

I used to love to barrel race until my horse took me too close to the barrel and I lost a huge chunk of skin off of my leg on the barrel (I was wearing pants, believe it or not). I still have the scar. I definately recommend purchasing some shin/knee guards, which prevents this injury. You can probably find them in your local western tack store or online. I still raced, but I still have the fear I'm going to get another of those injuries.

Barrel racing is a lot of fun, but don't forget to have your horse do other stuff as well, so he doesn't get "arena burnout".