by: Lyndee Stairs, November 2012
Does your barrel horse swing his hindquarters away from the turn, losing precious time?
Let me tell you, you will shave precious seconds off your time by running straight to the side of each barrel. Don’t ever forget, straighter is shorter and a shorter distance is always faster. Straighter will allow for your horse to use his rear end more and have a quicker, snappier turn.
Moving their hindquarters away can be a common problem in green and seasoned barrel horses. First off, make sure your horse is not sore and trying to get off of his hind end. Sore hocks or stifles can be a reason for a horse to swing his rear away from the turn. Starting the turn to soon by the rider can cause a rear end to swing away also. Don’t ever forget you have an outside rein and an outside leg. So use them.
When fixing problems, slow down to a walk, (walk is a very under-used gait) and then advance to a trot. Maintain forward motion between the barrels, riding in a straight line. Again, shortest distance is always a straight line. When you turn, use your outside leg and rein to hold your horse’s hip in or directly behind him. Do not drop the outside rein and grab the horn to soon, inadvertently pulling the inside rein and swinging his rear end away. After you turn the barrel, line up for a straight approach to the next spot at the side of the next barrel about 5 feet to the inside of it.
Ride your horse two-handed with equal rein and leg pressure. Keep your hands at about hip level just in front of your saddle swells. Adjust the pressure you have to use to make sure your horse travels straight and stays straight from one point to the next. If you horse starts to swing out, use your right rein and leg to control the right side or your left rein and leg to control the left side. Also, if you are having a hip swinging problem, be sure you are not tipping your horse’s nose towards the barrel. The only time to tip your horse’s nose is when you are ready to turn the barrel. It is difficult for a horse to run a straight line with his hip behind him and his nose cocked to the inside, or for that matter, the outside either.
Even if you are just practicing these straight lines at a walk, do everything exactly as if you were running the barrel pattern. As you move toward each barrel, look at the spot on the ground about 5 feet directly to the inside of it. This will reinforce your correct body position while you are controlling your horse’s body position.
When you reach the pocket and after you have sat down and your horse has collected for the turn, tip his nose slightly by lifting the inside rein. Hopefully, you have your reins short enough in length that when you come across with your hand to turn the barrel, your outside rein comes tight. This will hold your horse into the turn and hold his hindquarters in the turn directly behind him.
My rule of thumb is to shorten my reins so short that they barely touch the saddle horn when my horse is standing in a neutral position. Too short to be comfortable on a trail ride.
So remember, the only place in a barrel pattern where you need to turn is behind the barrel. If you try to turn to soon, your horse will drop his shoulder or step in and swing his hindquarters out. If you have already created this problem, you can stop your horse straight at the side of each barrel, take a step back, then proceed forward and around the turn. Another way to fix this is to stop and turn away from the barrel. This breaks the anticipation of the turn.
When working your horse, balance him between both of your reins and both of your legs. Outside rein and leg pressure will help to keep your horse on his pivot foot and help him to make those quick snappy smooth turns and winning times for you.
When finishing your turn, at the point of push off, look up to the next spot on the ground where you want to go. Approximately 5 feet to the inside of the next barrel. Not at the barrel. When you do this you will automatically straighten your body. Push up and forward to go with your horse. Use your feet and saddle horn to pull yourself up, not the reins or you will slow him down.
Now you are lined up for a straight approach to your next spot. Your horse’s body should travel in a straight line from his head to his tail. A straight line is the shortest distance between point A and point B and the best way to make that winning run.
Until next month God bless and shoot straight!
