i have a 5 year old standard bred mare & i was wondering how should i go about training her to barrel race.
Well when your training a barrel horse you DO NOT RUN THEM .... it takes about 6-8 months to train a barrel horse. And they need to know more than to just stop and turn. They also need to know ..
-How to move off of your leg
-Flex to both sides
-Back up
-Side Pass
-Turn on their hind end
So for the first month you just want to walk her ...
1. Walk to the barrel, about 5 feet from the barrel STOP and BACK her up about 3 steps. Then make a pocket anywhere from 3-5 feet from the barrel. Then walk her to the second and about 5 feet STOP and BACK her up 3 steps. Do the same with the third. And then walk her straight home while petting her. Do that a few more times. Then just walk her through with out stopping every now and then but keep making the pocket.
2. Set up cones in random places around the arena then ask her to randomly turn them and make sure she is engaging her hind end and not swinging her butt out. And just do this at a walk and a slow trot.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Then after you have had her walking for a good month then you can start TROTTING her around the barrels ...
1. Ask her to trot to the barrels then stop at her 5 feet from the barrel and ask her to back up (same as walking her) then ask her to WALK around the barrel keeping the pocket, then when you have come out of the barrel TROT her to the second then ask her to stop about 5 feet from the barrel and back up, then ask her to walk. Do the same with the third.
2. After a few weeks then ask her to trot around the barrel after you stop and make her back up. But a slow controlled trot, then trot to the second and do the same. And also keep doing lots of walking through also, just alternate and do each about 3 times then call it good for the day.
After doing lots of trotting and walking for about 3 months and she is responding well and isn't getting pushy you can ask her to lope to the first, stop about 5 feet from the barrel and back her up. Then ask her to WALK around the barrel for about a week. Then ask her to trot around them after you stop and back her up. And lots of walking and trotting as well.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Once you do that for about 2-3 weeks then if YOU feel that she is READY you can ask her to stop then lope around them. As you want her to be controlled and understand what you want. And do that until you feel she can slowly start to lope the pattern with out stopping. And when you start loping her with out stopping then where you usually stop her check her lightly and she should be at the point where she will rate down and turn. Which is what you want.
So then you can start taking her to barrel races and do TIME ONLY's. DO NOT enter the race and run her. Just start hauling her and riding her around and do Time onlys and just work her then slow lope her through. Thats the best way to get miles an hours under her belt. And once you have done loping for a month or more then you can start letting her go her OWN speed that she wants and dont push her. Let her go her own pace ..... so you NEED to be PATIENT and not rush her.
But the BIG thing about training a Barrel Horse is you want to take your time and do it SLOW and RIGHT. Because if you rush them your gonna get a stupid horse that is dingy and gate sour. And alternate, some days just walk her through the barrels, or don't even work the barrels just ride her or work on flexing and stopping, or moving off of your leg.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com If you have questions PLEASE feel free to Email me as I have experience training barrel horses.
Before you begin to work on the barrels with you horse, she should first be able to:
-Neck rein
-Stop on cue
-Back up
-Sidepass
-Simple and flying lead changes
-Respond to leg pressure
-Move at any gate (walk, trot, gallop) in a controlled manner, on a loose rein
-Basically, you should be able to ask your horse to move their body in any way you wish and they need to respond
When you can do all that, THEN you are ready to start the barrel pattern.
Barrel racing is a lot more than kicking and spurring around 3 barrels as fast as you can. It is all about very refined control and precision at high speeds.
There are a lot of resources out there with books and DVDs by Charmayne James, Martha Josey, Marlene McRae, Sherri Cervi, Sharon Camarillo, and many more. There are also many videos on YouTube with training tips.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
But the best thing that will help you train your horse for barrels is if you have a trusted friend who barrel races who can help you train your horse. If you don't know of anyone, start making connections! Go to local barrel races in your area and watch. See who the winning riders are and who do a good job with their horses and then go introduce yourself and talk about your intentions. If they aren't willing to help they may know of someone who is.
