Barrel Racing Video

[JenJ]

Was going down a bit of a rabbit hole on something completely unrelated, but somehow managed to stumble onto this video of a barrel racer, taken in the last couple of days I believe. I don't know anything about the person, or indeed barrel racing in general, but found this a shocking watch.

The comments seem to be universally damning, so I assume it's not typical of the sport, but does anyone know anything about this particular person/situation?

Warning: very unpleasant viewing of a rider mistreating a horse

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7425515059939396870

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I know nothing of that person in particular, but do know that type of riding isn't soo abnormal in barrel racing.

I hate barrel racing. Nothing all that productive about it, especially for the horse. There's some really harsh and poor riding. That's not exclusive to barrel racing though.

 

[TPO]

I left a UK western page because the person running it kept sharing American videos of "brave" and "natural" riders doing barrels, including kids.

Nothing will convince me it's a thing other than abuse. Shank bits, tie downs, huge spurs, star fish kicking and banging about on the saddle, whips and hauling the back teeth out.

Even watching the "good" professionals like Fallon Taylor doesn't make me think it's in any way pro horse.

The rest of my thoughts echo CC. I'll throw roping (no pun intended) and steer wrestling in with barrel racing too.

 

[Kaylum]

That's not how I was taught to ride western even if running the barrels. There should be no mouth contact as we neck rein and use your weight and voice to control speed. No need for spurs and legs should not even touch the sides. But that's how I was taught by professional western riders who cared about the horses. They would be very stern if you even touched the horses mouths.

Seen a lot of very bad western riding in the UK by so called professional riders who quite honestly have no idea.

 

[Amymay Again]

Family have a big barrel racing operation in Brazil. That's not how they ride either.

 

[humblepie]

That's not how I was taught to ride western even if running the barrels. There should be no mouth contact as we neck rein and use your weight and voice to control speed. No need for spurs and legs should not even touch the sides. But that's how I was taught by professional western riders who cared about the horses. They would be very stern if you even touched the horses mouths.

Seen a lot of very bad western riding in the UK by so called professional riders who quite honestly have no idea.

Not exactly an expert opinion but I had a western riding lesson and the horse was bitless with just a noseband and to go back, it was lift hands forward and up, legs forward and horse went back. Was amazing. I was hopeless at the other bits as really struggled with the neck rein and kept wanting to take a contact dressage style.

 

[TPO]

Barrel racing is more about the racing than the style of riding iykwim

There are many different styles of western riding eg barrels, pleasure, ranch, reining, trail, horsemanship & actually working a ranch rather than a class.

Barrels isn't about neck reining (head too tied down foe that anyway), or subtlety, ots about getting around the course as fast as possible. In many cases that's at any cost [to the horse]

 

[Gloi]

To be honest that video seems pretty typical of all the barrel racing ones I've seen. Go as fast as possible with no care for the horse.

 

[webble]

Awful but I'm not sure it looks much worse than some of the things we see in showjumping or eventing

 

[Sandstone1]

I have seen some western pleasure videos. It looks so odd. horses head on floor. Looks very un natural. really slow gaits.

 

[ester]

I think Mexican rodeos tend to be rougher on their horses sadly (location down as chihuahua)

 

[Jambarissa]

I like the techniques used to train for barrel racing and I've taught one of my horses including a sliding stop.

I do think the competitions are about winning so they'll do whatever it takes. I don't think it's much different to some SJ or dressage it's just more obvious because of the high energy. It would be more interesting to know what damage is done and compare that to other disciplines.

 

[TPO]

They don't do sliding stops in barrels? The surface is wrong for starters. Sliding stops should only be done on proper reining surfaces; there are different from normal rising arenas or rodeo/barrel rings. Ideally horses should also have sliding shoes to enable the stop; otherwise you're causing a whole host of potential issues expecting a horse to slide barefoot/normal shoes in a non-reining surface. Sliding shoes absolutely aren't used for racing, the clue is in the name.

The "techniques" for barrels is to get around them, without knocking them over, as quickly as possible.

If possible the bits used in the western world have the potential to be even more horrific than those used in show jumping. Barrels (& roping) use tie downs - chest to noseband, English use running martingales. Western tend to use hanging nosebands that are a caressing design but can be leather, rawhide, rope etc, that's what the tie down attaches too. Some barrel racers use larger flat nosebands.

I don't like it in any form but afaik Fallon races without spurs or the "star fish" technique. She certainly seems a lot more with her horses around barrels than those that haul them around by the mouth and whip the life out of them.

 

[Landcruiser]

Looks like a lot of other barrel racing vids that I've seen. Stressed horses, unbalanced riders yanking them around, future joint problems occurring in front of our eyes. There's very little "technique" beyond staying on and trying to keep the horse upright on those tight turns - they can fall over really easily. Like so many horse sports the welfare issues are ignored and the audiences largely ignorant.

 

[Jambarissa]

They don't do sliding stops in barrels? The surface is wrong for starters. Sliding stops should only be done on proper reining surfaces; there are different from normal rising arenas or rodeo/barrel rings. Ideally horses should also have sliding shoes to enable the stop; otherwise you're causing a whole host of potential issues expecting a horse to slide barefoot/normal shoes in a non-reining surface. Sliding shoes absolutely aren't used for racing, the clue is in the name.

The "techniques" for barrels is to get around them, without knocking them over, as quickly as possible.

If possible the bits used in the western world have the potential to be even more horrific than those used in show jumping. Barrels (& roping) use tie downs - chest to noseband, English use running martingales. Western tend to use hanging nosebands that are a caressing design but can be leather, rawhide, rope etc, that's what the tie down attaches too. Some barrel racers use larger flat nosebands.

I don't like it in any form but afaik Fallon races without spurs or the "star fish" technique. She certainly seems a lot more with her horses around barrels than those that haul them around by the mouth and whip the life out of them.

Yes, sorry, I'm being very loose in my interpretation of what's involved, maybe I am thinking more reining.

All 3 of mine basically do a sliding stop because they're clicker trained and if I click at canter we come to a halt pretty sharpish! But the one I 'trained' kind of halts from the back legs rather than planting the front. It's interesting that he now does that if any emergency stop is needed, like spotting a scary leaf.

Note these are 2 HW cobs and a draft, I use all sorts of disciplines to come up with useful exercises to get them thinking and responsive. We're not going barrel racing!

 

[Skib]

A long time ago now, I went for a Western lesson or two in the UK, prior to riding Western in the USA. The UK lesson was horrible, very mechanical and unhappy both for me and the horse. I did not return to either yard. Nor have I ever barrel raced.
Watching competions here was horrible too. But I loved riding Western on quarter horses in the USA, which is totally different from competing formal Western in the UK on mostly German bred quarter horses.

 

[TPO]

Yes, sorry, I'm being very loose in my interpretation of what's involved, maybe I am thinking more reining.

All 3 of mine basically do a sliding stop because they're clicker trained and if I click at canter we come to a halt pretty sharpish! But the one I 'trained' kind of halts from the back legs rather than planting the front. It's interesting that he now does that if any emergency stop is needed, like spotting a scary leaf.

Note these are 2 HW cobs and a draft, I use all sorts of disciplines to come up with useful exercises to get them thinking and responsive. We're not going barrel racing!

Sorry wasn't having a go. Just there is always very loose and incorrect interpretations of western riding on here (not meaning your post).

Opinions are posted as fact when they rarely are.

I know I've been frustrated with standards of western riding around me but then I go to a RC thing/BE/BS/BD and see truly awful riding and horsemanship there too.

Standards just seem so much lower than I recall from years gone by (41, so been about a while but not since the dark ages). [Some] People appear to be so over confident in their lack of knowledge, experience and ability and closed off to learning and improving. As long as they can continue doing what they want to do, to heck with anything else.

While people are so vocal about cruelty this and abuse that, then lump their too heavy carcass onto an ill fitting saddle and take their unfit/sore/lame horse out to do whatever they want to do all while shrieking that they love their horse

The disconnect is real and I can only assume that's why the UK western page wanted to post barrel racing vids and shout about brave kid riders and natural talent (trying to bring it back on topic!!)

 

[Kaylum]

If you look at Pony club mounted games you will see the same. Standing matingales heads in the air. Tight nosebands, flapping legs.

 

[Jenko109]

I don't personally have a problem with barrel racing.

Obviously this isnt nice to watch with her socking him in the gob, but that isnt exclusive to barrel racing.