Barrel Racing Exercises?

Does anyone know and barrel Racing Exercises that will help me and my horse with barrels without running the patern? Because with my horse if you run it to much she will start to get sour. SO just wondering if anyone new any...

Use barrels in different patterns.Away from the barrels you can do circles serpantines and just create fun patterns that you can still incorporate the same cues that would be needed during a barrel run.

Turning ant beds in the pasture.

If your horse knows her job there is no need to even practice at home.
Trail riding and keeping her in shape will be fine.
Maybe some bend and flax work too.
If you want to still keep her fresh on turning then set up random patterns with cones, poles, and barrels (all together)--> never doing the same thing.

Thanks!! :)

Thanks, she is just learning barrels so she still needs some work :)
I will set up some cones next time I ride :) Thanks!

I have learned over time its not the pattern your horse needs to learn, its how to turn properly. I no longer train my barrel horses on the pattern, I just teach them how to correctly respond to my cues and how and where to place their bodies. I only run the patterns at shows or away from home. I will go practice at some local arenas just to season them.

That makes alot of sence thanks!!!

Your welcome, any time.

I just want to add the reason why this helps is because if they know what to expect every time they could start to get sour, drop into the turns, cheat the turns, or just loose interest.

There is no end of what you can do with a few barrels, poles, and cones..heck even things like tires, ropes, any weird object you can move around and create a new "game" with..you could do a ton of the competitive trail riding challenge obstacles..dragging logs, walking on tarps, going over bridges, doing the opening and closing gate tricks..You can put five or six barrels in a circle and start going to the right or left and go around each barrel working on your turns, change it up and trot to an opposite side of the circle and fake him out, don't turn it, keep going by it and go to another barrel...just new ideas and things to keep him on his toes and his mind working..

I had the same problem with Sonny. You can always try doing some stop and go exercise it helps keep alart and alway thinking, Alway change up the pattern. I add thing like cones and poles. So your horse is always thinking and doing something different.

Hope this helps