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Barrel Horse in the Making

30K views 183 replies 13 participants last post by  Roman 
#1 ·
I figured I'd start a thread to show you guys Star's progress on barrels and to gather tips whenever. I haven't been on HorseForum in months so I'm glad to be back and hopefully I'll be more active.

So a brief introduction for those who don't know me, my name is Kate and I'm 15. I've been learning to barrel race for almost 2 years. I own a 19yo Arabian named Roman and a 6yo Quarter Horse mare named Star, whom this thread will be focused on.

I purchased Star in September 2015 and began training her on barrels in October. Our training started out a bit wrong but with the help of many wonderful people (thank you!) I started to really think about what I needed to do to train her. So let's just say January-ish is when I started to really train her and from there we began to move forward.

Up until now, I have pretty much been trotting through the barrels. She's been doing great! A few errors here and there and mainly me not riding right 😂 but we've been making progress.

I have decided to start cantering through the barrels. I had taken her back to a trot to work on a few things. Then I told myself the only way to get better at cantering is to canter! And of course making sure we can do it at a walk/trot.

This will document her progress. I will post videos tomorrow when I am on a computer so you can see what she was like at the very beginning, in between, and recently.
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#2 ·
My trainer came over to do a lesson with Star today. She was impressed with us but we still have some things to work on. Going to do lots of slow work for a while, work on turn arounds (rollbacks), rating, and getting better turns.

Star wasn't responding very well to my feet so my trainer told me to get some spurs. There was a boarder riding in the arena that let me use some spurs she had. They really helped! I admit I was a bit nervous about using them because I've never used spurs before and I didn't want to jab Star. But she responded MUCH better so I'm going to look for some bumper spurs with rowels, if my trainer doesn't find an extra pair at her house.

Also going to buy or get bit guards from my trainer also. I have a curb chain on my bridle but that does absolutely nothing with keeping the bit from sliding through Star's mouth.

So we have some stuff to work on but I'm really proud with where we're at and I'm excited to see where we go! I don't have any videos uploaded to YouTube but I will try to get a few clips when I ride her Tuesday.
 
#4 ·
Star wasn't responding very well to my feet so my trainer told me to get some spurs.
Granted, we are not seeing you in person like your trainer is, but I am not so sure that I agree with this.

The real purpose of spurs is to be able to be lighter with your cues, and make more advanced cues .... not to be "harsher" so a horse will pay attention to you.

If you need Star to be more responsive to your leg and seat cues, that's something you can work on. Very much in the same way that you try to make a horse soft to the bit. You wouldn't jump up into a harsher bit if your horse was "not responding well" to your current bit, right? You would work on making your horse more soft to that cue. Same should go for your legs/seat cues. At least, that's what I think.

Star may respond more briskly to you with spurs ... but if you do not change anything about the way you cue her, she could eventually become dull to that too. Remember to what your timing and your feel!

Also going to buy or get bit guards from my trainer also. I have a curb chain on my bridle but that does absolutely nothing with keeping the bit from sliding through Star's mouth.
Agree with the other poster. Bit guards will NOT keep a bit from pulling through a horse's mouth. They are purely to prevent a horse's skin from getting pinched in a bit that has a mouthpiece that slides (a bit with gag action).

What bit are you using now? Can you post a picture?

If the bit is sliding through her mouth on a regular basis, you are PULLING too much.
 
#5 ·
Agree with the other poster. Bit guards will NOT keep a bit from pulling through a horse's mouth. They are purely to prevent a horse's skin from getting pinched in a bit that has a mouthpiece that slides (a bit with gag action).

What bit are you using now? Can you post a picture?

If the bit is sliding through her mouth on a regular basis, you are PULLING too much.
She is in an O ring snaffle. The bit doesn't go through often, and I wasn't pulling hard. I had a curb strap on the bridle but that didn't work so I will try bit guards.

Granted, we are not seeing you in person like your trainer is, but I am not so sure that I agree with this.

The real purpose of spurs is to be able to be lighter with your cues, and make more advanced cues .... not to be "harsher" so a horse will pay attention to you.

If you need Star to be more responsive to your leg and seat cues, that's something you can work on. Very much in the same way that you try to make a horse soft to the bit. You wouldn't jump up into a harsher bit if your horse was "not responding well" to your current bit, right? You would work on making your horse more soft to that cue. Same should go for your legs/seat cues. At least, that's what I think.

Star may respond more briskly to you with spurs ... but if you do not change anything about the way you cue her, she could eventually become dull to that too. Remember to what your timing and your feel!
She does respond well to my legs but going around the barrels I have to use them a lot more and more firmer to get her to turn good and not go off wide. I'm going to trust my trainer's advice and try out spurs for a while. But I'll also work on getting her more responsive with just my leg.
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#12 ·
I can't comprehend how a bit could slide through a horse's mouth without some major force, or the horse gaping his mouth. :neutral: But I'm not going to comment on that one..
The video you posted was hard to see, but I watched some of your other riding videos and you seem to lean a lot on your reins when you ride/use the reins for balance. This is probably a lot of the problem, especially judging by the stiffness I see in the horse's body. Some body control/bending exercises might benefit you.
Your horses aren't hotheads from the looks of it, so you can probably disregard some of this article, but the exercises it contains are really good. I use just about all of them on my horses:
http://www.barrelhorsenews.com/training/training-articles/3311-body-control-with-clinton-anderson
 
#15 ·
#17 ·
I took Star to the neighbor's yesterday. It had rained so the outdoor arena looked a bit muddy so I worked inside. Here's two runs. Personally, I think the second one was a LOT better than the first. The first, I can't really tell because of the lighting if she was on the correct lead or not. I think she was, the second run she was and switched between the first and second. The 3rd barrel was rider error, I didn't nudge her to turn good so we came off of it wide. I'm hoping -crosses fingers- the the outdoor arena will be dry enough to ride in. It rained again today and I'm really hoping by some magical powers that it will dry up before I ride. XD

I need to learn to sit though. :lol: That'll help me be able to ride better around the barrels and get my leg cooperating.

 
#18 ·
First run, your pocket on the first barrel was decent. She again, lost the impulsion on the backside though and looks like she came out wide. I urge you to not keep letting her do that, as you are creating bad habits. That backside of the turn is ESSENTIAL for them to learn to power out of the turn quickly and snappy. You're allowing her to "float" back there and that costs a lot of time.

Second barrel (first run) that hand was WAY too low again and she's heavy on the forehand as a result. You left the turn wishy-washy. I want to see a nice straight line from one barrel to the next. No arches!

On the third barrel, get her to SNAP on that backside and finish tight. Again, think straight lines. Use your outside leg to cue that shoulder around. Rein hand was still too low but not as bad.

Of course, I don't claim to be a perfect rider (I make mistakes too) but look at where my hand is in this picture. I'm lifting with my direct rein and I have kept my hand close and QUIET. Of course, Red is more finished and doesn't need as much help....



....but even when riding my colt, you keep that hand UP. And I'm letting him go deep into the pocket because he's got a big stride and he needs it while he is learning.



Also continue to work on your riding. Especially evident on your third barrel, I don't see any change in your body as you approach the turn. No change in your weight, or your hands, or your legs. It's like you are just "happening" to let her turn around the barrel because she knows she's supposed to do that. Make your cues very obvious when you are going for that turn. This is where doing DRILLS can help you and her.

Overall, I love how quiet and relaxed your horse is, and she looks like she's trying to please you.

Second run, she kept her momentum around the 1st barrel better. Honestly, at this point, I'd let her go one more stride past the barrel before you ask her to turn. Really emphasize keeping her butt under her and keep her impulsion going.

Second barrel ...... you were on the wrong lead going to the barrel!!! This is where it is important to help her. I know it's a very small pattern you are working with but I honestly would not have been doing the pattern then in this situation, since your horse is not ready. You could have done some drills of all rights or all lefts or something like that, if you don't have the room to cue for a simple lead change in the actual pattern. Or, you could have worked the pattern by loping in-between and trotting around the barrels. All sorts of things you could do.

It's hard to tell with the dark video, but it does not look like she changed to the right lead on the 2nd barrel which is why she fell out of the lope on the backside of the barrel, lost her impulsion and broke to a trot. You also turned the 2nd barrel too soon, which will do the same thing.

Third barrel (Second run), you are STILL allowing her to turn too soon. That's why she's cutting off the backside and coming out wide.



What did I say in my previous post? Do not start the turn until your knee is AT or PAST the barrel. Where is your knee in this screen shot? It's not even to the center of the barrel yet and you are already turning. (Although I will say, your inside hand position is MUCH better here!!) I would advise you to set up cones when you do drills so that you HAVE to follow the cones and cannot turn too soon. Depending on your horse, you'll want to set them about 4 feet from the barrel all the way around.

Also, don't lean to the inside and don't lean forward. Sit up straight and stay straight in the saddle. Keep your weight in your heels, and keep them level or keep them down.

I really like your horse and think she's got some good potential. But you've got lots of things to work on.

I believe that TrainingBarrelHorses.com is free now. They're always uploading videos.
http://www.trainingbarrelhorses.com/
 
#19 ·
I looked through those videos. One thing I noticed several trainers do is circle around a barrel. I tried that today. Set up some cones as a guide to keep us in the circle and not go off somewhere XD She did good. She didn't seem very relaxed going left but going right she felt more comfortable. I'll do this drill again and I'm going to peek through the sticky thread in this section on drills. And ignore my sister's singing and whatever else :lol: and forgive the shakiness.



I tried to work a lot on making sure my hands weren't too low. I see they were too low occasionally but I tried.



My other video is taking forever to edit so I will post that tomorrow. <3
 
#20 ·
Circle drill is looking good. That's a nice drill because it builds your horse's strength. It appears that you were doing this, but the same rules apply in that circle drill as they do when going around the barrel --> knee always need to be AT or PAST the barrel.

One way you can make that drill more difficult (as I already mentioned in a previous post above) is you can spiral closer to the barrel, and then spiral away from the barrel. This really forces you to use your leg and seat, and helps teach those better to your horse. That is an extremely useful exercise because you want to have the ability to adjust your horse in a fraction of a second as you are making a barrel turn, and that drill helps you practice that.

On that circle drill, I like to throw in a STOP every now and then, get them on their butt, then do a quick rollback and go the other direction. This helps keep them on their butt.

Really work on perfection on that circle drill. You want her making perfect circles. It takes a lot of body control to do that, and she needs to be responsive to your leg and seat.

The circle drill is also a useful drill to help teach your horse how to turn with the rider only using one hand. Now, of course, your horse is not quite ready for that yet at this point, but you can "practice" by dropping your outside rein and seeing if your horse falls apart. If they do, pick up the outside rein again and help them. In the end, you should be able to spiral them closer or farther from the barrel by barely adjusting your one hand, and using your seat and legs.


On your second video, you still turn the first barrel a little bit too soon and she does not have her BUTT engaged. She's swinging it to the outside and is heavy on the forehand.



Work on gathering her and collecting her before the turn. If you need to, drop down a gait. So in this case, you approached at a trot, you could break her down to a walk and get her on her butt.

Hands look pretty good here though!!

Set your "pocket cone" farther away from the barrel so it makes you NOT start that turn too soon. The cone that you have on the backside of the turn, honestly you don't really need that one there. You don't need help with staying close to the barrel .... we need to get you OFF the barrel!!! Use your cones as guides so that they are on the inside of the turn for you.

Despite turning the first barrel a little too soon and her not being on her butt, good job on finishing nice and tight and heading straight to your next barrel.

Second barrel was much smoother, with a good pocket, and she kept her hind end better. See how that looked different from your first barrel?

Can't tell your pocket depth on the 3rd barrel due to the camera angle and the bright light behind, but the distance you went into the turn and the distance you came out of it look acceptable.
 
#22 ·
Circle drill is looking good. That's a nice drill because it builds your horse's strength. It appears that you were doing this, but the same rules apply in that circle drill as they do when going around the barrel --> knee always need to be AT or PAST the barrel.

One way you can make that drill more difficult (as I already mentioned in a previous post above) is you can spiral closer to the barrel, and then spiral away from the barrel. This really forces you to use your leg and seat, and helps teach those better to your horse. That is an extremely useful exercise because you want to have the ability to adjust your horse in a fraction of a second as you are making a barrel turn, and that drill helps you practice that.

On that circle drill, I like to throw in a STOP every now and then, get them on their butt, then do a quick rollback and go the other direction. This helps keep them on their butt.
That's a good idea, I'll definitely try that!

Really work on perfection on that circle drill. You want her making perfect circles. It takes a lot of body control to do that, and she needs to be responsive to your leg and seat.

The circle drill is also a useful drill to help teach your horse how to turn with the rider only using one hand. Now, of course, your horse is not quite ready for that yet at this point, but you can "practice" by dropping your outside rein and seeing if your horse falls apart. If they do, pick up the outside rein again and help them. In the end, you should be able to spiral them closer or farther from the barrel by barely adjusting your one hand, and using your seat and legs.
That would help me too also to be able to pick my outside rein up quicker.


On your second video, you still turn the first barrel a little bit too soon and she does not have her BUTT engaged. She's swinging it to the outside and is heavy on the forehand.



Work on gathering her and collecting her before the turn. If you need to, drop down a gait. So in this case, you approached at a trot, you could break her down to a walk and get her on her butt.

Hands look pretty good here though!!
Sometimes I feel like she's not getting down on her hind end and is just swinging her rear end around. I will work on that next time. And thanks, I really focused on keeping my hands right. :lol: Now I just need to work on not bringing them out so far so she won't drop her shoulder.

Set your "pocket cone" farther away from the barrel so it makes you NOT start that turn too soon. The cone that you have on the backside of the turn, honestly you don't really need that one there. You don't need help with staying close to the barrel .... we need to get you OFF the barrel!!! Use your cones as guides so that they are on the inside of the turn for you.

Despite turning the first barrel a little too soon and her not being on her butt, good job on finishing nice and tight and heading straight to your next barrel.
Could you show me what you mean by that? Like put the cones a bit farther from the barrel?

Second barrel was much smoother, with a good pocket, and she kept her hind end better. See how that looked different from your first barrel?

Can't tell your pocket depth on the 3rd barrel due to the camera angle and the bright light behind, but the distance you went into the turn and the distance you came out of it look acceptable.
She had better 2nd and 3rd barrels that day. Happy with it overall.
 
#24 ·


Here is the video of us cantering. I know we came into that first too wide, sorry! But the pen is small so if I circle her we go out wide coming in. I thought the first run was pretty decent. I apologize for the camera being moved all over.

I did remember you guys saying she was losing impulsion around the first and slowing down TOO much, so I'd give her a few nudges with my legs and cluck to get her going. I gotta say, I'm really happy she's getting her leads right! And her second barrel is SOOO much better. As long as I ride correctly and guide her, I can keep her from turning too soon and knocking it or going off too wide. So yay, progress!! But the 3rd barrel just HAD to ruin the perfect run. >.> She wanted to turn way too soon and ended up knocking it over. So I took her through at a trot to correct it, really using my legs to get her to go further past the barrel before turning.

I like the first barrel on the last run, it looks okay. The second and third were good also. Not sure what happened on the 3rd though. It looks like she almost turned too soon but then caught herself or else I made her move over more? Or maybe she almost stumbled. I don't know.

This girl has SPEED. A few times leaving the third she'd RUNNN home. I was like "WHOA, I can't wait until we start running the pattern." :lol: I'm really hoping the outdoor arena will be dry enough to ride in on Tuesday. Anyone that doesn't live near Kansas want any rain for a while? Just to keep it away from us? :rofl: Tomorrow I'm giving her a break from barrels and we're just going to go ride around the hay field and do some trotting and cantering. I like to work on barrels on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and give her a break at least once a week which is usually Saturday since I'm typically busy. Between a riding lesson and music if I have it, I don't have too much time. xD But I just like to give her a break.

Here's a funny video from today. I was filling the water tank up and she picks the hose up. :rofl: A few minutes before this I think she did it, set it down, and then smiled at me. I really wish I got that on video. :( She's just the dorkiest and sweetest mare.

 
#25 ·
I like to work on barrels on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and give her a break at least once a week which is usually Saturday since I'm typically busy. Between a riding lesson and music if I have it, I don't have too much time. xD But I just like to give her a break.
Yes, you definately do not want to work on the barrels each and every time you ride. Horses get bored when you do the same thing each ride. Remember not to always do the pattern; do random drills too so your horse does not get bored. Even when you aren't anywhere near and barrel and are out on the trails riding, you can still be working on circles, and leg/seat cues.

On your first go through trotting, make sure you keep her hip INWARD. Use your outside leg (back a bit) to cue that hip to go in. Even as you come trotting in to the first barrel, she's swinging that hip out.

Watch this video by Sherry. Now, of course, her horse in this video is pretty energetic and more high strung which is NOT what your horse is. So she is doing a lot of stopping with him, but again, I would not do stopping with your horse. But what I want you to pay attention to is how she is pushing his hip IN when she comes up to the barrels. You can even see her using that outside leg to bump him and push that hip inward, because she states he has a tendency to swing his butt around in the turn. That's also what you should be doing to keep your horse's hip engaged. Keep her hip inward. Use your leg.


Your timing on the first barrel was better where you did not turn her too soon.

Could you show me what you mean by that? Like put the cones a bit farther from the barrel?
I tried to draw you a picture in Paint. Use 2 cones at each barrel, placed 4 feet from the barrel. This will ensure you do not start the turn too soon and give her plenty of space. And then finish your turns tight and head STRAIGHT for the next pocket point.




Here is the video of us cantering. I know we came into that first too wide, sorry! But the pen is small so if I circle her we go out wide coming in. I thought the first run was pretty decent. I apologize for the camera being moved all over.
Her first barrel wasn't too bad. In a small pen like that, that usually is going to be your approach to the first barrel. You are going to come in wide. WHen you are on a large pattern, you won't feel like you are coming in as wide because you have lots of room. Your approach to the first barrel will always be slightly different based on your horse's running style and based on the set up of the pen.

Second barrel, she did not switch her hind end to the correct lead. Yes in a sense she has to learn on her own, but you should also be AWARE of it. The turn is going to feel very rough like she is bunny hopping. WHen you feel that, you need to break her down to a trot, and cue her for the lead again, and then circle the barrel a couple times until she does it nice. Do not let her repeatedly turn the barrel with the wrong lead (in front or back). This is where it take a lot of awareness and "feel" on the part of the rider.


But the 3rd barrel just HAD to ruin the perfect run. >.> She wanted to turn way too soon and ended up knocking it over. So I took her through at a trot to correct it, really using my legs to get her to go further past the barrel before turning.
She's only doing what you taught her to do thus far. :wink: You've been letting her get away with turning too soon and so that's what she thinks she is supposed to do. And you caught the barrel this time.

If you feel her wanting to do that as you are coming into the barrel, where she's wanting to go for it too soon, slow her down, and reverse arc AWAY from the barrel and do NOT turn it. She has to learn she needs to wait for you for the cue to turn.

I would have liked to see how you corrected it so I wish you hadn't cut off the video! If you do mess up and she turns too soon, do exactly what you say you did. Either break down to a trot and reinforce a good pocket, or you can continue it at a lope and make it do it correct from a lope.

This is where setting up those cones will help both you and her have a visual.

YOur hands are looking much better overall. Keep it up.
 
#26 ·
I'll definitely try getting her to move her hip inward and set those cones up! My "correction" was I took her back through at a trot and going around the third really focused on getting her to go farther past the barrel and not turn too soon. We knocked the barrel, as you saw, so I had to continue and then go set it back up. Then take her through at a trot.
 
#27 ·
We knocked the barrel, as you saw, so I had to continue and then go set it back up. Then take her through at a trot.
Nope, correction too late!!

Correct her immediately or she is not going to make the connection. It really doesn't matter that the barrel is lying tipped over on the ground. Go around it again. Make her go past it. When she's listening and does it nice, THEN you can stop and get off and pick it up.

You never have to continue the barrel pattern at all times. If she messes up somewhere, go ahead and "break the pattern" and school her if necessary. You aren't going to ruin her pattern.

My old horse I used to have would really anticipate badly on the poles. When I practiced the poles at home, I actually would never do it correctly --- on purpose. I'd skip weaves, go past the end pole, etc etc just to keep him listening to me. Worked very well when it came to show time. He still knew the pattern, but by "mixing it up" it forced him to actually wait for me and listen.
 
#28 ·
It has been raining the past few days. The farrier came this morning so Star got new shoes and I didn't ride her today. Didn't want to really because it would probably begin raining or storming. Even if we are riding indoors, I'd rather be safe at home if it were to begin storming. Hopefully it will be nice by Thursday.
 
#29 ·
I intended to post sooner but never did. This is from Saturday.



0:00 - 0:17 Sorry that you cannot see the 3rd barrel because of the lighting. Yea, we got a little close to the first barrel looks like. 2nd barrel, I made have not been prepared or else she tried to turn too soon, not sure.

0:18 - 0:50 Felt like this was a better run. Her 1st barrel needs some improvement but I'm liking that her 2nd is getting much better!

0:51 - 1:06 I did like the 1st barrel here but I think she was on the wrong lead >.>

1:07 - 1:27 Okay, correct lead to the 1st and it doesn't look half bad. :D 3rd barrel we came off wide so I circled her back around and got a bit closer.

-----------------

So I was sick for 2 days but felt much better by today (horray!) and did some practice with Star. This video is from today and she just seemed to have an off day. She didn't seem to go through the barrels as well as she has been. I'm not sure what it is. No missing shoes, no signs of soreness, and I doubt it's the ground since it rained all last week so it wasn't hard. Anyways.....



0:00 - 0:18 I was watching her move to the 1st and her legs just look weird, but I guess she just didn't have time to collect herself up before we had to turn. She kinda had trouble turning the 3rd barrel.

0:19 - 0:34 YAY for correct lead to the first! This was one of our better runs.

0:35 - 0:57 So then she started being a brat about the 1st barrel. She would literally run right past it and not turn which is why she were REALLY wide on the backside. So I circled her back around. At the 3rd barrel, she stopped on her front end and I bounced up, but got her to turn..still wide. She did this before I started videoing and I NEARLY fell off. >.>

0:58 - 1:26 I wasn't really that happy with what had been happening with the past few runs so I trotted her through. Perfect.

1:27 - 1:43 I cantered her through again and we had a MUCH better 1st barrel. Little stumble but she recovered. I think the 3rd barrel was my fault. I didn't get my reins gathered up in time to get her to move over so we came too close and she came out wide.

Like I said, we had an off day. Thursday, I'm going to work on pole bending with her so that should be fun!! I got some bit guards but didn't put them on, but I will next time. Ah well, we have our good and bad days. Learned a few things that I needed to work on. I need to get some shorter reins because I always pull my hand out wayyy to far, and I need to work on riding her better and gathering my reins up faster.
 
#32 ·
0:00 - 0:17 2nd barrel, I made have not been prepared or else she tried to turn too soon, not sure.
Both. She did not switch her lead in her hind legs, and also turned too soon. You can see her right hind extending out behind her (when it should be under her) and you can see that her shoulder isn't even past the barrel yet and she's trying to turn it.



Do a simple lead change between the barrels (break her down to a trot) and get the correct lead, and then make sure you do not turn too soon.


0:51 - 1:06 I did like the 1st barrel here but I think she was on the wrong lead
Yes she was on the wrong lead (and also on the wrong lead at 0:35 seconds, and also at 1:08, and yet again at 1:30) And not the greatest 1st barrel turn because of it. She swung her butt around (not much else she could do) and was pretty much pivoting around her shoulder.

You did FOUR runs in a row with her on that wrong lead into the first barrel. Do you realize what lead she is on when you start your run? If you are on the wrong lead, I would either (1) stop her, don't turn and barrel, and go back and try again (2) break her down to a trot, make her trot around the barrel nicely, and then go back and try again.



1:07 - 1:27 Okay, correct lead to the 1st and it doesn't look half bad. 3rd barrel we came off wide so I circled her back around and got a bit closer.
....No .... she was on the WRONG lead going into the 1st. She was able to fix her front at the last second, but never was able to "get going" on her hind legs. She hopped around the whole 1st barrel.


This video is from today and she just seemed to have an off day.
I'm not sure what it is. No missing shoes, no signs of soreness, and I doubt it's the ground since it rained all last week so it wasn't hard.

0:00 - 0:18 I was watching her move to the 1st and her legs just look weird, but I guess she just didn't have time to collect herself up before we had to turn. She kinda had trouble turning the 3rd barrel.
Do you know what a correct lead looks like? If you are asking for the LEFT lead to turn the LEFT barrel first, her right hind foot needs to strike the ground first. Then her left hind and right front will strike at the same time. And lastly from the left front. The left front "leads" the rest of the legs and so that is why it is called the left lead.

I pulled this picture from Google:


She was on the RIGHT lead as you were headed to the left barrel.

The more and more and more you allow her to be wrong going to the first barrel, you are just going to continue to teach her bad habits.

0:19 - 0:34 YAY for correct lead to the first! This was one of our better runs.
Finally. You had a nice first barrel and a very nice roomy pocket.

Unfortunately, the 2nd barrel was still much of a repeat of the same. She switched her lead in front, but did not do so in back, and thus "hopped" around the barrel with her back legs. This set her up to be on the wrong lead going to the 3rd, and the same thing happened there.


0:35 - 0:57 So then she started being a brat about the 1st barrel. She would literally run right past it and not turn which is why she were REALLY wide on the backside.
Quite frankly, she's getting frustrated with you. And so am I. :icon_rolleyes:

I feel like I keep advising/mentioning the exact same things. Once again, you sent her in on the wrong lead and she's probably getting sick of it, because it is very difficult for her to fix YOUR error. You're setting her up for failure, even though she is trying her darndest for you. She is certainly not being a brat. She's getting frustrated and I don't blame her one bit.

Quite honestly, I think you need to stop working on barrels for a while. You have to start with the basics. If you don't even know what lead your horse is on, you truly have no business trying to get them around the barrel pattern.


At the 3rd barrel, she stopped on her front end and I bounced up, but got her to turn..still wide. She did this before I started videoing and I NEARLY fell off.
She turned wide off the backside, because you turned too soon going in.



0:58 - 1:26 I wasn't really that happy with what had been happening with the past few runs so I trotted her through. Perfect.
First barrel you STILL turned too soon. Your knee is not PAST the barrel. Watch this video again:

 
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#33 ·
Quite honestly, I think you need to stop working on barrels for a while. You have to start with the basics. If you don't even know what lead your horse is on, you truly have no business trying to get them around the barrel pattern.
I second this. I have been subbed to this thread and lurking occasionally for a while and I have been thinking this ever since the first video. You have some holes in training that need to be addressed before you expect to make a good run.
Well done Beau159, you give a killer critique. If I were the OP I would be EXTREMELY grateful for all the time and effort you've put in to help out. :D
 
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#34 ·
I know I'm no expert at barrels (duh).
But sometimes it helps to reconsider your goals. Doing an exercise incorrectly over and over is only going to enforce bad habits. Maybe take a step back and focus on leads for a bit? c:
 
#35 ·
Trying to figure out how to respond. I am not the world's greatest rider. I am STILL learning. This is a learning experience for me. I know we'll make mistakes. Quite honestly, I was a little disheartened. But I appreciate your advice and know what I need to do.

Star and I worked on leads last night. Started off doing some circles and then did figure 8s with two barrels. Honestly, she can get on her right lead just fine. Occasionally she may not get it but I decided to focus more on left lead to the 1st barrel. So I just did a "one barrel drill". The barrels were still set up in the barrel pattern but I was focusing on only going around the 1st. I circled her several times until she was on the correct lead before sending her to the barrel. Videoed myself so I could see whether I was right or wrong (I was telling myself if it was the right or wrong lead). Most of the time I was right when I said she was on the wrong lead. So I took her back to a trot and made sure we were on the right lead before going to the barrel.

Now once or twice I took her back to a trot when she was on the right lead because I thought she was on the wrong one. It's hard to tell sometimes! Sometimes she could be on the right lead and it feels wrong, or I look down just to see and both legs seem to look the same. :rofl: But 9 times out of 10 I got her on the right lead to the 1st barrel. There may have been once where she was on the wrong lead to the barrel, but mistakes happen. I did take her through the pattern a few times. Couple things to work on and like beau mentioned a while back, I think, I need to get her off the barrel coming in. There was one run, she actually had a good 1st barrel. Wasn't swinging her rear end around or going wide on the backside, which I was happy about!

I have things to work on but this is a learning experience for me. We'll make mistakes and we'll work on them. I know what I need to do and as long as I remember to think :lol: we'll do it.
 
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#36 ·
Hey now don't get disheartened. We ALL run into bumps in the road no matter our age or experience level. It's great that you have enthusiasm for barrel racing! but the basics are so so important and should be re-consulted when we run into problems like you have. I remember when I first started learning about leads. it was hard for me to learn what it feels/looks like to be on the "correct" lead. It all comes with practice and being observant. Watch the shoulders and see which one moves last. That's what lead you're on. Soon enough it'll be automatic and you'll be able to feel which lead you're on with out even paying attention :) practice practice practice the basics until you know your horses buttons. Then the more complicated stuff like a solid barrel pattern will come a lot easier with a lot less frustration.
 
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#40 ·
Thank you @Spec for your help! It helped me out a lot and I will remember that. I rode Star tonight and worked on getting her to pick up her left lead. Pretty much did circles but I did take her through the barrels a couple times before we finished for the day. Now, sometimes I cannot tell which lead she is on or I think it's the wrong lead when it's actually the right one. She could be on the wrong lead and everything feels right, or I look at her shoulders and none seem to lead. xD Anyways, learning process. Here's a video..and I apologize for the quality. It was a bit dusty.



So starting off she picked up the wrong lead it looks like, so I stopped her. And I ended up having to flex her neck to the outside just a bit (watched another video on that) to get her to pick up the lead. Second go around she picked up the correct lead which I was super happy with. The 3rd circle, it's hard to tell but I'm pretty sure she got the right lead. Again, I'm sorry for how hard it is to see. Around 1:00, she got the right lead but I thought it was the wrong one, my bad!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with today's practice. She picked up the correct like 90% of the time, I messed up 90% of the time (just kidding :lol:). More practice on this and we'll get it every time! I'm hoping it won't rain again for the next couple days so I can ride outside and have a bit more room, plus there will be better lighting for videos!!

I also got bit guards for Star and *finally* put them on. I hope they're on right. XD And she got her own fly mask! :D



And a picture of my pretty girl tonight.

 
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#41 ·
That looks better. Main thing I would say is be sure you're riding quietly with your body, and be sure your "pressure release" after something "good" is distinct, so the horse understands her "reward" for doing something correct (give her slack on the reins, make her comfortable). Consistency and practice is key; ask the exact same way every time you want a lope so your horse learns that cue, and learns that the correct lead is a lot more comfortable to lope in than the wrong one.
Also, be sure you're practicing equal amounts going both ways (which I'm sure you already knew--sometimes I forget that part though haha)
 
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#42 ·
Alright, so tonight's practice went really well...if you ignore the multiple times I messed up. :lol: So, I figured out, that if I circle her before going through the pattern, she'll get the correct lead - as you'll see in the video. Literally, every time I circled her, she picked up the correct lead. Now me of course thought several times she was on the wrong one when she was on the correct lead. :/ My bad.



0:00 - 0:35 Yay for correct lead to first barrel. We still need to work on that barrel and get it better, cause it's like she a bit...I dunno how to describe it. As beau has mentioned in the past, she loses a bit of impulsion. So I'm going to work on that. That second barrel was pretty nice. But then her third was really bad, which I realized and tried to improve it over our next runs.

0:36 - 1:32 So this is where I messed up. She was on the correct lead the moment I asked and I thought it was the wrong one. She gets it again...and I screw up. It's hard to tell with her because sometimes it doesn't feel right and if I look to check, it's even harder. So I know it's all my fault and I didn't get upset with her, more practice on my part! I thought the 1st barrel was better than our last run. She wasn't responding very well to my legs going around the barrels but I'm not happy that my leg came up that far going around the second. >.<

1:33 - 1:50 I liked the 1st barrel, the 2nd she threw her up head which was probably my fault. I realized after this I need to fix my hands. Might not be too noticeable in this video or I may have realized before this run, but I've watched other barrel racers on videos and paid attention to where they have their hands when going to the barrel and going around it. So I'm trying to improve that and not have my hand reaching to Texas when going around the barrels. :rofl:

1:51 - 2:15 Okay, so here I did not circle her like I normally do and I can see that circling helps her get her lead. She got the wrong lead to the 1st barrel here and so she couldn't turn good. 2nd barrel, uh, we turned too soon and hit the barrel but it didn't fall over. :D 3rd barrel still wasn't good but a little better. I am going to work on rating with this barrel. Coming out of the 2nd she'll RUN right to the 3rd, so I'm going to work a bit on rating around this one to see if that will help her. It's like she just runs and when it's time to turn "Oh, right, we have to turn, lets just get around the barrel whatever way we can!"

Do you think that's a good idea? I also focused on getting her to come in just a bit wider and making sure she didn't turn when my knee wasn't past the barrel. Hmm...that might've been the problem too. Turning too soon? Definitely work on that!

2:16 - Here again, I did not circle her and she was on the wrong lead. I will definitely circle her each time, that helps her get her lead and me to make sure she gets it and I'm asking right. 2nd was good, I need to work on my hands!! And I thought the 3rd was better.

Okay, so question, going around the 3rd barrel, does it look like she is not rating or is she turning too soon? I've looked through our runs and it looks like we're turning at the right time? Maybe not? I will definitely be more aware of that next time.
 
#43 ·
Instead of always loping through the pattern the same way, you'll get better results (and a fitter horse) schooling walk and trot instead.

In you video, that's a lot of loping. I usually only lope my horse through the pattern once, maybe twice when I'm training.

I'm not seeing any rate when you go into the barrel, your horse is just kind of lolly-gagging the whole pattern, showing no incentive to sit down, rate, and use his/her hindquarters in that turn. Look up some rate exercises and really work on those. I'd also watch a few videos on counter arcs, and work on doing those as well, it will help with getting your horses shoulders and hindquarters under better control.

In all honestly, I wouldn't worry about loping this horse through and getting leads correct at the moment. I'd go back to a trot and really work and doing things correctly.

This is one of the video's I'm always going back to!
 
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