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Keeping Your Barrel Horse
Focused at the Gate
 Anyone
who has spent any time around barrel horses knows that many of them
can become very excited very easily. Bring them anywhere near an arena
gate and they can go from calm to crazy in just a few seconds. Many
people think that this is acceptable behavior and all great barrel
horses behave this way. I am here to tell you that not only is this
behavior not acceptable, but it can be downright dangerous.
There are a lot of people out there who know how to train a horse to
run the barrels. The problem is that a lot of these people don't take
the time to keep the horse focused on obeying commands. These horses
are taught that upon entering an arena they should run full blast
around the barrel pattern and the job is done. If you tried to ride
this kind of horse you would realize that once you are heading in the
gate, there is not much you could do to stop or even slow the horse
down. This can be dangerous for the rider, the horse and anyone who
happens to be in the way. I have seen grown men get run over while
opening the arena gate because the rider could not control their
horse. This is not what I would call a fully trained barrel horse.
There are ways to correct this, or better yet, to prevent this from
becoming a problem with your barrel horse. First, make sure you don't
run your horse through the pattern unless you are at a rodeo. Once
your horse has been trained and knows the pattern completely, there is
no need to run him every time. In fact, unless you are having a
specific problem you need to work on in the pattern, you should not
even practice the pattern very much. If you do want to go through the
barrels you should walk or trot to let your horse know that he does
not need to blast through every time. Another thing you can do is walk
to your starting point and stop. Face the pattern and allow your horse
to stand quietly, then turn and walk away. If your horse won't stand
still at first it's okay, this may take time. The lesson is to get
your horse to be able to see the barrel pattern and not have his mind
go blank. Work on giving him simple commands to follow like backing up
a few steps or giving to the left and right. Make him focus on
listening to you. Once you have his full attention you can either walk
away or walk through the pattern. Repeat this process until your horse
can stop and stand quietly with a minimum command. Once your horse can
do this you should try the lesson at an arena. Most horses will behave
differently at practice than at an actual event, so you shouldn't
expect them to stand perfectly at first.
Your barrel horse can be competitive, full of energy and fast while
still obeying your commands no matter where you are riding. Being in
full control of your horse at all times makes for a better horse and a
better barrel run.
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http://www.Horsechitchat.com/equineforums Ron Petracek - Article
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