# restarting a horse blown up on barrels



## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

My mare was blown up on barrels by the previous owners.

For the past several months she has had a dressage trainer working with her.

She is ready to be restarted on the pattern. I have done a lot of work in the arena while barrels are set up so she no longer has issues being near them. 

Im able to walk and trot a nice pattern but its the added speed that shuts her down.

I tried slow loping them and was doing great until we went around the 3rd, then she just took off. I literally had her head turned and was touching my boot but she was still running. Almost ran into a group of people but I managed to get her turned around towards a fence. 

I calmed her down then walked the pattern with no problems.

We rarely work on the barrel pattern, but I do try and incorporate a barrel in our training, whether its just having it in the arena or doing circle work.

Im not yet ready to send her off to a trainer because of a previous bad experience. But im going to see if someone at my barn will help me restart her. 

In the mean time any idea's?


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Fixing a blown up barrel horse is tricky. Some never really get over it. 

Time and patience. 

Time and patience. 


Also, maybe you can provider some more information.

How old is your horse?
How long had she barrel raced?
What is your purpose for her? (What do you want to do with her?)
What experience do you have with barrel racing?


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

She's 10. When I bought her last year she had severe gate problems at her previous barn. I was stupid and trusting so when they told me that there was an animal living in a patch of trees near their arena gate I didnt think much about it. 

It wasnt until after I bought her my friend came out to see her. He realized that it was the gate she had issues with and would dart towards any barrel you got within 8 ft of.

Later the previous owners told me about how they would get friends together and run barrels for fun. They had this high strung arab and whenever she got near a barrel they would blow a horn, causing her to rear up, ruining the girls time....they thought it was hilarious.

When I first got her you couldnt get her into an arena when barrels where set up. She was only green broke and literally crazy so we had to completely restart her training.


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

Some are gone for good and others can be ridden around problems by experience trainers and riders. Once a horse learns a problem it is always there the ticket is knowing how and having the ability to not let it happen. I rode a horse for 3 years that had learned to flip at the gate as a 4 year old. The habit was created by putting a person on a horse they had no business riding much less running. She is just a Broodie now and I rode her til the end of her career. I had to be quick at the gate and let her go when we were just turning into the ally. As soon as I felt lift it was forward motion or we were going splat. She was lucky enough to be of Broodie quality otherwise she would have been processed as she was not suitable for any other purpose. 
Your horse should be shipped to a professional for an evaluation. It's possible to say if you will ever be capable of running her. If she has another discipline she is safe with I would stick with that direction


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

She walks in and out of the arena with no problems now. And doesnt even notice the barrels anymore when im riding. Walks and trots them almost perfectly. Its adding speed that she has issues with


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

Does she lope fine without a barrel? Or does she quicken up at any barrel?

I would start with just one barrel in the center on your arena or corral. Lope around it, go far from it and gradually get closer. 

Or you could try lunging around a barrel?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Maybe it's time to listen to her. Find her a new job! Maybe, MAYBE, in a long while attempt to go back and revisit it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Honestly I know an ex-barrel horse. Now used as a low level eventer, she is still very much a barrel horse. Years of training and even circling a barrel or doing a pattern (with no barrels) she drops her shoulder and runs. We "ran barrels" for a fun show we had and ended up doing...keyhole pattern? (just circling one barrel then back). Her rider actually pulled her out because just walking around that barrel she needed months of retraining.

It sounds like you have your work cut out for you and I'm sorry I don't have any better advice. Just wanted to share my stories and see what others had to say. It's really something they do NOT forget and if trained improperly they won't forget that either.


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

She lopes fine without barrels. 1st and 2nd barrel she has a controllable lope. Its as soon as she turns the 3rd. Im sure shes only running for home like how she was trained to...with spurs and bats... 

I just need to figure out how to change that mind set. I dont like horses that automatically run as fast as possible back to the gate. She doesnt even take off in a straight line she went around the outside of the 2nd barrel, and ran back along the fence. 

Ive lunged her around barrels before I had even restarted her on them. Getting her relaxed and listening while being near them.

Ill try the single barrel and work on just walking calmly around it and back to the gate. Maybe once I completely turn the barrel, stop, back a few steps and then go forward?


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

Yogiwick said:


> Honestly I know an ex-barrel horse. Now used as a low level eventer, she is still very much a barrel horse. Years of training and even circling a barrel or doing a pattern (with no barrels) she drops her shoulder and runs. We "ran barrels" for a fun show we had and ended up doing...keyhole pattern? (just circling one barrel then back). Her rider actually pulled her out because just walking around that barrel she needed months of retraining.
> 
> It sounds like you have your work cut out for you and I'm sorry I don't have any better advice. Just wanted to share my stories and see what others had to say. It's really something they do NOT forget and if trained improperly they won't forget that either.


Thats called plug race or speed dash. Keyhole is the poles lined up creating a small alley. Run through the poles, turn and run back


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

You might try halting her once you get to the third barrel and walk around it. 

Do you have a barrel trainer nearby?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

My barn is primarily barrel racers so I was planning on getting someone there to help me. As far as trainers the nearest one is about an hr. Otherwise its 2+ hrs


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

If a lope is "too much" for her at the 3rd barrel, then don't do it yet. You can lope the 1st and 2nd, then stop her at the 3rd barrel, get off, loosen the saddle, and be done. 

Make the 3rd barrel a good place to be. 

Also, do you only do "the pattern" with the barrels? Maybe set up three "3rd barrels" at the end of the arena and just walk around them. If she's okay with that, then trot.

If she's still blowing up on your, take things back a notch. It's too fast and too much for her. 

You can certainly keep working with her if you would like, but do always keep in mind that it is possible that she may never get over it and will need a different job.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

From the horse's point of view. I get in the arena, run like a fool, race back, saddle comes off, hay bag comes out, I'm getting fed. Maybe next time I'll take a short cut and get back sooner. Or maybe I'll kick up a stink at the gate. The rider will get mad, take me back and I get to eat.


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I agree with finding her a different career. It sounds like you have don't a great job getting her to be a decent saddle horse, why don't you send her on to a different carreer and get something that doesn't have dangerous issues with your chosen discipline.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Saddlebag said:


> From the horse's point of view. I get in the arena, run like a fool, race back, saddle comes off, hay bag comes out, I'm getting fed. Maybe next time I'll take a short cut and get back sooner. Or maybe I'll kick up a stink at the gate. The rider will get mad, take me back and I get to eat.


C'mon now, is that really necessary?

A good barrel horse that loves their job and has been treated/trained properly is a beautiful thing to watch. Just like any other event or discipline.

I get your point of a rider that isn't going about things the right way and how that can reflect on the horse, but I am also getting a little sense of "bashing barrels" in this post, that maybe was or was not intentionally placed.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

beau159 said:


> A good barrel horse that loves their job and has been treated/trained properly is a beautiful thing to watch. Just like any other event or discipline.


The barrel horse I learned barrels on liked barrel racing. When we'd trot the pattern she'd be ready and wanting to just run those barrels. Had to hold her back for my sake though. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

beau159 said:


> C'mon now, is that really necessary?
> 
> A good barrel horse that loves their job and has been treated/trained properly is a beautiful thing to watch. Just like any other event or discipline.
> 
> I get your point of a rider that isn't going about things the right way and how that can reflect on the horse, but I am also getting a little sense of "bashing barrels" in this post, that maybe was or was not intentionally placed.


But if the horse doesn't love it's job & wasn't trained properly then why not get one without issues? Even retraining won't erase bad memories from some horses. This may be one.

I have a horse that someone wanted to make into a jumper although she does not have the build or talent to do that. She sure remembers & gets very nervous even seeing a jump. She'll now walk over ground poles & will jump a downed tree on a trail & to be fair to her that's all I'll ask of her.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

natisha said:


> But if the horse doesn't love it's job & wasn't trained properly then why not get one without issues? Even retraining won't erase bad memories from some horses. This may be one.


??? I think everyone, including myself, has told the OP that this horse may need to find a new job. It's the OP's horse; it is for his/her to decide what to do.


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

I was planning on selling her as a dressage prospect but didnt feel comfortable selling her to the people that were interested and I refuse to sell her to just anybody that shows up with cash.

Since I still own her, ive continued her training and have been working on her issues with barrels. When she seemed ready I restarted her on them. then one day I thought she was ready to lope them and was clearly wrong.

That was the ONE time shes loped them with me, so no I didn't keep trying it to see if it was just a one time thing or if we could fix it at a lope! We are back to walking it for awhile. 

And I dont just run barrels then get off. She is lunged for about 5 mins then ridden working on dressage, and once she is completely relaxed and listening sometimes ill do something quick with the barrels and then go straight back to dressage. If I notice she is a little fresh that day then we skip working on barrels, poles, or anything that could potentially make her hot.

Maybe she does need a new job but as far as im concerned its to early to tell, she has already greatly improved and I think taking it slow she can only get better.

I asked for any ideas for working on that 3rd barrel until I find someone from my barn willing to help me. Not on whether or not I should sell her


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

A mare I had wouldn't enter a field if there was a barrel in it. I learned that her previous owner ran her on barrels without teaching her how to run barrels. When it went badly, she'd lose her temper and go to the crop. I really had no intentions of barrel racing but it became a goal to get her comfortable around barrels. I began placing her hay about 20' from the barrel, gradually moving it closer until it was no longer an issue. I began riding her past the barrel, then circled it. By the end of the summer we were trotting the pattern once every few weeks. After that, no more. About two years later at a show, I tho't why not give barrel racing a shot. She surprised me with how well she tried and we placed fifth which to me was a huge victory.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

You have posted about all the problems this horse has, including that she was drugged when you bought her.

You have had her in "dressage training", barrel training, training period where she was almost starved to nothing, and have written about how she was trained for jumping. And then cutting. And then that she stood around after having some training as a 4 year old.

And all that "training" was just since first of this year. And your time frames do not match up when you go through your threads on this forum alone.

As for restarting a horse blown up on barrels? When did this take place? During the dressage training? During the 2 months or so she was someplace you couldn't get to her at all, and she came back looking like a rescue she was so thin? During the 2 weeks training you said you won, to turn her into a barrel horse?

Or the other couple of "trainers" you've said you've had?

You did thread after thread about would this mare be suitable for barrels, and were told not at top level, or at all, due to conformation and age. So you just posted more threads asking the same thing.

But reading your threads here, gives a clearer picture of you and what this horse has gone through since the first of this year alone, much less in several months.

Googling your dressage thread, brings it up other places too, and that in itself is eyeopening.


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

Palomine said:


> You have posted about all the problems this horse has, including that she was drugged when you bought her.
> 
> You have had her in "dressage training", barrel training, training period where she was almost starved to nothing, and have written about how she was trained for jumping. And then cutting. And then that she stood around after having some training as a 4 year old.
> 
> ...


Um cutting? jumping? Lol no first off I have no interest in jumping, maybe I had considered trying it in 4h but otherwise no. I asked a simple question about training a cutting horse because of a comment my neighbor said. Made me realize I had no idea how they were even trained.

When she was starved at a trainers. I sent her there as a last resort before sending her to an auction or euthanazing. She is close friends with several of our friends, all said if anyone could do anything with her, she could. She didnt go there at all for barrel racing, she went there to fix some of her bad habits and work on gaining confidence. She was there for 1 month and 13 days.

The 2 week training I won was yes with a barrel trainer but she wasnt going to be started on barrels just get more time under saddle. Didn't even end up going because our schedules didnt match up.

The previous owners blew her on barrels so once she became a handful they sold her to me. She had so many problems, while yes I want to barrel race, not competitively, she had a long time before I could actually do much with it. 

IM SO SORRY I ASK QUESTIONS ON HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO LEARN 

Wow maybe you should try talking to me personally and getting your facts straight. Im on this forum for advice. Everyone does things differently. I dont want to blindly follow the advice of my trainer and the people at my barn. Because they aren't correct about EVERYTHING. Everyone has their own experiences and opinions


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Elsa, have you tried incorporating the barrels in training with out actually using the clover leaf pattern? 
For example, using 4 or 6 barrels in a different and varying patterns and not using specific starting/ending points as not to let her think about an actual pattern or a time to run home.
How much riding do you do out of the arena?


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## Elsa5 (May 4, 2014)

I havent used extra barrels but I do mix up the pattern. Circle a barrel more than once before moving on. That type of thing. Ill try adding barrels and change the layout! 

We do a bit of trail rides (connected to my barn) and im starting to work on trailering her off property more. So I bring her to the fairgrounds or to my friends barns. Just work on getting her relaxed and focusing on me rather than her surroundings.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I know nothing about barrel racing but, when a horse has been 'blown' by jumping I will scatter as many poles as I have around the arena in no order, I then ride and school as if they weren't there, just stepping g over the poles at all paces if they happen to be in the way, which they are.

Could you not do the same and have masses of barrels about the arena and just work her around them until they mean nothing. No patterns, no racing, just work as if they weren't there.


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## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

Closed for moderator review.


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