The Mechanics Of The Turn

Radio Silence broken...LOL...My Honey flew in for the weekend and we have been spending some "quality" time together. Alas, it seems that I can only stay away from blogging for only soooo long. It's like an addiction...in a good way.;)

I am always so interested in the posts that others do on what it takes for horses to win in certain events...Adventures Of A Horse Crazed Mind has really enlightened us on Reining-type horses. Stephanie did absolutely fantastic posts on the current trends in Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle horses.

So what about Barrel horses?

Raising and training ideal barrel horses has become pretty specialized too. A lot of people think that speed is the most important asset a barrel horse has. But speed isn't everything. As a matter of fact, too much run in a barrel horse is NOT a good thing. You can have a super fast horse, but if they cannot gather up, rate, turn and explode out of the back side of the barrel...you have a race horse, not a barrel horse.

The biggest difference between barrel horses and horses bred for other events is that a good barrel horse can and always will come in all shapes and sizes...and interestingly enough, can often come from non-traditional bloodlines. Like anything, bloodlines are important and certain bloodlines are known for repeatedly turning out winning barrel horses. But I have seen a lot of horses that are bred for other disciplines that I felt would have made excellent barrel horses.

Take for instance this horse...

The immortal Scamper. Now, I am not knocking Gills Bay Boy's breeding...I like it!! I love seeing foundation running blood proving, yet again, why they became legendary. But names like Question Mark, Tonto Bars Gill and a double shot of Leo(through Johnny Do It) just aren't names that a lot of modern barrel horse breeders brag about, even when they are present in the bloodlines. I always thought it interesting that breeders did not jump on the bandwagon to start reproducing these bloodlines like they have other's??

So what does it take to make a phenominal barrel horse?

Well, good breeding is a start.
They do have to be fast.

They have to have the right attitude too.

But the maker or breaker of most barrel horses is...the turn!!

How a horse gets around a barrel and away from it can propel a horse of average speed into the big leagues. It can also pre-determine(for the most part) just how long that horse is going to stay sound and just how easy(or hard) they are to pilot around the barrel pattern.

The horse that turns a barrel ideally is one who both pushes and pulls himself around the barrel. They always stay gathered and all four feet are actively working to turn the barrel. These horses can be considered All-Wheel Drive horses. Two prime examples of outstanding barrel horses that run like this are these two...

Scamper was definitely an all-wheel drive horse. Charmayne often remarked on how balanced this horse was around the barrel and seldom slipped. That is because he used all four feet to keep himself moving forward.

A more currently reknowned barrel horse is Martha...

Anyone who has ever watched this mare run is just amazed at how fast she can get around a barrel. Looking at her form, it is easy to see why.

The next type of turn is the Rear-Wheel Drive horse. These horses usually have a lot of natural rate, get their hindquarters deep into the ground and can really drive out of a barrel. A horse that has too much drive from his hindquarter often has the problem of losing forward momentum. They sit, push, sit and push themselves around the barrel. It is common to see these horses knock barrels down on either the backside or coming out of the barrel, because their hips are not pushing them far enough past the barrel to clear it. To fix it, it is simply a matter of teaching the horse to rate less and keeping their front-end active.

Two examples of these type of horses are Christie Petersen's Bozo...

I know that Bozo looks like he runs pretty level, but I guarantee it took a lot of training to get him this way. He was so quick and could set his hindleg so well coming around a barrel that he often tipped barrels coming out of them, especially the second barrel. Because the second barrel takes an extra stride to complete the turn, when he would set that hindleg and power off, he had a tendency to push himself out right on top of the barrel. If you have ever watched some of Christie's runs on him, she looks a little wild coming out of second because she is is actively trying to keep him moving that one extra stride.

The other is Cruiser...
It's pretty easy to see how deep Cruiser gets into the ground. It took a long time for Charmayne to get this horse seasoned. Which brings up an interesting point...both of these horses(Bozo and Cruiser) took a long time to season. Turning a barrel was so easy for these horses that they just didn't have to think about it much. That gave them too much time to gawk off into the stands or think about the dash to the next barrel. Time and consistant training turned their natural ability into a winning attribute though.

The third type of turning style is The Front-Wheel Drive horse. This is the least desirable of all the turning styles. That doesn't mean that horses that run like this cannot be winners...but darn are these horses are hard to ride and nearly impossible to control when they start into that turn.

Two of the best examples of these horses are Stitch...
He almost scrambles around the barrel and most people comment on how rough he looks to ride. Stitch's saving grace is that his is fast. He isn't nearly as "front-endy" as this horse though...

Rocky is the prime example of a horse that literally pulls himself around the barrel. There is little a person can do to control a horse's shoulders when they run like this. Either they go into the barrel in the perfect spot and you get around or you hit the barrel.
It is important to realize that horses that run like these horses do, have the highest rate of injury and often don't last as long as other types of running styles. A lot of time what happens is that they get lazy with their hindquarters and drag their hocks out behind them. The hock joint isn't designed to take that sort of torque. As was the case for Rocky. He developed arthritis in an unusual place in his hock and after only a couple or three years of hard running ended up having to retire.

Like any event, horses that have different styles need different types of training to reinforce the idea of the "ideal" way to run. You can take a horse that runs ideally and mess him up, but you will never completely change a horse that naturally runs one way or the other. As all of these NFR cowgirls will testify too...sometimes you just gotta go with what you got.