Developing speed in your barrel horse is crucial for winning barrel runs, as accuracy, responsiveness, and the rider’s technique alone are insufficient. Without speed, even with all the other components, a barrel horse will not be able to secure victory. Fortunately, there are methods to enhance the speed of your barrel horse, enabling you to achieve improved and faster performances in competitions.
Speed Development Techniques for the Barrel Horse
The process of speeding up development begins with ensuring proper conditioning and training is done at home. These techniques are essential in building the necessary strength for a horse to perform a quick run.
- Straight Line Sprinting. Sprinting your horse in a straight line builds strength, speed and acceleration. This exercise will prepare your horse for the sprint for home, and the muscle he develops will be useful as he accelerates between barrels.
- Small Circles. Practicing small circles at reduced speed can help your horse to build the strength and balance he’ll need to turn around the barrels and then accelerate again. Remember, the purpose here is to focus on building muscle and balance, so keep the speed down and focus on teaching your horse to lope smaller circles in an easy, more relaxed way.
- Collection Work. Collecting your horse up at the jog or lope is a valuable strength-building exercise, teaching him to shift his weight and push off with his hind end. Loping over poles can help to build collection. You can also transition down to a halt from the jog, back up a couple steps, then ask your horse to step off immediately into a collected lope.
- Transition Work. Transitions – both upward and downward – can help your horse to collect, build strength and learn how to use his body effectively. Good transitions are key, so ask a friend or trainer to watch you from the ground sometimes to help you perfect them.
- Hill Work. If you have access to hills, then you have a valuable conditioning tool. Hill work can build strength — particularly in your horse’s hind end — for acceleration and speed. Just be sure to introduce hill work gradually and at a slow pace, since it does provide a workout and can leave your horse sore.
3 WAYS TO ADD SPEED IN YOUR BARREL RUNS
- Teaching your horse to respond to your body position
Teaching your horse to accelerate by leaning forward and slow down by leaning backwards is a fundamental aspect of horse training. If you want this behavior to occur during your runs as well, you can focus on it a bit more. To help your horse understand the command to accelerate, you can exaggerate your position. For example, when transitioning from a walk to a trot, lean forward significantly while squeezing your legs. Apply the same technique when asking for a canter. As time passes, gradually decrease the amount of lean until you reach a normal position, without exaggeration. Eventually, your horse will comprehend that leaning forward indicates acceleration, even without the need for a leg squeeze. When you are in a run and using your body to speed up, your horse will have a better understanding of the cue and should respond appropriately.
- Strengthening your horse’s hind legs and improve their engagement
It is well known that horses require the use of their hind legs to propel themselves forward and increase speed. In order to enhance this propulsion, it is necessary to improve their strength and encourage them to engage in a way that positions their hind legs beneath their body, resulting in even greater push.
It is also beneficial to practice backing up on level ground before attempting it on hills. In my opinion, this exercise effectively enhances the hind end. Alternatively, focusing on transitions and controlling the horse’s speed (slowing down and speeding up within each gait) promotes their engagement.
- Making your turns more snappy
If you want to increase your speed while running, you can attempt to make your turns quicker and more “snappy”. By combining faster turns with increased speed between barrels, faster runs are practically assured.
Firstly, this drill should be done at a walk, then at a trot and finally at a lope. To begin, initiate the turn while ensuring that your horse is properly rounded towards the barrel (located at the blue X). You may pause at this point to encourage your horse to sit and engage its hind legs in preparation for faster speeds. Next, pause at the green X and execute a 360 degree spin. In the given example, since the first barrel is turned to the right, the spin should also be to the right. After completing the spin, conclude the turn and position the horse in readiness to proceed to the next barrel.
