[jackie_smackie_]

what do you do with a barrel horse to get ready of their energy? last year i saw a woman who loped the horse in a circle to get rid of energy that her kids still hadnt ridden out of him yet. is that what your supposed to do? i assume that is the right thing. and, since barrel horses are sometimes high strung, can they be used for other events. never mind! i know that they can but i was wondering what other people had with putting barrel horses in other classes.

[i_luv_wildfire]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking...do you mean extra energy after your run? I would think a nice light workout afterwards could be beneficial, or some light lunging. I wouldn't push too hard after a run. But don't take my advice only...I don't do barrels. I'm just guessing.

[Jess!]

Barrel horses should be trained to come in and out of the gate quiet. Go in quiet, do their job, and walk out quietly.

Horses that are hopping around at the gate, rearing, going sideways, etc have not been trained properly.

[jackie_smackie_]

the horse hadnt been ridden at all that day and didnt seem like it wanted to be lunged but the lady said it was to get rid of energy....

[ridingthebreeze]

always lope a circle or lunge before your time to go in the arena..and once you get out of the arena cool them down with walking.

[ChaseroftheCans]

Originally Posted by jackie_smackie_

what do you do with a barrel horse to get ready of their energy? last year i saw a woman who loped the horse in a circle to get rid of energy that her kids still hadnt ridden out of him yet. is that what your supposed to do? i assume that is the right thing. and, since barrel horses are sometimes high strung, can they be used for other events. never mind! i know that they can but i was wondering what other people had with putting barrel horses in other classes.

If I haven't ridden an energetic barrel horse in a few days and know it's going to want to go, I'll turn them out in the arena first. If I don't have that option, then I will lunge them on a line and do a LOT of trotting. Build muscle, burn energy.

As the others said, a barrel horse shouldn't be all pumped up with energy and going crazy on you. They should always be as calm as other horses, go QUIETLY into an arena and run, then walk QUIETLY back out and remain calm.

I have always done a variety of things with my barrel horses. They've been trail guides, trail horses, lesson horses, jumping horses, pack horses, reining horses, trick horses, etc. all the time. My three year old barrel filly has been teaching lessons to 6 year old girls for the past 2 months. I just started teaching her to jump. She is a complete deadhead and lazy as anything. But after she (quietly) walks into an arena and sees the pattern, she knows what to do. She flies through there and walks back out, calm enough for me to put a complete unconfident beginner adult on her for a first-time pony ride (I did this just last week).

I think doing other sports with them keeps them sane. Especially if you can trail ride or do something relaxing. Sometimes taking them out and just walking/trotting in the arena for 30 minutes with no real plan. Lunging helps a lot to get rid of pent up energy, try that!

[paint_gurl_101]

i HAVE an energitic ex-barrel racer.....i gallop him..trot him..and everything i can. lol

XOXO
nikki

[shatalkua]

i just warm mine up so he can turn and run on a dime then we jus wait for our turn and we run my other lazier horse i gotta really warm up and when we get ready to run it i ask him if hes ready a couple times then we run when i say go for overly energy yea run em out a lil but i dun run them to long cuz i still want em ready ta go whenever i need it lol i got me a speed demon at home

[Blistering Winds]

I would retrain that ladies horse if it were me. Or take a good look at the feeding program. Some horses are getting WAY too much energy for anywhere NEAR what they will be using.

My horse has energy, however, Without turning him out, getting the excess off of him, whatever....I can stick my kids right up on him without a second thought.

I can take him in Do a full barrel run, come out and he be PUMPED, jump off, Throw my 6 yr old on him and send her into the arena without worrying that he's going to take off with her. (He WALKS the barrels currently with her and makes her work for it too. LMAO)



Usually our warm up consists of walking, trotting, and slow loping around the arena. Then we cool off a bit and go stand around. If it will be a while before we run....We'll do some walking. a bit of trotting here and there to keep warmed up.