Horse Racing Apparel

Question about barrel racing tack?

I went to a local barrel racing competition to observe and almost everyone there was using twisted wire bits or bits with very long shanks as well as tie downs. I’m an English rider so I don’t really know much about western sports but this just didn’t look correct to me but again, I don’t barrel race.

A top level, successfully competing barrel horse needs the following:

1. The ability to feel every single little shift of the rider’s hands, exactly when they shift, and how much they shift.

2. The ability to balance perfectly as they slow, accelerate, and turn, which means the rider has to be perfectly balanced so they don’t mess up the horse.

3. The ability to stay controlled even when really really excited and running hard.

So top competitive riders usually end up with something that has gag action, for the nuances in contact that it will provide, and frequently they also end up with something that looks or is more severe, because their horses compete while really hot and excited. The barrel saddles speak to balance and flexibility– there isn’t much saddle in contact with the horse, but the seat is usually very very deep, with high cantle and pommel, to help keep the rider in a consistent position as the horse tries to balance.

Now take barrel racing down to the local level, where you have everything from really talented riders and horses to backyard junk that should never look at a barrel. Suddenly you have horses that struggle to turn sharply, riders who can’t balance, horses that just don’t have the speed or precision… it’s like deciding to ride your horse in Grand Prix dressage when it’s never been bred for or trained for even second level. Suddenly the problems start– the horse doesn’t turn the barrel, or hits the barrel, or doesn’t take off fast enough out of the barrel, or … you get the point. Now that simple combination gag suddenly is one nasty ugly thing, and instead of an occasional tiedown for a horse that needs the help, you see every single horse with one. All riders have an over/and/under, because those are flashy and became a style, and many of the horses are just flat fried and hate being there and being run.

Contesting done right is poetry, and I believe it’s one of the most challenging, satisfying sports to do when it is done by someone who learns the right way to run their horse on a pattern. Contesting done wrong, however, is heartbreaking.

I have seen riders who could run the pattern bareback, in a halter with one leadrope. It can be done, but it requires a lot of dedication and conditioning and practice on both the rider and the horse.

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