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Veteran
Posts: 107
| How do you know when your horse is ready to be started on the barrel pattern?
How do you usually start your horses on the pattern? |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4642
  
Location: Texas | Prairie Rouge - 2017-08-05 11:13 AM
How do you know when your horse is ready to be started on the barrel pattern?
How do you usually start your horses on the pattern?
Your horse is ready when he or she is "fancy" broke. I started mine on the pattern by spending lots and lots (months) of time walking and practicing our rating points. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| Not always. In fact I don't like fancy fancy broke horses cause they over listen and over think. I like a good handle on mine. I have a 3 year old finished barrel horse. Pretty amazing and unusual. He just loves his job. If I picked on him enough to make him fancy broke he would be a nut. Lol |
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 Saint Stacey
| I started my 4 year old about two weeks ago. She's soft in the face, picks up both leads easily, two tracks easily, backs easily and can pivot along with collecting and extending. All iceberg doing is walking the pattern, stopping at me rate point, letting her relax then I go forward around the barrel with her giving her face. I might trot to first and in between, but I ALWAYS collect and break to a walk around keeping the somebody position. I'm very consistent with what I do and where I put her. The other day I decided to lope. She loped the pattern pretty much perfect. You can get a lot done just walking if you are correct, consistent and make it easy for them. They don't have to be fancy broke. But you do need all the basics and they need to be able to follow their nose and your weight. I always sit at my rate point, lean slightly forward to go. Just be consistent with your cues and expectations.
Oh! Most important thing...ALWAYS look for a place to stop! Never say, "just one more time with a colt". Reward the slightest effort.
Edited by SKM 2017-08-06 4:30 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 380
| FLITASTIC - 2017-08-05 8:26 PM
Not always. In fact I don't like fancy fancy broke horses cause they over listen and over think. I like a good handle on mine. I have a 3 year old finished barrel horse. Pretty amazing and unusual. He just loves his job. If I picked on him enough to make him fancy broke he would be a nut. Lol
Right. Too many buttons gets confusing. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 618
| FLITASTIC - 2017-08-05 8:26 PM
Not always. In fact I don't like fancy fancy broke horses cause they over listen and over think. I like a good handle on mine. I have a 3 year old finished barrel horse. Pretty amazing and unusual. He just loves his job. If I picked on him enough to make him fancy broke he would be a nut. Lol
Agreed and it's been my experience that I'm not skilled enough at speed to run a fancy broke. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Fancy broke means many things to people.
Before mine start on a barrel pattern they need to be able to collect at the walk, jog, lope. I want them to respond to pressure in a positive way. I want to be able to control their shoulder, hip and rib cage at a walk, trot, and lope. I want them to be able to lope 7 foot circles, I want to be able to make the circle larger or smaller with bumping them with my leg. I want them to understand what a reverse arc is, and to complete it at walk trot lope.
I do not want over flexion in the face and neck, and I don't want over flexion in the ribcage. |
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Veteran
Posts: 107
| Okay so my horse has a good grasp of these concepts at home, when I get to a race she acts like she has no idea what I'm asking and I ask her in the same way I always do. Does that mean we need to go back and fine tune the basics?
She's really lazy most of the time and I wouldn't consider her a hot horse, but she definitely can feel the buzz in the air and gets nervous at competitions. I already know I need to take it down a notch on the pattern and return to slow work, but obviously basics come first and are most important |
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 Quarter Horse HIstorian
Posts: 2878
Location: Aubrey, Texas | Mares are smart- she knows it's "showtime!" You can always just haul her to a barrel race and ride her around, reminding her of her manners- breaking at the poll, flexing, moving off your leg, etc. Standing around, chilling. She'll get the idea soon enough- |
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Saint Stacey
| Prairie Rouge - 2017-08-06 10:18 PM
Okay so my horse has a good grasp of these concepts at home, when I get to a race she acts like she has no idea what I'm asking and I ask her in the same way I always do. Does that mean we need to go back and fine tune the basics?
She's really lazy most of the time and I wouldn't consider her a hot horse, but she definitely can feel the buzz in the air and gets nervous at competitions. I already know I need to take it down a notch on the pattern and return to slow work, but obviously basics come first and are most important
When you first start hauling, always go one speed slower at the race than you do at home. It's easy to take all the confidence out of a young horse by having the same expectations at a race that you have at home. Dial it back and stop on a positive note. Never say, just one more time. |
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Veteran
Posts: 107
| SKM - 2017-08-07 6:07 AM
Prairie Rouge - 2017-08-06 10:18 PM
Okay so my horse has a good grasp of these concepts at home, when I get to a race she acts like she has no idea what I'm asking and I ask her in the same way I always do. Does that mean we need to go back and fine tune the basics?
She's really lazy most of the time and I wouldn't consider her a hot horse, but she definitely can feel the buzz in the air and gets nervous at competitions. I already know I need to take it down a notch on the pattern and return to slow work, but obviously basics come first and are most important
When you first start hauling, always go one speed slower at the race than you do at home. It's easy to take all the confidence out of a young horse by having the same expectations at a race that you have at home. Dial it back and stop on a positive note. Never say, just one more time.
I definitely have been expecting my mare to act like she does at home when we get to a race so that's great advice and a fault I am guilty of! I definitely try to push her too hard sometimes too, need to look to end it on a good note more:) |
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Veteran
Posts: 107
| cloverleaf - 2017-08-06 11:29 PM
Mares are smart- she knows it's "showtime!" You can always just haul her to a barrel race and ride her around, reminding her of her manners- breaking at the poll, flexing, moving off your leg, etc. Standing around, chilling. She'll get the idea soon enough-
For sure going to try this, she is a smart little horse. Can always tell when it's a competition or just an exhibition.
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