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Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
 
Location: Durango CO | I have been browsing BHW and have seen some horses lately that have been labeled as getting late starts in their barrel racing career. I am also seriously looking to purchase an 8 year old that is just now entering through no fault of his own. Who here has horses that got a late start running barrels and does it affect them at all?
Are they harder to season?
Being started late doesn't mean they are any less broke right?
Is it harder to work through speed bumps when they arise at an older age?
How did your late start horses turn out in the long run? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
 
| I'm not going to be much help because i'm starting one late right now. He's 9 was used just as a ranch horse but I decided to try him. He seems to be coming along a little faster than I expected, I think it's because he's so broke. Sometimes he'll try to take over and I have to slow him down and bring him back to me. There is something's that are hard to get him to do because he's never been asked and isn't used to it and I think being older he's thinking "what the hell are you doing to me, this is stupid". lol! He doesn't get excited hauling him anywhere, which is nice and he looks at everything as a job so he's been easy to keep focused on what we're doing. |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| A couple years ago I started a ranch/ranch rodeo gelding on the pattern. He was 11 years old at the time. He was very broke, light, and responsive, so I could basically go straight to the pattern. He was very easy to pattern and season.
How broke they are is going to depend on the individual horse and what's been done with him. The individual horse's personality will determine if they are easy to pattern and season and how well handle it all.
Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy an older horse that is well broke, and then put it on the pattern. If they are broke right it is so easy to get them patterned and seasoned.
My suggestion if you're getting a horse similar to mine would be to vet them when you get them and then again in about 6 months to a year. My gelding vetted sound about a month after I got him. But when he started using his body in a way he hadn't really had to before he started getting sore in the hocks. You want to start the process with a horse that feels good, and then make sure they continue to feel good. |
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 I"m Jealous!
Posts: 1737
Location: Benton City, WA | I actually LOVE patterning older horses. The fastest to pattern horse I've ever rode was an OTT mare that I started on barrels in April of her 7 year old year. She picked it up so fast that I started entering her in the open 2 weeks later. She won the 3D high loping in her first open. By early May she was running high 17s on a standard pattern outdoors. She had to have an old chip removed that May, and when I brought her back in October she was immediately running mid 17s on a standard. Right from the beginning, that mare would run the exact same pattern everywhere I took her...I still own her and am SO excited to get to rodeo on her this year!!
Obviously those results are not typical, but I do think that for the most part older horses are more mentally mature and definitely the one's I've rode have been much easier to season, compared to babies. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
Location: Durango CO | Thanks for the replies! You don't think getting a late start slows them down any do you? |
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Member
Posts: 25
| I LOVE patterning an older horse! Its truly a pleasure taking a well broke horse and patterning them over having to start from scratch. Also I have found that horses that are introduced to the pattern later in life as opposed to as 3 year old tend to last longer. They need less maintenance bc their bodies are more mature and the physical stress of barrels doesn't take as much of a toll on their bodies and mentally the maturity that comes with age helps them cope with the rigors of the sport. The trick is finding an older horse w/o issues! |
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 Scorpions R Us
Posts: 9586
Location: So. Cali. | I just picked up a green broke (race track broke 4years prior) coming 8 year old project. Sent her out for 30 days, and she's been back with me for almost a month now. I dont know if its the fact she literally sat in a pasture for 4years or because she's an off the track horse, but she has such a will to please, she's a pleasure to ride and I think she'll be easy to pattern. Plenty of Go on her still (that is probably the track, haha)
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Itchy Boobs
Posts: 360
| I have had several i haven't started till they were 9++. They learn alot quicker in my opinion and have all turned out decent  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 984
Location: Southwest Minnesota | We purchased my daughter's gelding as a green broke 9 year old. By green broke I mean he had 30 days on him to start him when he was 5 and was ridden about a half dozen times a year after that. We sent him for another 30 days after we bought him and he is an outstanding barrel horse. The things I appreciate about him are that he was totally over the stupid colt stuff and was ready to work. He has not had any mental issues or soundness issues. I think it depends largely on the mindset of the horse whether you can turn them into a good barrel horse when they are started late. But, that being said, I think that's true no matter what age you start them at. |
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 Canine Carryout Queen
Location: Oklahoma | My good horse didnt enter his first race til he was 8... he was awesome. He started out in the 2D and moved to the 1D VERY very fast ... I almost think its easier with the older ones - theyre more mature -- mentally and physically and most of them are very broke (or should be, ha!) |
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 Ms Bling Bling Sleeze Kitty
Posts: 20916
Location: LouLouVille, OK | I actually prefer one started 5 yrs old or older...they are broke, they are easy to train :) And they should stay sound since they haven't been pounded in the dirt... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1094
Location: Idahome | The gelding I run now never made a trip to town until the day we went to try him out. He was 6 at the time. I found out I was preggo so hubby rode him for me getting him better broke. The fall of his 7 year old year I started him on the pattern and took him to a race after 30 days, placing in the 3D. After hauling last summer he is running in the 1D/top of the 2D. He will still occasionally look at a banner if we are riding in the arena or a time only, but never during a run. |
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 Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Alberta | I started a mare on barrels for some people a little over a year ago she was 8 when she came to me. I rode her all winter inside and got all of her off pattern basics down. She was green broke but she was very easy to work with. We did have problems here and there like you do with most horses but they were easy problems to fix. Her biggest issue was that she had never really been exposed to anything. Her owners told me that before they bought her she had spent the majority of her time in a box stall. By the end of the summer she wasn't spooking as much and as long as I could get her into the arena before we made a run she wouldn't spook at things like the crowd. With less than a year of training she was starting to run at the top of the 1D at the summer series I was running at. On a standard pattern she was running long 17s.
I think that you can ask for more out of an older horse in a shorter time frame and not have to worry about blowing their mind. Some horses with a more 'fragile' mind may not be able to handle the pressure of being pushed a lot harder than a 4 or 5 year old. The mare I rode was really tough and gritty she wasn't one to give up. She pulled a hamstring halfway through the summer and I didn't even realize it because she never took a lame step and never quit trying. If you know your horse well you should know when they can handle a little more and when its time to back off. Good Luck! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| If you remember Nellie Williams, I want to say she made the NFR in 2010, her horse Blue Duck, not only had a late start on the pattern but also being started. |
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Veteran
Posts: 193
Location: TEXAS | Love the older ones! I have come to appreciate them! I got a 12 yr old lil cutting mare that hadn't been rode since she was 3. She took to the pattern very quickly & was being entered with a few weeks. If they are sound in every way go for it;-) |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I think it is a plus to have a later start. As others have said, more mature physically and mentally. |
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  Crazy Chicken Chick
Posts: 36132
| I don't think it's an issue at all unless they were broke later in age. Like my two. They are 7 and at the trainer now, will go to Liana here in a couple weeks for more foundation work and patterning. So we'll see! I am hoping to at least be able to cruise them through the Turkey Run in November but if they aren't ready that's fine too. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | My gelding wasn't patterned til he was 16..... |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| I think the age of the horse depends on how much time you want to give. For example, a 3 year old needs to be ridden 5-6 days a week to keep the progress going. A 5-6 year old may only need to be exercised 4-5 days a week and patterned 2-3 times per week. Older horses may need to be exercised 3-4 days per week but only patterned maybe 1-2x per week. I dont have time for younger horses, so I like 5-7 year olds not started on the barrels. They seem to progress quicker and they are more level headed. Starting an older horse on barrels isnt a fault, it may be a perk. |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I have one that wasn't started on barrels till November of his 8 year old year and he picked things up very quickly, almost too quickly because he constantly needed reminded to wait for my cues - and still does. He's off the track and fairly hot so I have always had to keep going back to basics and walking through things to reinforce the proper way to do things. Since he was on the track and then went to the feedlot, he was easy to season. Getting used to loud music has been the biggest challenge but banners, flags, people, etc don't seem to bother him. |
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