by: Lyndee Stairs, September 2012
In any sport it is the same: A winning athlete wants or needs, to perform at their best over an extended period of time. A horse is not a machine and may not understand your gold buckle dreams. So what do you do? How do we prevent our horse from encountering burnout? Think about it.
Many of us barrel racers attend up to 100 barrrel races in a year. Many hours away from home with little recovery time.
A horse is born with the ability to run to escape predators, and within 30 minutes of birth they are up and running. They were not born to stop and turn three times in an event that they do not understand the purpose of, or the function of the electric eye.
And most of us want a barrel horse that will remain calm and quiet, then run all out a minute later. Then we want our special barrel racing partner to do this over and over again. This all requires a rider to do her managing job well. Consistency and longevity of our barrel horse is what we strive for.
The most important thing is to have a horse that likes to run barrels. No substitute for it. The young ones who steadily increase their speed on their own once they have learned the pattern, seem to be the ones that like it.
A horse’s early training and foundation greatly affects his extended career.
You can’t put desire in a horse, but you can sure take it out. If you drill and drill and drill your barrel horse, you will take the “want to” out. As will pain, physical and or inflicted by the rider. Put a good foundation on your young horses so you won’t have to drill and drill later on to keep him working.
When you start a horse on the barrels, look for one that wants to look at the barrels and turn. If you have to drag your horse through the barrel pattern time and time again, he is probably not going to make a top barrel horse. If you pull your horse around the pattern, it may work for awhile, but there is no fixing it once the speed really hits and they start to have problems.
Once I start competing on a horse, I monitor how often I compete. One of the biggest mistakes I see is, when a horse first starts to win or do well, the rider just enters more. This is very confusing to your horse. He is doing what he thinks you want him to do, yet now he has to do it (in this case run barrels) more and more. Be careful not to just run your horse until he is sore and sour and starts to have problems. Take a break while he is still working well.
Don’t forget, horses have a confidence, or a lack of it, just like people do. I try to run my young horses and older ones too for that matter, where the conditions are good and I know he can do well. Barrel horses and people too, seem to have arenas where they perform well and arenas where they don’t. When I do have to run in less than opitmum conditions, I will try to help my horse more to keep his legs up under him and stay safe.
You don’t want to over warm up or over condition your barrel horse either. You want to keep that “want to” and fire in him. So, don’t forget turnout and down time.
Good shoeing is of the utmost importance. If your feet hurt, you wouldn’t even walk very far, let alone run barrels. I know that I am fortunate to be married to Lance, who does all of my shoeing, because you are at your horseshoer’s mercy. Correct shoes can also make or break a winning barrel horse and keep him sound and comfortable. We strictly use shoes made by Thoro’Bred. Check out www.horseshoes.com/thorobred. One of the worst things that I see is going too long between shoeings. We shoe our competitive horses every six weeks.
I also feed my horses Renew Gold (www.equinerenew.com) and Select The Best supplements (www.selectthebest.com). Good stuff, check them out.
I don’t demand that my horse act like a little soldier. either. He has a personality and I want him to be a winner. So I will tolerate a horse that doesn’t always stand still at a barrel race and may get a little hot. I want him to have that edge, just so long as he is safe and does his job.
Many of my barrel horses have been the type that did not do well alone. I do my best to accommodate him and keep him relaxed. Remember, horses are herd animals.
Another thing, when I do travel is that I have the choice of a stall or a pen, I will choose a pen. I feel being out is more natural and more comfortable for my horse and will help to keep him relaxed. Make traveling as comfortable as possible.
If a horse is making mistakes and you have to go back to the practice pen, don’t over drill him either. About four times seems to work for most horses. Sometimes, if you have been running alot, you just need to slow it down and go and correct your horse. Don’t ever forget to go back to the basics. And QUIT when he does it right. Unseasoned horses are going to make mistakes and you will have to correct that. You want to remember not to drill too much and take the “want to” out of your horse.
Putting too much pressure on yourself can make you put too much pressure on your horse. In other words, don’t take your novice horse to a pro rodeo and expect to get a check, because you are going to get frustrated and put too much pressure on your horse.
Most of all, pay attention to your horse. Know him. How is he acting as you warm up? How do his eyes look? The expression of his eyes? How was he when you brushed him? Run your hands over him. Did you feel anything new? Any bumps? Any sore spots? Change in behavior? A horse that has been working well and then is not, has something wrong. A good horse, that has been working well, does not just wake up one morning and decide he is going to be bad, something is wrong. Recognize when your horse is a little off and fix the problem before it gets worse. Changes in eating behavior is a big indicator of how your horse is feeling. So keep an eye on that also. Your horse’s condition, both mental and physical, is a very large key to winning. So pay attention to detail.
So, to keep one working, just think, A LOT, about how your horse is feeling about things. Remember, you cannot be a great barrel racer without a great barrel horse.
