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 Expert
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Location: Somewhere around here | I'm just curious but how to you get your horses used to going through that barrier? |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | Repetition. Start at a walk if you need to. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Practice. LOTS of practice.
We scored a ton of calves so she would wait on me. By the time she was calmly waiting, she was so in tune with just watching the calves that if I dropped my hand to let her go she WENT, barrier or no barrier. It's pretty important that your horse is calm in the box and patiently waiting on you, if they aren't doing that, they won't be focused to actually do the job you are asking. |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Have someone stand at the pin and start by walking your horse through the string. Have the person holding it hold it just long enough that there is some tension before they let it drop. Then start trotting through it once your horse has no hesitation at a walk. Once there is no hesitation at the trot, lope through it a time or two, then put the pin in and run one. They typically figure it out pretty quick. |
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 That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| We use two flexible wands attached to both sides of the box. The wands meet in the middle usually with a flag on the end of each wand. Ride the horse through it going into the box and out of the box. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Herbie - 2016-01-25 8:59 AM
Have someone stand at the pin and start by walking your horse through the string. Have the person holding it hold it just long enough that there is some tension before they let it drop. Then start trotting through it once your horse has no hesitation at a walk. Once there is no hesitation at the trot, lope through it a time or two, then put the pin in and run one. They typically figure it out pretty quick. Â
This is exactly what we do as well. This method seems to work well for our horses. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2135
Location: Somewhere else | Okay, so my horse will NOT got through the barrier. Started out by just dropping a piece of rope on the ground in front of the box. Nope, he don't want no part of it. Scores great, really tracks a calf, but I cannot get him to go over or through the barrier. As long as their is nothing in front of the box, we're all good. Cannot be lead out either, kicking makes him mad and he definitely isn't going to work then. Suggestions on how to get him over this? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 464
| Daughters breakaway horse was having trouble with a barrier. We would lope him until he was tired, and bring him to the box to rest (good practice all the time BTW). then i would just set the barrier off over and over again. Then we would him to it, while i set it off. Finally built him up to him, setting it off. Then, at a rodeo, barrier malfunctioned, and tripped him. Now back to square one. |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Maybe try this not in the box. Tie one end of the rope to the fence, lay it on the ground, walk over it. Trot over it, lope over it until he doesn't care. Then have someone hold the other end. You may have to encourge him, but you gotta get him through it if you want to rodeo on him, so I wouldn't be timid of kicking him or getting a bat to get him through it if that's what it takes.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | If you have one that is super scared then you'll have to build confidence. Most don't have any problems going though after just a bit, but some really don't. You will have to pull the barrier and walk through. I suggest you do this a lot and then build him up to walking at it then pulling it. Then, pulling it right before he touches, to letting him touch it and then pulling. Once you get his confidence, rope some calves and pull it ahead of him, as actually roping takes their mind of the barrier more. Finally, you can rope and just let him break the barrier himself to finish it off. |
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BHW's Simon Cowell
Location: The Saudia Arabia of Wind Energy, Western Oklahoma | dakota88 - 2016-01-25 11:49 AM Okay, so my horse will NOT got through the barrier. Started out by just dropping a piece of rope on the ground in front of the box. Nope, he don't want no part of it. Scores great, really tracks a calf, but I cannot get him to go over or through the barrier. As long as their is nothing in front of the box, we're all good. Cannot be lead out either, kicking makes him mad and he definitely isn't going to work then. Suggestions on how to get him over this?
Has he been on hot wire or hot tape? Our horses that are kept in electric fence DO NOT ever want to go through anything that resembles hot fence and a barrier definetly does. Hope you get him used to it. |
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 Straight Shooter
Posts: 5725
Location: SW North Dakota | http://www.trainingbarrier.com/home.html here is a commercial barrier training device.
We use the method Herbie described and don't keep our young horses in single tape hot wire. Most of the older horses have the difference figured out, though. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | I set up a barrier that my horse has to break with its chest. This works the best for me on colts over the years. Get plenty of bungee cords, a pulley and a length of smooth rope that will make the corner of the box to the pin on the chute. Fasten a permanent pin on the front of your chute where the pin would be at the rodeo (most chutes have the loops there already so you just have to get a bolt and some nuts to fasten the pin in there permanently) . Braid a ring into the end of your rope. When you ride into the box have your help just set the ring on the pin (barely...hair trigger type of setting) that allows the rope to snap away from your horses chest as your horse walks through the barrier. I put a flag on it as well. Everything is set up just like the rodeo. Some horses find out that this is all good after a few tries and others take more time. You can run calves with this set up as well and I would recomend that until your horse is leaving flat and not hesitating at all.
Lots of bungees! You want that rope to snap out of the way every time. Don't skimp on those. Again, this is by far the best way for me and my colts. Mimics the real deal the best.
Edited by luvropin 2016-01-25 6:07 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | And do not be afraid to speak up when you are at a rodeo and that barrier rope is not clearing the box. I would rather be viewed as a nag by the judges than be jerked off my horse or worse yet, have my horse injured and spooked.
Edited by luvropin 2016-01-25 6:14 PM
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 Life Saver
Posts: 10477
Location: MT | dakota88 - 2016-01-25 10:49 AM Okay, so my horse will NOT got through the barrier. Started out by just dropping a piece of rope on the ground in front of the box. Nope, he don't want no part of it. Scores great, really tracks a calf, but I cannot get him to go over or through the barrier. As long as their is nothing in front of the box, we're all good. Cannot be lead out either, kicking makes him mad and he definitely isn't going to work then. Suggestions on how to get him over this?
I'd start on the ground, away from the box, driving him over that rope while lunging. Once he will go over the rope without hesitation I'd move to riding over it, etc. Get him used to going over that rope wherever it is. Then you will have to get him used to walking throught it like the previous suggestions. |
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Life Saver
Posts: 10477
Location: MT | Bigfoot - 2016-01-25 11:55 AM Daughters breakaway horse was having trouble with a barrier. We would lope him until he was tired, and bring him to the box to rest (good practice all the time BTW). then i would just set the barrier off over and over again. Then we would him to it, while i set it off. Finally built him up to him, setting it off. Then, at a rodeo, barrier malfunctioned, and tripped him. Now back to square one.
We always rested them in the box too, it was their happy place. Good place to end your ride, get off and loosen the cinch too!
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | RunNitroRun - 2016-01-25 9:25 AM Herbie - 2016-01-25 8:59 AM Have someone stand at the pin and start by walking your horse through the string. Have the person holding it hold it just long enough that there is some tension before they let it drop. Then start trotting through it once your horse has no hesitation at a walk. Once there is no hesitation at the trot, lope through it a time or two, then put the pin in and run one. They typically figure it out pretty quick. This is exactly what we do as well. This method seems to work well for our horses.
This is what we've always done. |
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Expert
Posts: 2135
Location: Somewhere else | ksjackofalltrades - 2016-01-25 6:11 PM
dakota88 - 2016-01-25 11:49 AM Okay, so my horse will NOT got through the barrier. Started out by just dropping a piece of rope on the ground in front of the box. Nope, he don't want no part of it. Scores great, really tracks a calf, but I cannot get him to go over or through the barrier. As long as their is nothing in front of the box, we're all good. Cannot be lead out either, kicking makes him mad and he definitely isn't going to work then. Suggestions on how to get him over this?
Has he been on hot wire or hot tape?  Our horses that are kept in electric fence DO NOT ever want to go through anything that resembles hot fence and a barrier definetly does.  Hope you get him used to it. Â
I've had him since he was a 4yr old. He was first trained for cutting then western pleasure then I bought him. As far as I know he has never been in an electric fence. |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| I think it helps to build their confidence like others have said by having someone hold it and drop it just as it barely touches the horse. Don't let it put any pressure back against them or make them break it at first, as that could scare them. Some horses will always be a little hesitant until you actually get a calf in the chute to chase. Once they see the calf out in front of them, they will forget about the barrier. All horses are different. I've had some that took forever to get over it, and some that never gave it a thought, not even the first time through. |
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