December 8th, 2008 
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Barrel horses are mostly stubborn, ringy, and they hardly listen to their riders. Because of this, many horse trainers have second thoughts in training them. If you were given a chance to train barrel horses, will you take up the challenge?
Well trained barrel horses have a cutting edge, ready to run barrels, and most especially, they have high energies. However, there is no reason for you to treat barrel horses like machines. Treating animals kindly is very important and there should be no room for cruelty.
You don’t need to train your horse to run barrels everyday. During the training, why don’t you try doing other things like trail rides? Taking your horse out for a ride, doing nothing and just having fun is an excellent training tool as well. By spending a fun time with your horse, your animal friend will be reassured that his life is not just about barrel racing; and that he can do fun things as well. This is another good way of using up your horses extra energy.
Consider putting yourself in your horse’s place. If you are required to work everyday, you will soon feel bored and exhausted. You will end up stressed out. The same thing happens to your horse. If you work him out everyday, he will eventually feel upset and uninterested.
During training, you need to train your horse to jump on the barrels. When you notice that your horse is tired, take him in front of the barrel and stop. Just stand and rest in front of the barrel. This gives your horse time to look around. He can explore the rest of the arena without actually running around. This breaks up the pattern of just running and jumping all day long.
As a horse trainer, you should learn a lot about your horse. You need to treat him as a friend. Every day, when you go out training, make your horse feel that he’s still your friend; spend time together without actually working out the lessons.
Before starting out the training sessions, make sure that you know a great deal about the barrel horses. You can read books, magazines, or other online resources. You must be aware that in order to become a good trainer, you must continue learning. By working with your horses, you will also learn a lot of things from him. Always keep in mind that horses should be treated kindly. You can’t get him to follow you by constant whipping or hitting. Being cruel to horses and other animals are punishable by law. As a trainer, you should have patience whether you’re handling your own horse or that of others. Make sure that the horse will not encounter any injury during the training sessions.
All the equipments you’ll need in barrel horse training should be ready. Make the environment an ideal place to learn for the horse. Bonding is usually the first step to training the horse. When your horse is already comfortable with you around, you can now introduce the lessons. Training your horse takes time and you need to invest a lot of energy, time, and effort. By being patient and determined, you can train your horse to become one of the best barrel horses ever.
Good luck with your training. Soon, you will see your horses competing in the various barrel events.
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How can I control a pushy companion horse?My horse is kept in a pasture with another horse (not mine – belongs to another boarder I've not met). This a very nice horse, but a pushy horse. It is often hard to get my horse out of the pasture gate because the other horse wants to follow. Any tips on how to get the companion horse to respect my space when catching my own horse?
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Slash the time it takes to tame and train any horse and eliminate all bad habits with these long lost Horse Training and Horsemanship secrets.
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i wanna ride a fucking stallion across the country!!!!!! they are awesome
boss if you rode a stallion more then likely youd be fucked off so fats you wont register it. We used to have stallions noone couled get up on them
You should start handling them when they are young, and before you can ride them teach him some ground manners and some training on the ground get him moving off pressure on his sides so he will understand better when your on him and asking him to move away from pressure which you'll need for barrels. and voice commands. working him on a lounge line or in the round pen can help out alot. You want him to have the basics down pat, or you will end up back tracking later to fix problems. Make sure hes flexible and can w/t/c both directions in balance. Don't always work the same pattern, mix it up a bit. Even if you can go to a clinic with the horse or just watch, even if your a seasoned racer you can get so much out of it. I went to a Charmayne James clinic last year in Maine, and i was amazed how much I learned! Not just with barrels, but nutrition, feet, teeth, chiropractic…If she's ever in your area I highly suggest it, well worth the money!!! Good luck with your baby barrel horse!!!!
Don't do the treat thing!! That will not give you the results you are looking for.
You can neck rein but you really should not. When you run a horse, you need one hand on the saddle horn keeping you steady and the other hand should be on the rein next to the barrel helping your horse around. If you neck rein you are not teaching your horse how to flex, if he can't flex, he can't "hug" the barrel. How many barrel racers have you seen neck rein a horse around? Goto http://www.youtube.com and type in charmayne james, kay blandford, kebo almond, or any pro that you can think of and watch how they ride. Go get Charmayne's books and dvd's, they are great!!
Ashlee, unfortunately you probably need more than an online answer for this one. But if you've run barrels that long, you'll probably do just fine – I mean the hardest part is knowing which way to weave in and out the barrels, so you will start by guiding the horse correctly through the barrels. Maybe you can find a local cute cowboy to get you started – that could turn out fun!
Good Luck!
The dominant male should of made them pick up that crap.
My horse is 14 years old and we barrel race and she is really good. I just have a a bridle, saddle, and leg wraps (which I would say leg protection is a must for barrel racing.) But other things that you would probably want to consider is a tie down, contesting reins, breast collar, etc….) here is a website that has really cool neon colored contesting tack http://www.smithbrothers.com, and in the little "search catagory" type in "neon tack" and a whole list of brightly colored contesting equipment will come up.
Some good exercises to get started with are:
1-Take one barrel and put it in the middle of your arena. Do lots of circles at walk/trot make sure he is always looking at the barrel. Once he stays a consistent circle around it then work on teaching him a "pocket". Your pocket should be at least a good 4 to 5 feet aways from the barrel. Its good to exaggerate your pocket now because as soon as you add speed your pocket will shrink. When you are doing this always make sure he has his nose tipped in. This will help him learn to "hunt" the barrels.
2. Take all three barrels and set them in the clover leaf pattern, but instead of doing to usual 1left 2 rights or the other way around do all 3 one way so when you go around the first barrel go around the second and third the same way so you will be doing 3 lefts or 3 rights. Again do this with his nose in (when at your pocket and turning barrel)
I wouldnt suggest loping the full pattern unless your footing is good and your arena is big. If you dont have good footing and a small arena and you decide to try the pattern fast there is a very high chance you could injure your horse. So while you are just practicing and getting him started keep it slow and consistent. Once you are ready to start picking up the speed I suggest getting a trainer to get the horse show ready and to reinforce the beginer training you will have already put on him.
=)
I would say before even touching a barrel, you need to get your horse supple and listening to you. Remember that speed isnt everything. I use to have a fast horse but my horse that could turn better always beat him. You lose seconds if your horse doesnt know how to turn.
Start with flexing. Start on the ground and make sure your horse can flex from side to side and make him supple to your hand pressure. Then make sure he can do it while your in the saddle. Then start with bending. Use your inside leg to get him to bend around it but use your outside leg to keep him moving and on the right lead. Put pressure on with your outside leg. Your horse needs to know leg pressure. When going around a barrel you should be able to apply pressure to either get them to move away if they are too close or to come closer. And if they swing their butt, then you can put pressure towards the flank with your outside leg and they will bring their butt around instead of swinging it.
Do many circles. This will help with your horses bending a lot. Circles are great. And so arent figure eights. Also you can put a barrel in the middle of your arena and do big circles, while decreasing them until you turn the barrel tightly. Then you can build up to speed.
Now for the actual course!
First Steps
Start by walking. Walk to the barrels, stop at your rate point, for a beginning horse this is about 10 feet from the barrel, by sitting down in the saddle and if you have to stopping your horse with your reins. Make sure you always stop at the same point. Repetition is what horses learns from. Then, back your horse up at least three steps or until he gets his hind end under him. Then sit slightly forward to ask your horse to go, and walk around the barrel. Keep your horse a little wide and then bring him in as you leave the barrel. Stay straight in your saddle and don’t look at the barrel. Look to your next pocket, he area in which you will start to turn the barrel. Do this at each barrel. When doing any type of practice, after you leave the third barrel, go left all the way to the fence and back down the start. This should only 3-4 times a week when you first start, you don’t want to sour your horse before you have even begun.
Second Steps
After your horse has mastered walking the pattern, and will basically stop on his own at the rate point, you can move on to trotting the barrels. Do the same thing, stopping and backing up at your rate point, the same rate point you established in your walking exercise. Your horse should remember this. So now you are trotting to the barrels and walking around them. Make sure when you get to the point you start to move away from the barrel, push your horse right into a trot so he knows that’s when he is supposed to move out. Do this at each barrel, making sure to go back to the fence after the third barrel.
Third Steps
When your horse does well at trotting the pattern, you can move on. Don’t rush your horse into doing this perfectly. It may take quite a bit of time, and you don’t want him to get bored. Make sure you do other things like trail riding, other events like poles, cones etc. Go out on a trail ride or at least out of the arena several times a week, even after you work on the barrels. So now, you can start loping the barrels. At this stage, it is going to be the time you will need to concentrate on lead changes between the first and second barrel. Most people can feel if their horse is changing leads ok, but if you have problems, have someone watch or better yet, video tape you If your horse naturally slows down at his rate point you have made great success! You should now be loping between the barrels and trotting around them. Make sure you push your horse right into a lope after you leave the barrel though. Repetition is your main training resource.
By now your horse should know the pattern pretty well. Run him in different shows just to get your horse exposed to running in different arenas and you used to his reaction. When you are practicing at home, don’t put a lot of speed on your horse, and don’t do it often. Once your horse is well seasoned, it usually isn’t necessary for your horse to see the barrels between shows. One thing I always stress to everyone is make sure you keep your horses mind sane. Go on trail rides, go to a team penning! Do anything besides barrels. It will keep your horse and you happy.
If you find and deficiencies with your horses pattern, go back to slow work and fix it before it gets out of control. Most times if your horse is have problems it is pilot error, but these things can be fixed.
And with practicing at home. Barely ever RUN the pattern. This burns your horse out quick. Within a two week time I will run the pattern maybe once. Slow work is the key to consistency!
Horses have five legs
someone ever noticed horse fifth leg?
xDDDDDDDDD
How gorgeous is that buckskin stallion? We dont have jack all buckskins that nicely coloured here in WA.
that wuz cheezy tbh… lovely horses tho
You need someone in real life to give you tips and lessons. You don't necessarily need someone to train your horse, but you need someone who can train you and help you to train your horse. But no matter what, go slow. Don't even attempt to canter the pattern for a while.
I suggest that you practice your basic horsemanship for a while before starting the barrels. In my opinion, you shouldn't start training for barrels until you can label yourself as "Intermediate." You need excellant balance and basic skills to be able to do barrels well. Contesting is all reflex, and you need to have the basics very well embedded in your brain, with most of your cues and adjustments being instinctual. My advice would be to just play around with your horse to improve both of your more basic skills and your bond. If you can, get someone to instruct you in horsemanship, and then barrels. I suggest also training for poles when you start training. Poles are very good for balance and use of your weight and neck reining. Yet again, start very slow.
My number one single piece of advice for you once you start training: Look up. When you turn a barrel or pole, do not look down at the obstacle, no matter what. Look to the next barrel/pole. Also, as you look, sit back in the saddle around the turn to get your horse on his haunches. You do not want him on his front end around the turn.
Also, the speediest horse will not win at barrels if they don't have good turns. The biggest mistake for beginner barrel racers is thinking that they will win if their horse runs fast between the barrels. The turns are what really matter.
Good luck!
<3 x
hmmmmmmm french steak
First build up the trust, then the ability.
Start getting him use to turning the barrel by making a medium size circle around the barrel and bring it in tighter each time. Trot him over to the next barrel and swing him the other direction in the circle, same thing medium getting smaller. Hit your third barrel and keep the pattern going. After he gets in tight on the third barrel, kick him up and take him to the gate. Let him know it's time to get there quick.
Praise him and give him a treat. Go again. Make sure to see which way he turns the best. That is the way you want to start and end your run. Whichever direction is the best that's the start and finish, your first and last barrel will be the ones that will get your time in.
Keep him at a trot and slowly work your speed up over time. Run your patterns a few times a day to get him knowing what you expect him to do. Get him use to running the same pattern each time to keep it in his memory.
You have a big open field to ride in? Ask the landowner to see if you can set up an area to practice in. Get some barrels and set them up. If you can't get barrels, go to your local tire shop and ask them for some throw away tires. Stack them up in your pattern and have at it.
It’s kind of like the social stricture of lion life except in the end it’s fresh ass and rainbows.
Hi,
The tips you received on the colt and imprinting are excellent so I won't expound.
{Wait for a while before you do any training}? You don't realize that every time you interact with your horses, you ARE training already. That is just the way it is. Horses are like sponges, sopping up both bad and good.
The type of breed you have is not really built to motor through a barrel racing course. not that you couldn't play around a bit with it. If you get serious with either showing or barrel racing, you will either need two horses or a horse for the event you choose.
If you want to train your own, I suggest RFDTV or buying DVD's on the event you are interested in, or getting a reputable professional to help you learn (and not necessarily in that order). Shadow a pro for a while an watch everyone. "you can learn something from everyone, even if it is …I won't do it that way!" LOL You can never know everything because each horse is a new individual and each will teach you as you teach them…
Good luck with your horse'y endeavors and if you have any questions from myself, you can e-mail me at lovesflyinhorses@msn.com ….I specialize in babies, young horses, starting under saddle and Barrel Racing.
Ask questions, questions, questions…and watch, watch, watch…you will learn a lot that way!
BTW to KOALA LOVER—–Stick to your koalas since you are obiviously biased when it comes to horse events… a horse can break a leg in the pasture or in a halter class…it's all a part of life. If a barrel racing horse is cared for properly, he is in no more danger than any othe horse being used for sporting events. Thanks for the encouragement to someone starting out…you are VERY helpful…NOT