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"I have a notebook of the tips from your site and I love them... Bonnie Anderson has been wonderful. All the tips I tried of hers worked the first time. I am now in the riding stage and my horse is awesome. Thank you all very much and keep the training tips coming!!!!!!"
Karen Gossard
Fayetteville, NC

The goal of barrel racing is to score the fastest time while riding a clover leaf pattern around three barrels. The pattern is run with either one right turn and two left turns, or one left turn and two right turns. The things to avoid are wide turns, toppling barrels, and going off course. Your horse should be already trained in basic riding maneuvers before teaching the barrel pattern. Begin your horses training at a walk, approaching each barrel with the points, one, two, and three in mind.

Point one on each barrel is the spot where the rider begins to circle the barrel, keeping the horse about eight feet away. Point two is the backside of the barrel where the rider cuts the speed to make the turn, keeping at least six feet away. Point three is the place where the rider begins to complete the turn while speeding the horse up again to head for the next barrel, keeping about four feet away. These spacings may seem large at a walk, but when the horse is running in competitions, moving at a hard gallop while leaning sharply into the turns, the distance will seem smaller.

Memorizing these three points while practicing turns will keep the rider consistent. By being consistent, the rider's mind will be free to concentrate on the finer details of the run during competitions, such as staying out of the horses way as he does his job. Hanging on to the reins instead of the saddle horn to maintain balance is a sure way to add seconds to one's time.

The first couple of practice lessons should be at a walk. Go through the barrel pattern six or seven times before moving on to a conditioning routine away from the barrels, which is a long easy gallop around the arena or on the trail to build up the horse's muscles and stamina. Over the next several days, increase the speed of the barrel practice sessions to a trot, still keeping it to six or seven times to avoid the possibility of the horse getting bored.

When ready to lope the horse around the barrels, rely on the horses natural ability to change leads. Signal the lead change, but if he doesnt comply, let him go around the barrel on the wrong lead. Hell see for himself how awkward it is and soon switch on his own. Spurring, whipping or, yanking on the reins while trying to force the horse to change leads will only sour him on the barrels. If work on lead changes must be done, do it away from the barrels before trying it again.

It is more work for the horse to practice the barrels at a lope, which means he may begin to anticipate stopping to rest at the end of each pattern. He may even try to avoid starting another pattern by refusing to move or even rearing. To keep this behavior from even starting, try loping the horse nonstop through the patterns. Then, instead of stopping after coming off the third barrel, keep him loping, making a large circle then head him back toward the first barrel to start a second pattern. Lope three patterns, rest, lope three patterns, and then go on to something else. Keeping the horse fresh and interested in the barrels is all important. It may be fun to run the pattern over and over again, but its hard work for the horse. Be fair and call it quits before he begins to resent it.

Once the horse knows the barrel pattern, it is no longer necessary to practice every day. Two, maybe three times a week is plenty. Run him at full speed sparingly. Save his best runs for the competitions. Running him too hard and fast at home can result in pulled muscles. These injuries could take weeks to heal.

Keep barrel racing fun for your horse. If youve done your training correctly, your horse will know what to do on his own when its time to show his stuff.