Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Training”
Barrel racing drills and exercises have been used for years to train and school barrel horses. An important point I want to make is that while the word used is “drill” this doesn’t mean you need to drill these exercises into their head or drill them into the ground doing them. Exercise is maybe a more appropriate word to describe …
Here’s a great demonstration of a drill that NFR Qualifier Melanie Southard uses to achieve the shoulder and rib cage control she looks for in her horses. She sets up 3 or 4 barrels with a cone in the middle. You will see her to do a regular turn around the barrels, but do a counter arc when she …
Jane Melby offers many great tips in this video as she talks about her riding style. She talks about body positioning, encouraging us to take the shape of the horses body. Jane also talks about using your horn as a method of communicating speed control to your horse and tells us why she likes to use a spiral drill …
In this video, Martha Josey demonstrates an exercise that uses 1 barrel and 4 cones. She alternates circling the cone and the barrel and says it’s a great drill to practice your guiding without having to run the pattern. Start at a trot and once your horse has the hang of it, go ahead and lope.
NFR Qualifier Melanie Southard offers some great video tips on how to keep your horse from shouldering the barrels and some exercises to correct this problem. It’s all about controlling the hips, not the shoulders! If his hip is engaged, his shoulder has to be up in the correct position. Shouldering is a (bad) habit and in order to …
Here is a barrel racing exercise for you to try. I use this one a lot and you can do quite a few different drills with just this one set up . HOW: Set three barrels up in a row (equally spaced) and you will be able to work more than one drill with your setup. In blue I’m trotting …
A solid approach makes for a solid exit. With second barrel, you want to make sure you are riding right up into the turn and getting your horse up into the “hole” (past barrel) before starting the turn (green). So often the horse and rider enter second barrel too wide, or in an arc (and hip to outside) which will …
Check your tracks whenever possible. The red line indicates where many people accidentally end up. Make sure your horse is leaving the second barrel straight and strong (green line). The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so be sure to keep your horse between your hands and legs to help him stay on the line. Look up …
If you are confined to a small space, or the only ground you have to work on isn’t that great, you do have options. Here’s a drill that NFR Qualifier, Futurity Winner, Calgary Stampede Champion Sue Smith does that will work in those cases. When your ground is poor and also when you are just learning this drill you can …
