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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 540
 
Location: My own little world :) | Ok so I have a question about what is the best way to approach a barrel. I have heard of having a pocket then coming in close on the backside of the barrel, staying the same distance the whole way around the barrel, etc... What in general is the most effective?
Also, do you think it is more effective to get a lot of lateral or vertical flexion. I see a lot of people with their horses really really flexed to the inside of a circle in slow/dry work and then I've heard of people that only want to see the corner of the eye and no more but focus a bit more on vertical flexion.
What are the pros and cons to these methods? What is fastest in you opinion and what is the easiest on the horses body?
I hope my questions make sense. Thanks :) |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
 
| I personally think it depends a bit on the horse... My gelding gets a nice pocket, flexed to the inside, shoulder up and hip in and finish tight on the backside. When I do slow work, I really overemphasize my lift on my second because hes been known to take the rein away from me and drop too soon so this is an exercise specific to our needs. I work on keeping my horse round all the time and really getting him to pick his back up. I want him to be collected and engaging his hindend without getting heavy on his forehand.
I dunno if this makes sense to you but thats my particular system pertaining to your questions. By no means a professional but seems to be working okay  |
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | I agree that it depends on the horse. Some really need to be flexing and "over-turning" in circles and others don't. I have a cutting bred horse and first I worked with him I did a lot of circles with flexing but it didn't quite work well with barrels, too much bend around the barrel. I then worked on him being more straight and seeing only the corner of his eye and it was a huge improvement.
Anyway, what I like to do with all of my horses when I'm going to my first barrel is to go in a straight line to where my pocket would be at my THIRD barrel and then depending on the horse I would calculate where and when I would be asking for his curve for the first barrel. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Both ways are successful, Dena Kirkpatrick teaches same distance all the way around the barrel.
Lisa Lockhart teaches the keyhole turn, pocket going in and tight leaving.
Both have trained successful NFR horses that knock very little.
For bend, I focus more bending of the ribcage, if I can control the rib cage, then I can keep them bent around the barrel and won't knock it. I also work on collection (shortening of stride) making sure they are driving from the hind end while maintaining same seed. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 540
Location: My own little world :) | cheryl makofka - 2014-07-20 10:57 AM
Both ways are successful, Dena Kirkpatrick teaches same distance all the way around the barrel.
Lisa Lockhart teaches the keyhole turn, pocket going in and tight leaving.
Both have trained successful NFR horses that knock very little.
For bend, I focus more bending of the ribcage, if I can control the rib cage, then I can keep them bent around the barrel and won't knock it. I also work on collection (shortening of stride) making sure they are driving from the hind end while maintaining same seed.
Exactly! See this make sense in my head but I know a lot of girls that really focus on getting that bend in the neck and head. I personally like more body control and collection but I wasn't sure if that was as effective as the other option. I think I horse can run faster and harder if they are kept a bit straighter in the face and neck. I've been training mine to really get up underneath themselves in the turn instead of being really strung out if that makes sense. I think of if you asked me to run as fast as I could, I could run faster with my face pointed straight rather than turned sideways. I've really been watching Kassie Mowry's runs and love them and would like to kind of disect her training methods/approach to the barrels. Am I on the right track? I know there is more than one way to skin a cat but I wasn't sure if one or the other was more effective. Thanks! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Zanadoo88 - 2014-07-20 11:52 AM
cheryl makofka - 2014-07-20 10:57 AM
Both ways are successful, Dena Kirkpatrick teaches same distance all the way around the barrel.
Lisa Lockhart teaches the keyhole turn, pocket going in and tight leaving.
Both have trained successful NFR horses that knock very little.
For bend, I focus more bending of the ribcage, if I can control the rib cage, then I can keep them bent around the barrel and won't knock it. I also work on collection (shortening of stride) making sure they are driving from the hind end while maintaining same seed.
Exactly! See this make sense in my head but I know a lot of girls that really focus on getting that bend in the neck and head. I personally like more body control and collection but I wasn't sure if that was as effective as the other option. I think I horse can run faster and harder if they are kept a bit straighter in the face and neck. I've been training mine to really get up underneath themselves in the turn instead of being really strung out if that makes sense. I think of if you asked me to run as fast as I could, I could run faster with my face pointed straight rather than turned sideways. I've really been watching Kassie Mowry's runs and love them and would like to kind of disect her training methods/approach to the barrels. Am I on the right track? I know there is more than one way to skin a cat but I wasn't sure if one or the other was more effective. Thanks!
The only horse I have ever seen clock with bend in the head and body is Martha, that mare was fun to watch.
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | I always figured the best way was to sneak up behind them. If they don't see you 'barrel'ing down on them, they are less likely to panic and fall over.. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 540
Location: My own little world :) | komet. - 2014-07-20 12:25 PM
I always figured the best way was to sneak up behind them. If they don't see you 'barrel'ing down on them, they are less likely to panic and fall over..
Haha!!! Are they like fainting goats??? Good one  |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | I typically teach mine to keep the same distance all the way around the barrel. I like them to be bent at the rib cage, rounded out all through the turn. I like to keep them bendy and round around the barrels, in a perfect circle same distance around.
Buuutttt… my mare Bunny does not turn that way. So I don't make her. She was trained to take a pocket and she likes to finish them really close. She is a bendy mare going in, nice and round, then finishes it more straight. That's how she came and that's how she will stay because it works!
So between the two extremes sometimes I find myself asking a horse to take a pocket and finish close and other times i find myself having them stay the same way around the barrel. My two young horses like to keep the same area around the barrel…The last mare I trained liked something in-between. |
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Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I do drills both ways as far as distance around a turn. I tend to do more drills keeping him the same distance away around the whole barrel but when I run, its more pocket and finish tight. Hes kinda developed his own style and I dont fight it but I do different drills to keep him listening. |
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