Originally a sport developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now become a sport event where everyone can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for quite a while now. This is basically a sport event that aims to showcase speed.
The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the intention of the racer is to gain the fastest speed by circling the 3 barrels within a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards as to the distance of each barrel, governing bodies normally have various preferences on how far each barrel needs to be set from one another.
The typical distance is 90 feet from each barrel. However, some may also use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting is applicable to all competitors.
The game begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. For this, the rider must enter with a slight angle since its much easier for that racer if he would not come straight onto it. A whole turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving towards the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will need to race towards the third barrel. The third barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will need to accelerate back to the starting line, which is also considered as the finish line.
Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you distinguish many of the most common problems and would try to advise a couple of things to discover a solution about it. Please read on.
The first barrel is generally termed to as being the "money barrel". This may cause the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Keep in mind that the main purpose of the game should be to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This is also the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you're certain to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the opportunity to take a little cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of lack of rate. Because the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency for being too aggressive. Thus, they will often either knock the first barrel off or they could pass over it. This problem is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.
Some horses often have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is referred to as "barrel sour" or "ring sour". This is known to have rooted from running a lot in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a break from the barrel routines. One ideal way of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.
Some horses tend to have no breaks at all. In this case, you must not let your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Solution to this problem can begin with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only when you happen to be confident enough of its speed as well as its capability to halt.
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