Tie down help?

Tie Down help?
I've been having this problem with my barrel horse that past year where when I go to turn the first barrel he passes it up and runs half way up the wall and someone told me that I need to get a tie down so I didn't wana go out and buy one if that wasn't the problem, so my friend let me try her's out and it worked so I went out and bought one that matched my tack set and put it on him at my rodeo and he went nuts he started rearing up on me he wouldn't turn it made him worse so this barrel racer that was there came up and looked at it and she said it wasn't to tight or to loose that it was just right but she said that I need to get a used one cause her horse did the samething with a new one so I have been looking every where I've been putting ads on craigs list and everything and I just can't find a used one anywhere:/ Does anyone know of a web site or somewhere I can get one?? And is nilon or leather the best to get???

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First of all, I need to ask you for some more information:

1) How old is your horse?
2) How many years has he been running barrels?
3) When did you purchase him (how many years have you had him)?
4) Is he your first barrel horse?
5) How old are you and how long have you been running barrels?
6) Are you currently working with a barrel racing trainer?
7) Do you have a video you can show us?
8) Has your horse been checked by an equine dentist? Equine chiropractor? Equine Vet?

Do no take any of these questions personally. We dont' know anything about you, so I have to ask questions to find out the answer.

When a horse has this issues it is usually
--He is soured on the barrels and needs a break or re-training
--He is in pain somewhere (teeth, back, saddle/tack, etc) that causes him pain on that direction of turn.
--You are asking him to turn too soon (rider error). If you turn too soon, he cannot see the barrel, and will often duck off or else hit the barrel.


Someone told you that you needed a tie down? Who is this person? Are they a trainer?

Because let me tell you that you do NOT need a tie down for this. You need to figure out what is causing him to duck off the first barrel, not just try to cover it up with a tie down.

You do not need a tie down.

Did you take the time to let him get used to the tie down, before you slapped it on him at a rodeo?

Either way, you don't need one, but you should never introduce new tack all of a sudden; espeically at an actual rodeo.

Again, who are these random people you are trusting? Do you know this barrel racer, or was she also a "someone"?

Do you yourself know how to properly adjust a tie down?

As said above, you don't need a tie down. We need to figure out WHY your horse is ducking off. Not just cover up the problem.

Well said Beau, everything I would have said and more. Tie-downs ultimately are a no go for me. Most riders use these as a brace, to cover up other issues and not fix them. I only use them for the horse to balance, then I even really do not like using them. Especially the new cable poll tie downs I've seen, just nasty IMHO.

Ok first thanks:)
1) He is 6
2) He's been running for about a year
3) I purchased him when he was 3
4) No he's not my first, I have had two others
5) I'm almost 17 an Have been running barrels sence I was 10
6) No I'm not working with a trainer, if I had the money I def would but I gotta pay for all three of my horses by myself
7) I do have a video actually a few but my youtube won't let me upload videos so idk im still trying to figure it out
8) He has been checked by a vet recently and he said there is nothing wrong with his teeth that they are doing great
9) the person that told me I needed a tie down was is a trainer so that's why listened to her
10) Yes I used it for two weeks (the tie down my friend let me use) and had no problems
11) Yes I know how to adjust a tie down
I hope this gives you some answers and THANK YOU for helping me out like this!!!

Ditto to everything Beau said.

I am also wondering how much barrel training this horse had and the process he was trained with. He could have been pushed too hard, too quickly and now the consequences of that are starting to show.
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Out of curiosity, how does he do trotting the pattern? How well does he do the pattern if there are no barrels there? How does he ride generally? How well does lope a small circle in each direction? Any stiffness or resistance to turning aside from the issue with the first barrel? How does he do if you reverse the pattern (ie, do the left barrel first rather than the right)? There could be clues in the answers to those questions that help narrow down where the problem might be.

Thank you for answering all of those.

If he's only been running for about a year, maybe you need to slow back down with him a bit. Although that's hard to guess without an actual video to see what's going on. So if you can figure out how to upload them on Youtube, that would be great to see.

Has he seen an equine chiropractor? If he has a back issue on a particular side that has developed recently, that may explain why he doesn't want to the turn the first barrel (whichever way you turn it).

I find it very odd that a trainer told you to put a tie down on him. Tie downs are to be used for balance **if** the horse truly needs it. Most horses don't.

Is there any possibility you may be turning the barrel too soon? I like to post Dena Kirkpatrick's turning style, because she shows exactly what happens if you turn too soon on a barrel.


She also had a great article in Barrel Horse News the other month, that explained why a horse would either 1) run up the fence to avoid the barrel or 2) hit the barrel, because the rider has cued for a turn too soon. Horses do not see in front of them very well. But they can see to the side of them well and they can see your knee well. So if you turn too soon, you put that barrel into their blind spot. They might panic because they don't know where the barrel is, thus ducking off to avoid it. Or they might just plain hit it because they can't see it.

Hopefully you can get a video of this uploaded. That would help a lot to see what is going on.

I trained him myself, just like I did my other two and one of them that I trained made it to college rodeos!! I make sure I start them right from the ground up, I don't rush them into things and if there is a problem I stop until I can correct that problem and sometimes I have to go back to the basics!! So anything that will fix this problem I'm willing to do!! Thank you everyone for all your advice:)

I will try very hard to get the video up, and yes I could be turning to soon to when I get into the arena sometimes I'm very nervous lol but I'm trying and he has perfect trotting patterns to, and this problem is only at rodeos he does perfect at home I couldn't ask for better it's just there I'm wandering if I don't haul enough???

If he only does this when running somewhere.....he might need more hauling time and get used to things before expecting to much out of him. The pressure of the loud and commotion environment might be a little to much to handle when asked to run right now.

I also agree on having a chiro come out and look at him....

Won't say more until you figure out the youtube thing and get a video up :)