Originally a sports activity developed by rodeos for their wives and girlfriends, barrel horse racing has now turned into a sport event where everyone can join.

Barrel horse racing has been in existence for many years now. It is basically a game event that aims to display speed.

The race is quite straightforward to watch. It is actually played upon an arena with three barrels arranged in an isosceles triangle pattern where the intention of the racer is to gain the quickest speed by circling the three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. While there could be standards regarding the distance of each and every barrel, governing bodies normally 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 use 60 feet up to 100 plus feet. The setting applies 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 that racer if he would not come straight on to it. A complete turn must be accomplished around the first barrel before moving to the second one.

A second turn, but this time around an opposite one, will need to be made around the second barrel. And again, the rider will need to race towards the third barrel. The 3rd barrel then will need to be circled around in the same direction as the second one. After a complete loop, the rider will have to accelerate back to the starting line, and that is considered as the finish line.

Like a number of other horse racing events, horse barrel racing does have its common problems too. We shall help you distinguish many of the most common problems and would try to suggest a couple of things to find a solution about it. Please keep reading.

The 1st barrel is generally termed to as being the “money barrel”. This makes by far the most difficult turn because the horse has got to approach it at full speed. Remember that the primary aim of this game is to take it as quickly as you possibly can. This really is the most tricky barrel because if you knock it off, you’re certain to be out from the game in no time and if you passed over it, you will get the opportunity to take a little cash with you.

The problem though comes with the horse that normally passes over this barrel due to not enough rate. Since the horse is charging at top speed, it’s got the tendency for being too aggressive. Thus, they may either knock the 1st barrel off or they may pass over it. This problem is usually resolved through conditioning your horse to do the turn perfectly.

Some horses often have problems entering the arena. In this case, the horse is referred to as “barrel sour” or “ring sour”. This is known to have rooted from running too much in the arena or during practice. Sometimes it is resolved through taking some time off the track and giving your horse a rest in the barrel routines. One ideal method of accomplishing this is to do trail riding.

Some horses are apt to have no breaks whatsoever. In this case, you mustn’t let your horse to run unless control is gained upon 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 as well as its capability to halt.