Posted 2016-03-26 7:12 AM Subject: Drills for a non-snappy 2nd barrel
Expert
Posts: 1631 Location: Somewhere around here
My horses second barrel isn't quiet as snappy as I'd like it do be, he more so arcs to the third barrel rather than a straight line when we are doing a run. Any drills or exercises that might help me and him with this?
Posted 2016-03-26 8:57 AM Subject: RE: Drills for a non-snappy 2nd barrel
Accident Prone
Posts: 22277 Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR
It's usually a positioning/footwork problem. If I have one struggling with their 2nd barrel, I will do the Connie combs style square turn and parallel stops exercise to show them where to put their feet, how to keep their shoulder out of the way, and where to plant the inside hind leg to finish the turn. Also, make sure your horse is changing leads correctly--I see some horses change in front and not behind, and that will keep them from finishing properly. If you're riding them forward from the hindquarters, this won't happen, but most people ride the front end more and it leaves the hip trailing and out of position.
Posted 2016-03-26 10:31 AM Subject: RE: Drills for a non-snappy 2nd barrel
Expert
Posts: 1631 Location: Somewhere around here
Three 4 Luck - 2016-03-26 7:57 AM
It's usually a positioning/footwork problem. If I have one struggling with their 2nd barrel, I will do the Connie combs style square turn and parallel stops exercise to show them where to put their feet, how to keep their shoulder out of the way, and where to plant the inside hind leg to finish the turn. Also, make sure your horse is changing leads correctly--I see some horses change in front and not behind, and that will keep them from finishing properly. If you're riding them forward from the hindquarters, this won't happen, but most people ride the front end more and it leaves the hip trailing and out of position.
Good to know and I'll try that. He is definitely on the correct lead going to and around the barrel, no cross firing. We had a problem of bowing out wide at the 2nd in the past; completely my fault because I was asking for too small of a pocket. I feel like we're just working through the consequences from before but it's slow progress.
What is the parallel stop exercise though?
Drills for a non-snappy 2nd barrel
