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Expert
Posts: 1561
  
Location: North of where I want to be | Has anyone had any experience taking one from roping to barrels?
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 754
Location: Arkansas | I've turned several rope horses into barrel horses. The best advice I can give is to make sure they have a good handle before you start them. Some rope horses are really broke--others don't know a right lead exists, lol. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| That right lead can be something that needs to be reminded, but I have had success doing this and prefer horses that have been roped on. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Depends on the horse. We have one who is a pro rodeo class head horse and he's taken to barrels with our 9 year old niece like a fish to water. He's also freaky athletic and about as broke as they come.
We have a couple other young ones that we want to start on the pattern to increase resale value, but they need a lot of wet saddle pads to rebalance them on the right lead.
My big horse is barrel bred to the hilt but fell into a job as a head horse fairly young. When we got him it was pretty obvious he knew what to do with a barrel, but 8 years of roping has him pretty rusty. Finished the season a solid 3D/4D horse - pleased with that since he rides totally different than my little horse and excited for next year. |
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Location: KS | All of our rope horses (head and heel) are also started on the barrels, most of them get hauled and competed on as well. The rope horses that we have started here are pretty balanced and started correctly so its usually not an issue to go to the barrels. The few finished rope horses that I have started have required a lot of work on the right side (leads/suppleness) to get them to turn correctly. We feel like it makes a better, more well-rounded horse. The few things I have noticed is that barrel horses with alley issues will usually have box issues and vice versa, so you have to work through that one way or the other. I work the rope horses to the right and to the left on barrels and that seems to help them as well. |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
Location: North of where I want to be | Thank you so much for all the input.
I have not decided to turn him to barrels yet, just curious what issues may arise that are "typical" if you will.
I have cruised him thru just for fun a time or 2. He is pretty balanced just out of shape. My biggest issue with him was he braces expecting someone a little heavier handed and needed to be reminded that his body can & will flex laterally. |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | Through the years I had two horses that roped and ran barrels. The last one could run with the pro girls and was a pro level rope horse, too. He carried me through college rodeo doing all the events and won a heck of lot in breed shows. He retired sound and sane. I think it was good for him to have more than one job. Oh - and I also hazed on him. Miss him very much. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 966
Location: Loco,Ok | Do both. It helps |
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Good Ole Boys just Fine with Me
Posts: 2869
Location: SE Missouri | My hubby wouldn't have rope horses without my barrel horses, lol! We get everything really broke then they get started on barrels and the hot heels as a change up. His head horse now (very nice) was a barrelhorse for two years before I passed him on. It actually makes it fun to go run barrels on him occasionally bc he's just so broke and fun.
I won an ultimate 30+ cowgirl deal on him this summer. Ran poles, barrels, goat tied, and steer stopped. He had never been clocked on poles, hadn't ran barrels in two years, had breakaways 6 calves on him. I had a blast and can't wait to go back! He did so good. Horses like him just remind of the true allaround horses that used to be pretty common! I think it's great for them. If they are broke you won't have any issues. Keeping the rope horses soft is something we do anyway but I'd say typically that will be the weakest area to work on. |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
Location: North of where I want to be | So, knowing this question is quite subjective, what bits are you all using for these guys? I find for my and the way I ride some thing like the Ellit spur with a 3 piece mouth works best, but I ride a lot like a dressage rider so I actually take everything back to a d ring and bring them forward. I like super soft horses. |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| Like you said, get that lateral flex down and you'll be golden :) That's really the only thing I've ever had to do to get the rope ponies ready for barrels.
As far as bits, I really like something soft with a chain mouth on my rope horses. I feel like the chain mouth, you can get more specific feel to one side or the other, if that makes sense, whereas a more solid, less broken bit, when I touch them, I get too much rate instead of lateral movement. I like to use a loose tie-down on a rope horse as I feel that they know how to use it to rate and in the quick turns. I never really had one that I liked a bridle with a noseband, because I feel like they push on it like the tie-down. Just what I have found riding several over the years. |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
Location: North of where I want to be | Thank you. I was wondering about the noseband vs tie down as he was trained with it & I prefer just a noseband. But I did notice even loose he seems more comfortable with it. |
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 Hot Dispatcher
Posts: 10185
Location: Utah | I have stole a few heel horses since meeting my husband  . I think it is great for horses to do both. We rope off of ours before they start on the barrels. I think it teaches them where to put their feet and how to rate naturally. I have had a few that feel more natural to the left because of being roped on and I have ran them to the left barrel first. The horse I am running now is a super nice heel horse that can also head and is being started in breakaway and calf roping for my kids. I run him in a hackamore and they rope on him with a bit. We both use a tie down. I find this particular horse runs much harder for me but keeps his rate after he has been roped on. I have a Darkelly horse that seems to be board with the barrels but is really taking to heading the later part of last summer. Espically after watching Amberly Moore and Paige I am really hoping he decides he can do both. |
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Hot Dispatcher
Posts: 10185
Location: Utah | KRJ1791 - 2017-01-02 8:13 AM Thank you. I was wondering about the noseband vs tie down as he was trained with it & I prefer just a noseband. But I did notice even loose he seems more comfortable with it.
Ropers use tie downs for balance. I loosen the tie down on my horses when I run barrels compared to when my husband heels on them. |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| I'm still working on my head horse... he's come such a long way but I've really taken my time with him. He was a die hard head horse, never learned the right lead or flying changes and zero bend to the left... I did tons and tons of slow work, not even taking him around a barrel till I had him bending and flexing and not dropping shoulders while making circles. And taught him it was ok to lope on that right lead and then flying changes... I'm just now trotting the pattern on him making sure he's absolutely perfect before we try loping. Yeah, it gets a little boring but the other day I took him around the barrels and decided to just let him be to see if he had learned anything... he trotted the pattern perfect, nice round turns, no dropped shoulder and gave me the perfect pocket coming in. I was pretty stoked! |
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