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Location: midwest mama | I have a horse who is super ratey. If you even THINK turn, he does.
The problem I am having is that he is anticipating the turn at Barrel #2 and Barrel #3, so he is starting to set up too early, not getting by far enough and then he rolls over the top of the barrel and drags it down with his hip. I don't wear spurs on him because I tend to grip with my feet when I turn. I am wondering if wearing the "bumper" spurs might help push him up into the turn and even if I do grip with my heels he won't be being spurred.
What are the best techniques to push him up further into a barrel?
What are the best drills to work him on to get him out of this habit?
I have let him go slow for so long he has become even more ratey. I know he probably needs to be sprinted too.
HELP!!!! |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| I say yes for the bumpers if you can control your grippiness with your feet a little. It would give you more umph than slick heels but gripping will give you outside leg and you obviously don't need that.
Here are my suggestions that I have had work for me in the past:
In slow work (loping) lope your 1st and lope across the pen and go by the 2nd barrel on your pocket (whatever that horse is used to for a pocket) and when that horses TAIL is past the barrel (you will be way by it but I wouldn't go so far by that you are at the fence) stop him. Let him sit as to say this is OK. Counter arc away from the barrel and go do the same thing at 3. Do this until he quits wanting to turn without your say-so. When he quits anticipating lope him through and turn the barrels but do it just about a foot or two outside of your normal tracks on the backside. You want to allow him to turn them so that he doesn't start think his job is to go and stop but you don't want him thinking he's got to suck right back up in there either. Do that once and be done.
That would be 1 session for me ^
Next is carry a bat in your right hand and during a run (start this at a lope so you don't wig him out) smack him on the right hip a stride or two before the barrels to give you that extra push to get by. I did this on a little roan mare I grew up on. She was a drive until your legs fall off. To introduce lope the pattern and a stride or two before the barrel intentionally squeeze him a little faster or smooch and keep your 2 hands straight for a few extra steps and get him really moving- straight- before asking/ allowing him to turn.
That is only if you need by (not if hes dropping shoulder or anticipating really bad I would do the above exercise)
What I did with my mare on exhibition before a race one night was took her in at a lope and when she started to fade into the 2nd to soon (when I knew for a fact I was still riding in the forward position) I stopped her and spun her nose tipped into the barrel away from the barrel 360 and then over exaggerated tipping her nose in and took her way by the barrel (trotting at this point) and let her go on to the 3rd. The next exhibition I simply picked up that inside rein and she went a few steps by on her own. That night when I ran was he best 2nd barrel she's ever made. Didn't go too far by, didn't anticipate at all. I think my stopping her out of nowhere and correcting her on the exhibition got her attention enough to say hmmm I bet she'll correct me anytime...
I hope some of this helps. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1612
Location: Cocoa, Florida | I do a lot of counter arcs when I get to my turning point at each barrel during slow work with my ratey horses |
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 Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | I have tried all of the above and then some. Nothing seemed to help until...
1. I quit working the pattern in practice. If I absolutely feel like he needs a tune up around a barrel I will just set one up (or even better just use a cone or tire) and work that one from various directions. But keep him away from the pattern & barrels so he stops obsessing & focusing on the barrel.
2. I quit looking at the barrel during a run. Pick a spot on the fence past the barrel and don't take your eyes off it until you know he is past it. Keep riding like you are running him to that spot on the fence. This will keep you from tensing up for the turn.
This has worked wonders for me! |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | TBone - 2014-08-02 9:18 AM I have tried all of the above and then some. Nothing seemed to help until...
1. I quit working the pattern in practice. If I absolutely feel like he needs a tune up around a barrel I will just set one up (or even better just use a cone or tire) and work that one from various directions. But keep him away from the pattern & barrels so he stops obsessing & focusing on the barrel.
2. I quit looking at the barrel during a run. Pick a spot on the fence past the barrel and don't take your eyes off it until you know he is past it. Keep riding like you are running him to that spot on the fence. This will keep you from tensing up for the turn.
This has worked wonders for me!
^^^^^^^This! This! This! I do this with my mare because she will turn pretty much when you tell her too, but I'm a bad anticipator, and for the most part picking a spot on the fence has worked for us. I may try a couple of the other things mentioned on here, but over all this has worked well. I pick my spots out ahead of time so I don't go in there looking for them and can do my job. Also, and I'm sure this is different for every horse, but my trainer said make sure you get her shoulders past the barrel before going one handed (as that is her cue to start to turn) and it has kept us from tipping a lot of barrels as well. Good luck!  |
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  Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | Sorry to disagree but I would not stop a setty horse any where in the turn or before it for that matter.
I bet you are looking at the barrel. Start practicing picking a spot past the barrel and looking at it. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 253
Location: SoCal | I've had mostly free runners, but have had some ratey horses lately, and something that has worked for me with both types is to not look at the barrel, but look for my pocket and rate point. With ratey horses, this is where I push all the way to before asking for the turn, and they are likely to be farther in the turn than a free runners rate point. I'm one of those "ground lookers" where I am almost always looking for a spot on the ground, but it stems from the theory of looking where I want my horses feet to fall. Spots fall in or farther away from the barrel based on the horse's style and training, but you can typically find the spots pretty easily.
By looking at your pocket and rate point, you're not going to crowd the barrel as much going in for horses that try to turn too early, and if you remind yourself to ride all the way to that point, you tend to get farther into your turn. It's likely not the best method, but it works for me.
Every once in a while if they start to turn before I ask, I'll counter arc them the other way, but I try not to do this too often because I don't want it to become a habit. Occasionally after that counter arc, I'll stop them and go ahead and let them turn with a good diameter around the barrel and let them go to the next barrel. That way they understand they have to wait but don't get into the habit of assuming they aren't going to turn. |
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 Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | You will not "get him out of this habit." That is just his way. Learn to look outside the pen. Never look at a rate spot or barrel. When you feel him start to rate, gig him with your heels once to get that last stride you need past the barrel. You will hip many barrels on this horse. Good luck. It takes nerves of steel to ride a roll back horse. Learn not to worry about where his front end is because it's those big hips you need to worry about. Push him with seat and legs during his turn. It takes practice. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Be real careful about your body position they know as soon as you move or think you move they turn, thet is why people are saying dont look at the barrels. I ride mostly freerunners love them, but a few years ago a man ask me to lope his horse thru that he just bought i walked her around and discovered she did not move off you leg too well and i was told that she would not pass a barrel. I let her go and sat still until my leg got past the can and she turned the top off the barrel and barrel 2 and 3, i made her look easy, but she was not as you could not move at all or she would turn. Tye man had just purchased that horse and after i rode it about a dozen people wanted it, he did not sell and she was very hard to ride and keep barrels up. Was not my cup of tea. Love my freerunners.
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Location: midwest mama | BUMP |
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Location: midwest mama | Thanks for the suggestions. Anyone else? |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I also agree. Typically it is your body telling them to turn even if you are pretty positive its not. I pick a spot on the fence in line with my pocket and I focus on that spot until my horse is literally in the spot he needs to turn. I dont think bumper spurs are gonna help you if your body is telling him something else (in my experience). I will carry a crop from time to time and tap the inside shoulder (i think its a mental thing though and just carrying it reminds me to pick my spot and go there).
When i do slow work I over emphasize my pickup and really make them move off my leg and dont let them take the rein from me, I make him stay off my hand in the entire turn. I do a lot of just barrel exercises vs actual barrel patterns. I can work on me then and he gets some work around the barrels without overdoing the actual patterns itself. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 507
Location: Lost in the corn of Iowa. | I am running a super ratey one right now. And what everyone is saying is pretty much spot on. Don't look at the barrel, just learn to trust your horse. Find a spot on the fence and stay focused on it. This may sound hokey, but I am to the point of working on myself more than my mare. And I tried this in a practice pen when I was bored. I bought water balloons and taped them to my "spot" on the fence where I wanted to be looking. Made myself focus on the balloons and not the barrels. And yes horses that ratey seem to give almost no pocket when they like to do a rollback kind of turn. It's not the shoulders, it's the hips that will mess you up. I ride with regular roping spurs on so I can bump her past where she wants to set and turn at. Also I practice at home with a shadow roll on, that helped a lot because it blocks their sight on the barrel some. |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | you can also do drills that speed him up around the barrels. So walk to the barrel and trot around it.. then trot to the barrel and lope around it.. letting him know setting is not what you want. |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | With my ratey mare spurs tended to make her rate even harder...we did the leg yield out and speed up drills to no avail. The only drill that helped this mare was the break off drill. Busted that out about 3 times in practice over a weeks time, didn't want to over due it with her as she is the kind of horse that will hand you her guts and heart trying to please. She had been clocking in the bottom of the 3D top of 4, headed to a race and she busted out a check in the 2D run, I started to pick up my whip at about the backside of the turn where I'd usually have to over ride her to keep her from coming across herself in the turn, get on her neck and ride like a monkey to send her forward...almost got left in the dust but only got minor whiplash thankfully for grabbing the horn in time, LOL!! Found with this mare that when you do the counter arc you HAVE to do it with FORWARD motion, not a counter arc in place. For her that just put more rate in her which we did not need. She did however dash board me running out the open gate that was held open with a 55 gallon trash can....apparently she thought we needed to add another turn to our pattern.... |
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