I have just retired my mare who was born, trained, and raised til she was two by Jack Brainard. I did a little reining with her but mostly barrels. I\’m now currently looking for a young barrel racer! Ihave looked online since that is the best way for me to search. Out here in Virginia there really isn’t much hope for it being “horse country”. So going to shows and finding a horse its more than likely that the horse has had several owners and there’s a reason for selling him/her other than “not riding enough” or “its too much of an expense”. I’ve looked online at a couple of ranch breeders and have gotten in touch with them. They have told me there is no such thing as a barrel horse….they are consider performance horses. And that if the horse is bred with good bloodlines and good background for performance then they are able to do anything. Does that sound correct? I can kinda see where that might be true because of my mare that was trained to do cutting and reining but since she had the speed and the quick changing of direction she was able to do the barrels and was blowing every horse out the dust! I would love to know your opinion and maybe that will give me an idea of what direction I should take.
Melinda,
I don’t know that anyone is exactly ‘wrong’ here. I suspect if you talked with a barrel breeder they would say there was such a thing as a barrel bred horse. Having said that what you say is also true. I would pick a well trained horse with a brain and modify from there over one with specific bloodlines. For me the order is more like this:
train-ability
athletic ability
training
breeding
A breeder may move ‘breeding’ to the top. A trainer may move ‘training’ to the top. I am a person who is capable of doing my own training so I don’t put training as high. If I were recommending an order for a first time horse owner it would look more like this:
training
train-ability
athletic ability (probably how sound is it in this case)
and I would tell them breeding doesn’t matter
If someone were looking for a show prospect, at a weanling, yearling or un-started horse it might be:
breeding (as a predictor of success)
train-ability (limited ability to see this depending on amount of handling)
athletic ability (watching them turned loose)
training
These lists are not complete but I hope it helps you see how the thought process changes given the people involved and the goals that are set.
Hey Stacy. My name is Maryah C. and I am 13 years old. I have a mare that I ride with spurs and she is great with them and I don\’t even have to touch her, but when I don\’t ride with spurs she totally ignores my leg and sometimes doesn\’t even go forward. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this? -Thank you, Maryah
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Thanks for writing to me. Have you ever ignored your parents before? Why do you listen to them sometimes (like when you want to go somewhere so you are on your ‘best behavhior’) and other times you test the limits?
It sounds like when you don’t have the spurs on your horse tests you. You could ride with a riding crop instead. Or you can learn to kick harder at times. Or you can use the end of the rein sometimes. These all accomplish the same thing as the spurs though.
Your horse is likely saying that she naturally on the lazy side. I would suggest asking your parents or riding instructor for their opinion too as answering this by email is tough. Also check out the previous post on lazy horses.
Hi Stacy, I have a 3 yr old mare – somewhat lazy. She will walk, jog, and trot cooperatively on a line or under saddle. When asked to canter she will canter but then she becomes aggravated and kicks out and swings her head. She is not doing it in a playfully. She pins her ears and is very indignant about cantering. I have checked the saddle, and pad for irritations, nothing there. I am getting to have the vet check her hocks for soreness. I work very hard to stay out of her mouth. Open to suggestions Thank you. Melanie H.
What you are describing is a frequent issue with lazy horses. You are doing the right thing by checking out any physical problems. After ruling out physical problems she may fall in the category of a lazy horse. Most horses, like people, are lazy to some extent (some more than others). These horses need more motivation to go to work than others. If the lazy horse was a person they would be the one that was a couch potato and a less than ideal worker. Think about the following scenario:
Employee #1 goes to work early everyday. After arriving early he/she waits in the car for the doors to be unlocked. If this employee is late people wonder if they have been in an accident.
Employee #2 goes to work everyday although they are generally the last one in the door. At least once a week they are late but they are good workers when they are there.
Employee #3 goes to work dragging his/her feet and complaining about the start time. This employee has been reprimanded multiple times about tardiness but it seems to have little or no effect. Actually he/she is getting there later each day and it is effecting the overall atmosphere at work.
Figure out what type of “employee” your horse is. I believe that there are employees out there that if they continued to receive a paycheck would gradually get to work later and later, eventually not showing up at all-as long as they continued to receive a pay check.
You can’t take away your horses food or water (a form of paycheck) that they receive but you can take steps that an employer might take in setting consequences for inaction.
One of the first things I do with a horse like this is canter work from the ground. With the horse in the round pen or on a lunge line I use a verbal cue-a kiss-to ask the horse to canter (or lope). If the horse responds from the verbal cue alone I stand and watch as they go around. If they do not respond I reach out with the end of my stick and string and whip them on the rear end very firm. I want them to connect that shortly after (within two to three seconds) of hearing me ‘kiss’ they are going to be swatted on the butt.
I will do what it takes to get them to move knowing that ALL horses can outrun me from the ground. Very resistant horses will tend to kick out so be sure you are at a safe distance. If they kick and don’t go forward-keep using the stick and string until they go (a lope or canter). All of my horses must lope immediately from a verbal ‘kiss’ only before I will mount up for even the first ride. The horse I used for the “Starting Young Horses” DVD was very tough to get to move and you can see how I worked through it. He chose to kick out instead of running away. Very tough to get to move. Let me know if you try it,
