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i need tips!

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  beau159 
#1 ·
My horse Scout is a very quick learner so he gets the basic pattern well but he can't really get up to speed well and when he does he starts getting wayyyy too excited. I know his back gets thrown out easily but I do have the chiropractor come out often so its not that his back hurts. Everything else is healthy. But he likes to crow-hop. So yea this feed isn't all about barrel racing but I need help :)
 
#2 ·
I need some more information from you before I can make some suggestions.

1) How long have you been training him for barrels?
2) How old is he?
3) Have you trained horses to run barrels before? (Or have you run barrels before training Scout?)
4) How often is the chiro having to come out?
5) Has he been seen by an equine dentist?
6) Are you sure your saddle and tack fits him well?
7) What bit are you using?
8) How often does he crow hop and what are you doing with him when he does?
 
#3 ·
All my saddles I use is what the chiro told be to use for his back (a high withered saddle) I havn't been practicing too much lately because it has been really muddy outside. My grandma who I share my horses with told me he crow hops because he's too excited. He only does it if I get him into a canter. He is getting better with that though. The chiro comes out maybe 2-5 times a year or if we do our back test and it hurts him.
 
#4 ·
forgot the other questions haha

He is 12 almost 13 and he gets floated once a year. I'm not very good on bit types (my grandma handles that lol) but I know we've used the kind ever since we bought him (6 years ago) and he has been fine with it. I haven't trained other horses to run barrels before but I did my research on it.
 
#7 ·
I'm not sure if this will apply to your horse, but one of my friend's horses would become really hyper if we put a curb bit on her. When we switched her to a smooth snaffle (with no shanks) she calmed down and ran better.
 
#9 · (Edited)
In my opinion I'd never run barrels in a curb, just personal preference. I run in either a snaffle, a hack or a Jr.cowhorse. Depends on the horse. I don't know if you've seen DrumRunner's thread, she's a barrel guru here along with some others. Gives you some great general tips and exercises.

http://www.horseforum.com/barrel-racing/barrel-racing-exercises-drills-116865/

Now, for the training unfortunatley it's hard to JUST watch videos and research. It takes experience, research and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears to learn barrels yourself and be able to train your own horse. I don't know if you have access to a barrel trainer in your area but that would be the best place to start at least in the beginning to get you going.

It is SO easy to RUIN a horse for good if you do not know what you're doing (not saying you don't) It sounds like he may? be getting hot already. Just be careful! :) Beau's right too. To help you more it'd be great to have more information, and maybe even a video of what he's doing.
 
#10 ·
I havn't been practicing too much lately because it has been really muddy outside.
Soooooo, how many days/weeks have you been practicing the barrels with him? I'd like an actual time frame.


I haven't trained other horses to run barrels before but I did my research on it.
What "research" have you done?

You cannot properly learn how to train a barrel horse by reading a book. Or watching a DVD.

No more than I could learn how to fly a plane just by reading a book. Or watching a DVD.

I only say this because a lot of us here on this forum have made mistakes the hard way. I am one of them. I trained my horse to run barrels when I was 14 and I did it completely wrong. And when I finally learned how to do it the right way, I spent YEARS trying to fix the bad habits on my horse.

It is so important to train a barrel horse the RIGHT way from the start; even if you think you'll only be doing small local stuff.

So we want you to learn from OUR mistakes so that you don't have to make the same ones we did. I cannot stress how important it is to work with a barrel trainer who knows what they are doing. It is very easy to ruin a barrel horse when there is speed involved.

i think it's a western curb? It has a curb chain (its not too tight) and it has a shallow port. (if i remember what it's called correctly) my horses are on my grandmas farm so I can't take a picture of it
Can you look on the internet and find a photo of something similar to what you are using?

Is the bit all one solid piece, like this bit for example?




Or do the shanks swivel, like this bit for example?





Ditto to what annoel said above.

He should not be crow hopping no matter what you are doing. It sounds like the crow hopping shouldn't be a pain issue, as he does have regular chiro visits and regular dental work, so we've got to fix the behavioral issue before it gets worse. My horses are allowed to get excited in the proper way, but they are not allowed to crow hop. You do not have control of your horse when they are crow hopping, and that's the whole issue --> You as the rider need to stay 100% in control of your horse.

Can you walk us through step by step what you are doing with him when he crowhops, and what do YOU do as the rider when he crowhops??

Or provide us with a video. It's hard to try to guess what is going on without the details.

But I would go out on a limb and say you are going too fast too soon in teaching him the barrels and your horse is 1) confused 2) frustrated 3) and doesn't know what you want. So he lashes out by crowhopping. That's my guess at this point.
 
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