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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
| Hello everyone, I am very new at barrel racing and I was wondering if I could get some advice from you guys.
I am an English rider, mostly Dressage,( which I love to do). My only western experience is when I team penned 20 years ago for a summer, that is about it. Although I am a decent rider, I have to be very honest and consider myself very TIMID as well ( I had plenty of wrecks! one about to loose my two kidneys and it kind of scar me for life)... I am fully aware how hot some of the barrel horses can get and I DO NOT need one of those as it will rattled me and that will be a recipe for disaster.
I have been wanting to barrel race since I went to my first rodeo many moons ago, I just never really had an opportunity to give it a try. The last three years it has been on my mind like crazy.... my neighbors are big into barrel racing and I've been going to see races with them lately and all I can say is that I LOVE IT....
My neighbors have been kind enough to be in the look out for a horse for me. They found one and I am going to try him out tonight. This horse sounds like it could be a good match. For what I've been told, this is the kind of horse that can walk in the arena and walk out...it can trot a patter, lope it or run it. He's 17 and knows the job and does it well and he is also sound! He really sounds like he could be a wonderful teacher considering what a drastic switch in disciplines I am making and all my issues as a rider! At this point, I am not even thinking of going out there and trying to win a race... I just want to learn!!!!
My question to you is: will it be fair of me to ask the owner if she will be willing to lease him for a couple of months to see if we click?  do you ride the horse once and make a decision? What is an acceptable ? I've never purchased a trained horse so I have not idea what the protocol is... And as I said... considering my issues, I know it will take me a few rides to really get to feel comfortable with the horse.
any suggestions? I truly don't want to insult the owner by asking her if leasing could be an option, or put my friends in an awkward position. But I do want to do what's right for both me and the horse 
thanks so much in advance |
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Member
Posts: 25
| Congrats on your dive into barrel racing!!! I switched from the hunter world and have to say I have absolutely no regrets :)
As far as a lease goes, I don't know many people who would be willing to lease a competitive barrel horse for that amount of time. You may be able to get a week trial, but honestly if I sell a horse I wouldn't let them go on trail unless I had a contract and insurance on the horse.
Your best bet is to ride him and see how he feels to you and ask if you can meet the owner at a local jackpot where the horse will be and make an exhibition run on him. The barrel racing world I have noticed is different from the hunter/English world in that leasing long term before a sale is much less common because of the risks involved in ruining a finished horse.
I also highly recommend a full vet check with X-Rays before you purchase. An older horse like that sounds great for what you need, but you want to be sure their body will hold up to the strain for longer than just a year or so.
Good luck and hope everything works out!!! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
| My biggest problem is that I don't know what I am doing LOL  I know there's more to barrel racing that meets the eye and I would hate to go to a race not knowing how to set a horse up etc...So how do you know is the right horse for you?
also... the fastest I've even gone on a horse is an extended canter on the diagonal LOL
I know, we dressage riders can be so... picky  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| Take your neighbors with you. They would have a good set of eyes on what kind of barrel horse this 17yr old is. If you do like him, ask the owners to take him to race. You can see how he acts at the trailer, warming up, and running. Sometimes sitting on the sidelines will tell you alot about a horse's character. Ive seen horses calm as a bug at home but then they get to a race they are a mess. Owners can talk your ear off on how nice he is but Ive learned to sit back and observe. The horse will tell you its story. Take your time finding a horse, if you are timid to start off with you dont want to jump on a horse that will ruin the fun experience barrel racing can be. |
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 Cyber World Challenged
Posts: 2526
Location: My Own Little World | spitzh - 2014-04-14 9:37 AM Take your neighbors with you. They would have a good set of eyes on what kind of barrel horse this 17yr old is. If you do like him, ask the owners to take him to race. You can see how he acts at the trailer, warming up, and running. Sometimes sitting on the sidelines will tell you alot about a horse's character. Ive seen horses calm as a bug at home but then they get to a race they are a mess. Owners can talk your ear off on how nice he is but Ive learned to sit back and observe. The horse will tell you its story. Take your time finding a horse, if you are timid to start off with you dont want to jump on a horse that will ruin the fun experience barrel racing can be.
This is exactly what I would do and if he seems like a good boy, then you try him at the race. Have them haul him alone because that's where the proof is in the pudding. A really buddy sour horse will ruin your fun. And welcome to the best addiction ever :) |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| Do you have a decent barrel horse trainer in your area? MOST of them have students, or would know someone decent to give you some barrel lessons. You will have certain 'things' to unlearn from your hunter background, most likely, and you'll need someone who can teach you how and when and where to do what needs to be done for a barrel run. A decent trainer/teacher can also hop on your new ride (if you purchase this horse) and figure out it's training style and know how to teach you to ride that horse.
But first things -- it would be surprising that you will luck out in the lease part, but ask anyway. If they know you are going to go straight into lessons and with who it may help, so check into that first.
And really first -- you might be better off taking the lessons and riding a few very trained horses first and see if you want to continue. The barrel horse market is pretty soft overall and finding a similar been-there-done-that horse is fairly easy in most parts of the country. However, reselling this horse could take a long time if you buy it and decide against barrels.
I started western, went to hunter and dressage only in college, then chose barrels when I went back into horses in my 30's. My reasoning was that I wanted to have some fun when I showed. In general, the barrel crowd is the beer-n-braut crowd where the hunter or dressage crowd is champaign-n-caviar snobs. I also wanted a venue not judged by humans. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | As an experienced seller I would not consider a lease, especially for the length of time you are considering. When I was less experienced I would try whatever I could to accommodate the buyer, unfortunately, not everyone in this world is honest and it is so difficult to have an iron-clad agreement. No more trials, payments, etc for me!
I am ok with a buyer wanting to ride the horse more than once. Typically, I meet them with the horse in a practice situation. My house or a nearby pen (my pen is not always up to par). I think this lets them get familiar with the horse in a low stress situation. If they are still interested in the horse after that, I will give them the option of trying the horse in a barrel race/rodeo. They can make sure there's no funny business when hauling, and that they can clock to the rider's expectations for a first time run.
Honestly, you should know after this. If you're unsure, don't buy the horse. Wait for the one you can't go home without.
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | I would recommend you taking lessons with a barrel trainer on one of their safe/finished/lesson horses before you dive into buying one of your own. IMHO it is going to be hard to know if the horse is right for you, even if you ride it, considering the differences in riding techniques from english to western. I think you should learn how to ride western "good" before you start to look at horses. You are going to have to know how to ride that horse how he was broke, not like he is a hunter. |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | ACEINTHEHOLE - 2014-04-14 11:05 AM I would recommend you taking lessons with a barrel trainer on one of their safe/finished/lesson horses before you dive into buying one of your own. IMHO it is going to be hard to know if the horse is right for you, even if you ride it, considering the differences in riding techniques from english to western. I think you should learn how to ride western "good" before you start to look at horses. You are going to have to know how to ride that horse how he was broke, not like he is a hunter.
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 Veteran
Posts: 222
Location: Texas | Congrats on getting into barrel racing! I'm a former DQ as well lol. The timidness will go away over time. I am still getting yelled at that "it's not a dressage pattern you're not being judged RUN!!" Lol. It's highly addictive and you will love it and it seems at least to me that it's not nearly as cliquey or as high stress as the USDF shows. Hope to see you in the arena soon!!
Edited by Married2Rodeo 2014-04-14 1:26 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
| I do have a couple of excellent barrel racers in the area that are willing to help me but the catch is that they don't have lesson horses. Whatever I get, I will be under supervision every time I am around the barrels. Also...this horse (or whatever horse happens to end up being my teacher) will be hitting the trails every other day if possible. I don't believe in constant arena work so I have to make sure he is ok in the trails as well. |
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 The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | ACEINTHEHOLE - 2014-04-14 1:05 PM I would recommend you taking lessons with a barrel trainer on one of their safe/finished/lesson horses before you dive into buying one of your own. IMHO it is going to be hard to know if the horse is right for you, even if you ride it, considering the differences in riding techniques from english to western. I think you should learn how to ride western "good" before you start to look at horses. You are going to have to know how to ride that horse how he was broke, not like he is a hunter.
Ditto. Try a discipline before purchasing. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Honestly I would suggest getting western riding lessons first, as your current riding style may not fit this horse and do more harm then good.
Every barrel racer trains a little different, myself I don't have constant contact on my horses, I also ride relaxed.
The horses I sell, I also research the potential buyers, to make sure it is going to be as good of fit as possible, I encourage you to research on the people and their riding styles, watch lots of videos even of then exercising, dry work, and barrel work, the potential horse, and other horses so you can see their style. |
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Member
Posts: 18
| A friend of mine bought a 90% finished barrel horse 5 or 6 yr old, she was running in the money but was a nervous nelly lucky for her she got in with a dressage trainer they took the horse back to basic, after a year of training she qualified for some big event I cant remember what but might have been the world.
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