Folk who know barrel horses know they are of a volatile nature. Take them within smelling distance of an arena gate and they get switched on like somebody juiced a detonator. The great majority of people are tolerant of this behavior, which they find normal for barrel horses. I don't agree. Not only is this behaviour unsatisfactory, it can be outright dangerous.
There are a lot of instructors out there who are very good at training horses to become barrel racers. The issue is a lot of them are so obsessed with the technical aspects that they don't pay much heed to coaching the horse on behaviour. The majority of this coaching gives the horse the belief that once it is in the arena gate, it should really go hog wild. I don't know if you've had experience with this type of horse, but if you have you may know that It becomes well nigh impossible to control it once it is near an arena. This is potentially very threatening for the rider, the horse and for anyone who is unfortunate enough to be close by. I have seen folks getting badly trampled as they were opening the gate to an uncontrollable pony.
Obviously, these horses cannot claim to have been fully trained. They are still lacking a lot in social graces.
You can prevent this sort of issue with your own barrel pony. If he already has a problem you can set about rectifying the situation. To begin with, never put your horse through the pattern unless you happen to be at a rodeo. If your horse is highly trained and knows the pattern intimately, you won't find it necessary to get him to run each time. As a matter of fact, unless you are resolving some issues with the pattern you or your pony or you both have, you should not even be practicing the pattern much. If you happen to feel it critical to run the barrels you need to keep your horse to a walk or a trot to impress upon him it's not necessary for him to streak thru every single time. You can also try getting over to the starting point and stopping there. Let your horse face the pattern quietly, then turn around and walk away. Don't fret if your pony fails to stand still the first time; he will learn soon enough. The idea is to get your horse to learn that he's not to let his body and mind go into overdrive each time he sees a barrel pattern. Work gently on him with 1 or 2 basic commands like back up a little or give to the right or left. Make him focus on you. When you have his undivided attention, you can walk the pattern or you can walk away. Keep at this exercise till your pony learns to stay rock still at the barest of commands. Once your pony has become perfectly at home, repeat the exercises with him at some arena. Horses customarily don't behave the same at home and at events, so have some patience and get him into line the slow but sure way.
The perfect barrel pony is a thrumming dynamo that nevertheless never disobeys a command, no matter what the circumstances. He is the same whether he is at home or at an arena. You will find yourself with a much improved horse and a much improved barrel run performance if you're able to exert total control over your pony.
There are a lot of instructors out there who are very good at training horses to become barrel racers. The issue is a lot of them are so obsessed with the technical aspects that they don't pay much heed to coaching the horse on behaviour. The majority of this coaching gives the horse the belief that once it is in the arena gate, it should really go hog wild. I don't know if you've had experience with this type of horse, but if you have you may know that It becomes well nigh impossible to control it once it is near an arena. This is potentially very threatening for the rider, the horse and for anyone who is unfortunate enough to be close by. I have seen folks getting badly trampled as they were opening the gate to an uncontrollable pony.
Obviously, these horses cannot claim to have been fully trained. They are still lacking a lot in social graces.
You can prevent this sort of issue with your own barrel pony. If he already has a problem you can set about rectifying the situation. To begin with, never put your horse through the pattern unless you happen to be at a rodeo. If your horse is highly trained and knows the pattern intimately, you won't find it necessary to get him to run each time. As a matter of fact, unless you are resolving some issues with the pattern you or your pony or you both have, you should not even be practicing the pattern much. If you happen to feel it critical to run the barrels you need to keep your horse to a walk or a trot to impress upon him it's not necessary for him to streak thru every single time. You can also try getting over to the starting point and stopping there. Let your horse face the pattern quietly, then turn around and walk away. Don't fret if your pony fails to stand still the first time; he will learn soon enough. The idea is to get your horse to learn that he's not to let his body and mind go into overdrive each time he sees a barrel pattern. Work gently on him with 1 or 2 basic commands like back up a little or give to the right or left. Make him focus on you. When you have his undivided attention, you can walk the pattern or you can walk away. Keep at this exercise till your pony learns to stay rock still at the barest of commands. Once your pony has become perfectly at home, repeat the exercises with him at some arena. Horses customarily don't behave the same at home and at events, so have some patience and get him into line the slow but sure way.
The perfect barrel pony is a thrumming dynamo that nevertheless never disobeys a command, no matter what the circumstances. He is the same whether he is at home or at an arena. You will find yourself with a much improved horse and a much improved barrel run performance if you're able to exert total control over your pony.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
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