hot horses for barrel racing

I went to a BR show about a month ago, it was my second BR show I've been too.

Anyway the horses there were like really "crazy" ( at least to me being a novice). Some of them were rearing and spinning before they even entered the chute. Some had to be lead in because the riders were having diffuclty controlling them. I was simply amazed at how at how fired up they were.

One rider almost ran into another group of riders because their horse was so hot.

My friend said that those are the type of horses you'd want when barrel racing. Is this true?

No, that is not the type of horse you want in barrel racing. You want a calm well behaved horse that knows the time to get hyped up is when they're running the barrels. It's one thing to be keen and excited but still controlled. It's an entirely different thing to be flipping out and refusing to go into the gate or alley.

Those horses that are rearing, spinning, balking, and refusing to go in the gate are just gate sour as all heck. You see a lot of that behavior at the BR in my area too.

Its mostly a show that attention seeking barrel racing teens put on. "OoOh that girl sure can ride...look at her horse rearing and freaking out!!" The trouble is, it becomes second nature to the horse and before you know it, they are gate sour and don't run great times. I know some girls at our local shows (walk in rings, not a chute) that will have their horses led in and then proceed to rile them up. They want them all psycho. They think that makes them run faster. They are usually the girls that are stabbing their horses in the sides with spurs and so worried about beating their horses with the over-under that they lose all athletic postion.

There is no "show" in it. You cannot make a horse flip out before going into the pen. The horses that get excited like that know what they are there to do, and are excited to do it. I run the barrels. I happen to have a "crazy horse" she is amazing and doesnt mean to run into people but that's just how she is. Please, do not say that we try to make our horses act like that. We don't. Have you ever ran the barrels? How do these girls "proceed to rile them up"?

I agree and disagree with you. I know a few riders that fire their horses up on purpose to get them "ready" to run and to get people to look at them. They'll kick their horses while pulling back on their reins and yell at them. There are also people who have gotten their horses gate sour by running the pattern too much. There are also horses that just get excited before they go in, such as yours, but you could fix the problem you have of her running into other horses with a little time and training.

No its not, but not all horses will stay calm. My old gelding he will walk/trot right into the arena, no balking, rearing, spinning necessary. He just goes right in and makes his circle and takes off. My mare, she won't go, she'll rear maybe once, spin in a circle, then take off. My mare has never been over ran, never been yanked on or riled up at the gate, I don't even whip her going in the gate. It's just how she is. BUT if there's no room to freak out, she won't. I don't know why, just how she is. Also she's the perfect trail horse and anyother time she's a lazy pokey horse. Typically I'd perfer it if both my horses walked into the gate.

there's alot of show into it, not everyone does. But I've seen my cousin ruin a few good horses by show boating, pulling on the reins and whipping with her under and over. Basically ticking the horse off. Till finally the old horse flipped over on her. Now he's ridden by a 7 yr old and trots right in the gate. Sometimes it is the riders fault, but not always.

Many of the horses you see are lacking a rider who has some inkling of proper horsemanship. One of the reasons why those horses act like that is because whenever they are run, the rider is constantly either stabbing them in the sides or yanking on their face, they have no down time away from the pressure to turnturnturnrunrunrunrun. Many riders skimp on the training to keep the horse cool because that requires actual work, soft cues, and understanding. So many BR's don't have that and aren't interested in learning. There was a woman years ago, I can't remember her name now, but she showed barrels in the AQHA and some rodeos. Every single one of her horses would walk into the arena on a loose rein, run the pattern, stop, and walk out on a loose rein. They never got hyped or psycho because that's not how she rode them.

Some horses are naturally hotter than others but I would say that 95% of the crap you see in BR is due to the lack of rider horsemanship.

No... you don't want a horse that does this at the gate. It's a lack of control.

Not all horses will walk calmly into a chute... but rearing/kicking/lack of manners is unacceptable. That typically happens when I rider simply doesnt know.
All the horses I've run have had impeccable alley manners. All my horses walk in, and walk out. One of which IS on the hotter side, being an OTT appendix...even still, he walks into the chute and doesnt take a step to the pattern without my consent.

I've seen too many horses get hurt... I've seen horses go up and over onto trucks, into people, and running into other horses. It sure as heck pisses me off when I rider can't control their horse. I've had folks run straight into me and my horses. If I could, I'd rip them off their horse and enlighten them a bit. If one of them hurts my horse... there will be involvement from my lawyer...and I'm not the only one who would do so. So take that into consideration when you step onto the horse and think it's ok and "normal" and "acceptable" to have a lack of horsemanship.

In the end, having a horse that is on the muscle and ready to run... is very different from having a horse that is out of control and dangerous.

A lot of it is show. A rider I know razzes his horse up before running - yanking on his mouth, kicking him, whacking him with the reins, hissing at him. It makes me sick - it is a really good horse being ruined by inconsiderate riding.

All my horses walk calmly to races and/or stand still on the 10 yard line. I don't care how hot they are.
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