How You Make Your Horse a Better Barrel Racer

Barrel racing is a high-speed sport that can be exhilarating, fun, and even lucrative if you are good at it. But a common problem with speed events is that a horse can become soured on it and learn to hate the sport or to become uncontrollable. Knowing how to make your barrel horse better is important if you want to excel at this competitive event.

Things You'll Need

  • Trained Horse
  • Saddle
  • Bridle
  • Arena
  • Barrels
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Instructions

  1. Making your Horse a Better Barrel Racer

    • 1

      Slow down! The most common mistake that barrel racing riders make is trying to do too much too fast. One of the quickest ways to sour a horse on speed events is to whip them into a frenzy while training them. The best way to train your horse is to slow down.

    • 2

      Walk the barrel pattern. Insist that your horse go through the entire pattern without jigging or fighting you to run. Walk the clover leaf pattern. About four feet from the first barrel, stop the horse and back it several steps, then ask it to set its head on the bridle quietly. Then move it forward and around the barrel. Make sure you bend the horse's body closely around the barrel and do not let him run. Make at least two-to-four complete circles around the barrel.

    • 3

      Trot the pattern. This step is identical to the walking pattern except you ask the horse to trot between the barrels. Everything else is the same. Four feet from the barrel ask the horse to stop, back up, set his head, then move forward and circle the barrel completely about four times. Then trot to the second barrel and so on.

    • 4

      Cantering the pattern. This increases the speed but not to a gallop. The horse must canter to the barrel, stopping about four feet from it, back up, then ask the horse to trot around the barrel two-to-four times, making sure it is bending its body completely around the barrel as it moves. Canter to the next barrel and repeat. Same for the third.

    • 5

      Repeat all these steps in order, until the horse is calm and moving without fighting the bit, and listening to your legs and hands. By repeating these lessons calmly and carefully, you are teaching your horse the basic skills of barrel racing. Precision can be made at slower speeds so that the moves can become habit for faster ones.