What exactly is Barrel Horse Racing and Typical Problems Experienced
Originally a sports activity created by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now turned into a sport event where everybody can join.
Barrel horse racing has been around for many years now. This is basically a sport event that aims to display speed.
The race is pretty straightforward to watch. It is played on an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the goal of the racer is to gain the quickest speed by circling the three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there may be standards as to the distance of each barrel, governing bodies as a rule 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 action begins once the racer enters the arena for the first barrel. On this, the rider must enter at a slight angle since its much simpler for the racer if he would not come straight onto it. A whole turn has to be accomplished on the first barrel before moving towards the second one.
A 2nd turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made on the second barrel. And again, the rider will have to race for the third barrel. The third barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. Following a complete loop, the rider will need to accelerate back to the starting line, and that is considered as the finish line. calculate horse racing odds payouts
Like many other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We will help you distinguish some of the most common problems and would attempt to suggest a few things to find a solution about it. Please keep reading.
The first barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This makes the most difficult turn because the horse has to approach it at full speed. Remember that the main aim of the game should be to take it as fast as you possibly can. This is also probably the most tricky barrel because if you knock it away, you are sure to be out of the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will have the chance to take a little cash with you.
The challenge though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel on account of not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it has the tendency to become too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This issue is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to perform the turn perfectly.
Some horses generally have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is called “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is recognized to have rooted from running a lot in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through a little time off the track and giving your horse a rest from the barrel routines. One ideal way of doing this is usually to do trail riding.
Some horses are apt to have no breaks whatsoever. In such a case, you mustn’t allow your horse to run unless control is gained on it. Fix for your problem can start with running at slower gaits until progress is achieved. Run your horse on barrels only once you are confident enough of its speed and its capability to halt.