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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
   
Location: Dubach, LA | Who has success stories? I would be switching from right to left. I think it's a mental issue more on my part than the horse's part. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| We have swtiched a couple. Bought one who was going to the left, daughter did not like his left that way so switched him to the right and he seemed more comfortable that way so they stuck with that. Had one going to the right, trainer switched him to the left, we were not having any big problems but she thought he would be better going left and she was correct. |
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Regular
Posts: 57
| My horse isn't experienced enough to care what way we go yet, but it's been pretty hard for me to adjust to going left first. Took my mare to the trainer and he said she would be better going left, and he was right! lol Just a lot of adjustments to get use to going the opposite way now. I feel like everything is backwards!
We were running 19 something going to the right, and now were down in the 17's going left!
Goodluck! |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | I've switched a ton of them to the left over the years, for both myself and others. Not one instance where I have done it and then said, Oops! I made a mistake. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| I think my mare was just starting to lope the pattern when I decided she would be better off to the left, so I switched her. I've never regretted it. I have two mares that are 2 totally different styles of running, so it was just one more way they were different. I actually like riding one and then the other. I like change :) |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I have switched several through the years, sometimes more than once.
I posted this on another thread this year: In my experience, it doesn't take very long to switch a horse that's been running. I walk through the pattern a couple of times then if I'm on decent ground I might lope through once, but all I really worry about after that is making sure I get the correct lead coming in the alley. My gray can run either direction and I've changed my plan going down the alley because of what lead he picked that day. In general, horses are smart enough to figure it out a lot faster than we sometimes give them credit for.
My gray horse is a multiple time rodeo finals qualifier, and has done it going right as well as left. 2011 he ran left, 2012 & 2013 right, 2014 sometimes left sometimes right, and he started 2015 going right but in early June we were pretty stale and I decided to get his attention by switching. He responded by making 6 great runs including the winning run at Washington KS two weekends later. My sorrel can also go either way but I think I ride him better to the left so that's how we're going right now. Streak is the only one who will never switch because his right turn is so bad I couldn't handle having 2 of those in a run LOL.
Here's a thread about running my 22 year old to the left for the first time in years **without an exhibition even** earlier this year. http://forums.barrelhorseworld.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=458459 |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | I've switched a few of mine. My gelding I started to the left as he had better right hand turns, but he swapped leads everywhere as he was much more confortable at that time on his left lead running, so I switched him right barrel first. He was running well but his 7 year old year he hurt his shoulder and tips his nose slightly to the outside in left hand turns so instead of fighting it on two turns I took him back left barrel first.
My mare I switched after an incident at a clinic, she was a right barrel first horse, headed over to the second barrel two dogs ran under the fence playing with each other but they were barking and growling and scared the daylights out of her. She is bi-polar/adhd and totally over reactive. For 3 months I fought getting her over to the 2nd barrel after that happened, decided to take her left barrel first and never looked back. |
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