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Keeping Your Barrel Horse Focused at the Gate

By Ron Petracek

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Published: 29Jan2007
Word count: 543
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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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