Lesson 4: Competing with the Perfect Barrel Horse
This lesson covers actual barrel racing competition with your horse--from competition tips and techniques to lessons on how to keep your horse successful and cooperative for as long as you want to barrel race and after.
Exercises for your Horse & his Sanity
Initially, I thought that sidepassing was useless for the most part, used mostly to show off the rider's ability to teach, and the horse's athletic ability (which is one of the pluses, actually!). But after teaching it to my own horses, I realized it can be useful for many things including keeping your horse limber and teaching him "bend." But just as importantly, I found that it's a lot of fun.
Another great aspect of sidepassing is that it teaches the horse to be just a little more aware of his feet, and gives him more athletic ability. It's challenging to teach a horse, so when you've accomplished what you set out to do, it's even more rewarding.
First, the basics. Sidepassing is basically when a horse walks sideways or sidesteps. There is both a lateral and a regular sidepass--lateral meaning the horse is sidepassing as he walks, resulting in a sort of diagonal direction. Regular sidepassing begins from a standstill, with the horse moving straight sideways (as opposed to diagonally) when done properly. A lot of trainers will teach a horse to sidepass and practice it facing a log; that way, the horse realizes that you're asking them to move as straight sideways as they can.
When I first began teaching my mare to sidepass, I had been reading a book that gave pointers on sidepassing, and the athletic benefits of it. In the book, the author said that he taught straight sidepassing first, then moved on to lateral. Since my horse neck-reined very well, when I first asked her for a straight sidepass, she was naturally confused. So I began with the lateral sidepass, and we moved on to the straight. For us, it worked much better that way.
Let's say for example that you're preparing to ask your horse to sidepass laterally to the left. Start walking your horse, slowly, straight ahead, and hold each rein in each of your hands. What you'll want to do is just lift your right rein, and lay it against the right side of your horse's neck, applying pressure there. Basically what it will be doing is tilting your horse's nose up to the right, and also asking him to arch his neck to the left. Then, with your right leg, apply pressure and ask him to move to the left. He will then arch his body in a curve to the left just like his neck.
As with anything you're teaching a horse, have patience. Some horses will pick up and understand what you're asking for immediately, and some will take more time. Apply the same process for laterally sidepassing to the right, only using opposite directions for the commands. Lift your left rein, press it to the left side of the horse's neck, and so on.
Now for straight sidepassing. It's the same concept, only you begin from a standstill. If asking your horse to sidepass to the left, lift your right rein and press it against his neck, and cue him with your right leg. Most horses will immediately try to move forward in one way or another; use your left rein (going in this direction) for this only, to hold him in and show him that you want him to go straight sideways. Most horses who have already been taught to laterally sidepass will understand after a fairly short time. Remember, though, patience for those who don't.
Rewarding your horse after he's done what you asked him is always extremely important, especially in a situation like sidepassing where he may be confused. Show him he was doing it correctly, and reward him. In the future, the confusion will be replaced with knowledge.
Another great exercise for your horse is called spirals. This is where you take your horse into a large, open space and begin loping him in a large circle. As you complete one large loop, begin to move your horse inward, lope him in a smaller circle, and continue in this manner until you’ve moved him into a fairly small, snug circle in the middle of the original large one you created. At this point, begin to gradually move your horse back out into the larger circles again.
Loping spirals is a great exercise, especially for a horse that’s getting hot (meaning he’s focused only on running, not on listening to you). It reminds him that he needs to listen to you and your cues, and basically helps to put the control back into his speed.
As you do spirals, use your legs a lot to remind your horse what it is he’s supposed to be listening to. Keep him responsive to your hands and your legs (and, of course, other cues like your voice and your seat). Keep his body in a soft bending position to remind him of the type of the responsiveness you want from him, both physically and mentally.
If your horse has been getting hot and loving to run a little too much (meaning he’s loving it so much he may be forgetting his bond with you), he may approach this exercise with a charging ahead, excitable attitude at first. This exercise, however, is much like longeing on a horse’s back—it helps almost immediately to calm your horse as you begin to do it. Be patient with him and allow him to work out his excitement; before long, he should definitely be more calm and listening to you the way you want him to.
Lastly, this exercise to keep your horse (and you) sane is not really an exercise because you’re not doing much. Ride toward the barrels and then, when you’re getting close in where your horse may be getting antsy and excited, just stop him. Ask him to stand there, quiet, and just look at the barrels. This exercise is fantastic for reminding your horse that you don’t always just want something from him—that he is allowed to be quiet and calm while in the vicinity of some barrels.
Once he’s calm, go and do something else with him. Trail ride, rein, do anything else but barrels. If you keep your horse versatile throughout his life, he will never become a spoiled, crazy barrel horse that a child or a beginning rider can never ride. What’s more, he’ll be completing fantastic barrel runs for as long as he remains athletic, while the spoiled horses will burn out in a short amount of time.
