Barrel Racing Essay

Words: 1006
Pages: 5

Barrel racing is a timed event in rodeos where a rider and horse try to complete a clover leaf pattern in the fastest time. It takes skills from the rider and the horse to make a good run. It takes good athletic ability from the horse and good horsemanship from the rider to take a horse safely through the barrels. The judges set up the barrels in a triangle in the center of the arena. There is normally a flagger in the ring that waves a flag when you start and waves it again when you cross the finish line. There is a person that starts and stops the timer when that flag is waved.
This event was originally made for women. When barrel racing first started the pattern fluctuated between a figure eight pattern and the clover leaf that is
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They also normally have something to help the rider grip better, like knots or rubber grips. The saddle used is entirely up to the rider but most of the time it will be a light weight saddle with a high horn and cantle. The saddle needs to fit the horse along with the rider. Forward strung stirrups are also used to help the rider’s feet in proper position. Saddle pads and cinches are based on the horse’s size.
There is also another type of barrel racing but it isn’t a timed event. It is called the Camas Prairie Stump Race. This is a match race where 2 horses and 2 riders race to different sets of barrels at the same time. They start side by side facing opposite directions and the first one that completes the course and goes over the finish line wins. This keeps going until all are eliminated but one.
The rider also has to keep its horse in top conditions to barrel race. They need the best nutrition and care. Most people feed a good quality feed 2 times a day along with good hay. Horses should be wormed about every 2 months and the wormers should be switched up every so often so that the parasites don’t get immune to the medicine. They also need annual vaccinations for things like west nile virus and influenza. Hoof car is also critical. The farrier needs to come trim your horse’s hooves and maybe put shoes on depending on if your horse is being shown soon or not. Barrel horses should always have shoes on when