If you’re frustrated with your horse going wide in and out of barrel turns, NFR barrel racer and professional barrel horse trainer Ryann Pedone’s got you covered.
She shares one of the most common reasons horses go too deep on a barrel, either coming in or out of the turn and how to troubleshoot the issue.
Watch the complete step-by-step video on Ride TV.
1. Don’t start your turn too early.
“I find that a lot of people start their turns too early, cutting off that angle where the horse has to take extra steps. If you watch the faster runs, you’ll notice the horses really get up into the turn before being asked to make that move. Their hips are where they’ll have enough room on the backside to square up and move forward.”
2. Relax your body going into your turn.
“A lot of people get tight on the frontside and step off on the backside, but that’s easily fixed by training your body to relax and ride up into the turn. If you have enough self-awareness and muscle memory to place your body where you’re giving the proper amount of room going into the turn, you’re never going step off the backside.”
3. Seriously, don’t start your turns too early.
“A lot of people start their turns three or four strides too soon because they’re worried they’re going to get by the barrel. Well, when you get flat and the horse’s inside shoulder is flat on the frontside, it’ll just shoot you back toward the wall. Or being flat on the frontside makes the horse take an extra step and bow off. So, it’s really important to be aware of where you start these turns. Your horse isn’t able to make that big move on the backside, square up and be in line for the next barrel if you start the turn too soon.”
4. Drive your horse into the turn.
“You really have to work on your body and your mind to drive a horse up into that turn. If you’re able to get your horse’s hip up into this turn, then it gives them plenty of time and room to hug the backside, get the extra step and square up. Angles are everything.”
5. Train slow to go fast.
“I believe with some slow work to train your body to ride up into those turns, you’ll be able to fix bowing off the barrel—unless your horse is sore. How long you’ve been having the issue can kind of determine how long it’s going to take you to fix the issue.”
