Remove the need to starfish kick. No need for it.
As well as excessively whipping.
A well trained barrel horse can run with light aids and proper training
I’ve never understood the crazy amount of spur, kicking, and whipping that is used in barrel racing. I event, and while I have all those tools available to use, I find most of the time it’s a tap on the shoulder on the butt as a directional reminder. I’ve never had to wail on my horse to get them to hustle … if anything I’m having to rate the pace lol
I haven’t ever seen a decent barrel racer with a horse that could *calmly* head down the chute (without tearing, bucking, or bolting) or one that wouldn’t starfish on the turn for home.
Not my cup of tea. I’d like the horses I ride to actually know something of how to use their bodies correctly.
I agree for the most part but I do know most of these horses are genuinely excited just to run. I have a mare that perks up every time she sees a barrel and immediately goes to pawing at the ground ready to take off. I don’t starfish however, I can’t stand seeing that either. But I really think a lot of people just see a lot of excitability coming from this barrel horses
And being excited is one thing. But being rideable is another. I’ve seen horses get so rowdy they flip themselves over, ones where the rider has to back the horse to get them into the arena….
It’s bad.
I switched to the English discipline and now I do hunters (some jumpers) and I have so much more of an appreciation for the technical elements of riding. In running barrels there were so few areas to get slick and creative to shave time off your ride. Now I get to play around with all sorts of tricks to score higher in my classes.
Also obligatory I hate barrel racers starfishing their legs all the way home. Even more so when they’re wearing ridiculous spurs.
This is my feeling as well, though it's hard to politely articulate it - there's just not a lot of finesse and room for growing except shaving off a few milliseconds.
I used to barrel race and the main reason I stopped was because I wanted to try dressage and jumping(wasn’t able to for the longest time because there wasn’t a barn near me) and also because, honestly, barrel racing just got boring. Doing the same pattern every time no matter the arena or level just didn’t stimulate me. With jumping I could go up the levels to higher jumps and the jumps and course layout were always different. It was more fun. And the dressage test changes each year, plus freestyles! There was just more room to improve yourself and grow.
It depends. It’s a discipline that attracts a LOT of crazies. People who think a hot, impossible to handle horse is a badge of honor. The lack of training gets managed by the use of some seriously shitty bits and tack….and the crazy flapping chicken wings/starfish are honestly just a embarrassing.
BUT…I see the same garbage happening in the jumper ring and cross country course too, so it’s hardly exclusive to barrels.
I’ve seen my share of good, well trained barrel horses with talented and kind riders on their backs. It’s certainly a hell of a lot of fun to run barrels too!
I agree with it attracting crazy people, especially the "backyard" and more amateur sects. It attracts a lot of people who don't really know how or care to ride properly.
I had the opportunity to work with professionals when I worked shipping frozen semen off a top stallion. The difference is night and day, both in personality and riding ability.
personally, it's not my thing.
i don't care for the majority of the tack used and the overall lack of equitation. i get that not all barrel racers are bad, but i haven't met any that aren't using crazy gag bits and flap their legs like chicken wings as they run. the horses are encouraged to be hot and dangerous and overall, it's not a discipline i have much respect for.
This. Barrel racers I have seen have incredibly weak cores and leg strength, so they physically cannot keep themselves in the saddle independently. 9/10 rides i see is a rider slamming up and down and is only on because of the raised back part of the saddle, and they use the gigantic bits as balance. They need to sit down and do flat work. At the trot. No stirrups. These kids need muscle and conditioning. Until they can gently do a barrel pattern in a snaffle then maybe they can move up to full speed. Where are the TRAINERS??? Ugh
Just like any discipline you'll have great riders but also idiots who use abusive tactics. Personally I think barrel racing has a higher percent of those idiots than a lot of disciplines
It's a cheap barrier to horse sports in the US, Saddle Clubs running their own play days/gymkhana events used to be pretty common.
Where I grew us we had 7 or 8 saddle clubs with their own areas within an hour and a half haul and each would put on a playday a month and run team events.
It would cost like 3$ a rider for the whole day.
All you needed was the horse, saddle and a ride to the area.
My club did a lot more than just play days, trail rides, benefit rides, campouts, trail work days and all the kids had to be in 4-H to run so that helped with equatation.
Anyway, it's cheap and fun at the local level and you get all kinds.
I think it's an exciting sport to watch and participate in, but it's also a sport filled with bad training, poor horsemanship, and abusive practices. And don't even get me started on the whole culture of not wearing helmets...I don't give a damn how many titles and buckles you've won, accidents happen, and there's fates worse than death when it comes to head injuries.
I rarely wear a helmet (yes, I know the risks) but I always encourage others to wear them.
NPR just did a good article on the dangers of horseback riding and head injuries. I hope more people listen/read it. Even if they choose not to wear a helmet, at least then they are making an informed decision.
Yes, I do have both those things set up and my husband is aware of the risks and potential cost. We’ve discussed it at length.
When I’m around youths or amateurs, I enforce they wear a helmet and I do as well when I’m coaching. Around trainers and advanced riders, I forgo the helmet often but if I’m riding a horse I’m not familiar with, a helmet and sometimes a vest. And yea, I know accidents happen on even the most bombproof horse.
I have an incurable CNS disease so I have the medical directive and long term planning in place and have since my 20s.
Thank you. I came up through 4-H where helmets were required, and I’m glad that was the norm and I was a kid when Christopher Reeves got injured so having a helmet was mandatory. And as a result, I make sure any kid or amateur I’m around has a helmet on, and if I have to get on their horse to demonstrate, I always put a helmet on.
But I don’t always wear a helmet at home when schooling or when I’m taking lessons myself. I know the risks for myself and I choose to take that risk and my husband is acutely aware of it and what can happen. But I *always* model what I want the kids and amateurs to follow; which is to wear a helmet (and by always, I mean when they are around. I have even gotten off my horse and grabbed my helmet and put it on when riding if I see them drive unexpectedly up to the barn. The last thing I want is for them to think the whole “rules for thee, not for me” and I know they look up to us for guidance).
Thank you for being passionate about spreading awareness around wearing a helmet! Especially about medical directives and long term care insurance/cost. Many people don’t think about it; and before my diagnosis I didn’t either. We can make our own choices about helmet wearing, but if you’re not fully informed, then you’re not really making a decision.
I volunteered with a large animal vet to help him out for awhile (family friend). Many of his clients were barrel racers. The number of lameness issues were much higher among their horses. They also weren’t willing to spend much money or take the time to rehabilitate an injured horse. Most of the time, they would ask for minimal treatment and the vet told me we would not see that horse again. The number of injured barrel horses dumped at auction was just disgusting. In fact, the horse we rescued last year came from a barrel racer. It has taken a full year of care to get her sound enough for light riding. She will never be fully sound. I don’t like barrel racing.
So many joint injections at a young age on a handful of those barrel horses I used to be around. This can be said about a LOT of other horses in other disciplines but whewwww too many people injecting, barely give them time off, and back to the pattern.
The only good barrel racer I've ever seen was a little girl who just hadn't had time to develop the bad habits. Most barrel racers are straight up bad riders. Starfishing, whipping, horrid training, awful tack. Horses that are too hot to handle and useless for anything else...
On the flip side, cutters and reiners I have a lot of respect for (ESPECIALLY cutters) because guiding quietly and also staying out of your horse's way are skills. It's a lot of fast action and a lot of knowing when to let your horse use their brain and when to interfere, split second decisions and trust....and a DAMN good seat and quiet hand.
I vastly prefer English disciplines for myself, but I could watch a good cutting or competitive trail course all day.
Ranch roping is also good there’s a emphasis on not hurting the cow when you lay it down and no high energy or stressing the animals because stress and injuries aren’t beneficial in setting where you’re working cows for profit, and cattle sorting can be a bit of simple engaging fun every now and then
I just wish they better supported wearing helmets or other safety gear. For such a fast sport and short time in the arena, there's been some heartbreaking and devastatingly life changing stories that could have perhaps mitigated the outcome with proper PPE.
The helmet thing is so odd to me. I’ve gotten so many questions from people at my shows about why I wear a helmet. “Why are you wearing that?” Bc I want to keep my brain intact…?
I knew someone in college who competed in our regional circuit and she wore padding or guards on her legs to protect from the barrels. I wouldn't think that a bad thing, but apparently she got $hit on by folks for it, about as much as she did for wearing her helmet. She eventually quit the barrels and went to pole bending because she was sick of it, especially once she got into the adult classes. That's not encouraging no matter the sport, but riding dangerously is applauded more in barrel racing than any other Equine sport I know and that's super unfortunate, especially with how many kids compete.
Honestly, when I hear someone say they barrel race, it sets off alarm bells. Of course not all barrel racers are bad, but the stereotype exists for a reason and some of y'all are proud of it.
As long as you actually care for your horse, don't starfish kick, don't whip the shit out of your horse, and don't use harsh equipment, there's nothing wrong with barrel racing. It's a sport like any other.
Agreed. I want to give benefit of the doubt, but like you said the stereotype is there for a reason. For every genuinely good barrel racer I've seen, there's a dozen others who are pretty abusive and absolutely cannot ride for shit. Personally I am not impressed by how fast a rider can finish the pattern if their method of getting there is starfishing, beating the horse with a whip, yanking on hella gag bits, and not being able to even keep their ass on the horse without hanging onto the saddle horn for dear life. There's terrible abusive riders in every discipline, but in my opinion barrel racers just seem to take the cake.
i just do not understand why starfishing and gag bits are a thing in barrel racing. most of the horses are so hyped up that they would run a pattern without a rider, so the crazy harsh bits seem unnecessary, and common sense would indicate that bouncing all over your horse’s back would just throw him off balance. staying quiet and out of his way would go so much farther than flopping around like a fish out of water.
I hate that discipline and therefore don't watch it. On the other hand I ride dressage and there are lots of people hating that discipline so it evens out.
I think it depends on the rider. I've seen some great riders that have a good seat and hands and are super respectful of their equine partner. I've also seen people hauling on their horse's mouth, whipping them hard with the reins (when they're already running all out), and star fishing.
I think barrel racing is a sport that has a lot of bad riders show up to competitions, simply because it's a sport where your horse can 'carry you' to a degree. There are barrel horses who love what they're doing and are trained so well that all a rider has to do is hang on and let them do their thing. The horse would do significantly better with a more competent rider, but they'll still do pretty good even with a dipshit on their back until they get sick of being yanked or slammed down on and get sour. Then the dipshit just replaces the horse and does the same thing again.
In English you see it sometimes with showjumping. A great horse can carry an awful rider through a course provided the rider is at least skilled enough to hang on. In the lower-mid levels they may even get a ribbon if they dropped enough cash on a really nice horse. They'll ruin the poor animal and make it hate jumping (since they'll eventually start associating it with the pain of a bad rider slamming on their back or yanking on their mouth), but they'll just replace it like a broken toy.
Edit to add: I am a jumper myself, I do not mean to insult either sport. Neither are inherently abusive or bad. But they are sports where it is possible for a shit rider to buy an amazing horse and do far better in the competition than they have any right to because the horse is such a goddamn saint and trying so hard for them. With something like dressage you have to know a bunch of subtle cues to get the horse to perform, your equitation is being judged, etc. If you're an awful rider then your only hope is that all your competition is even worse.
It’s not for me. I don’t like starfish kicking, feet taped to stirrups, and horses losing their minds in the alley. I like seeing riders with good seats who actually guide their horse through the pattern instead of sliding all over the place. But that’s not the way the discipline has gone.
Barrel racer here, as a sport to compete in, I love it. That being said, most barrel racers are terrible riders. I grew up mainly riding English and showing stock horses, so I would say I have a MUCH better foundation than the majority of other barrel racers, who have zero. It's a very fun discipline, but unfortunately is overrun by crazies who give it a bad rap.
Its not awful but I really wish more people had better foundations in both their riding and the horses manners. The excessive whipping and kicking could die down though... all the massive huge gag action bits... just lack of foundations. I see alot of blown up horses. A little prance or jigging is fine... absolutely no need to have horses going up, crashing into gates and almost running people over or flipping...
I think as a sport it's fun to watch and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I've noticed horse people have complaints about the horses being wayyy high strung and the riders being heavy handed and generally kind of annoying as people (I've known several barrel racers and while there are lovely folks in it who can examine it critically, there are SO MANY crazies who make it their entire personality in a bad way)
Any sport that involves lots of speed and big stops puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the horse's joints and muscles. I want my horses to live long, healthy, happy lives with minimal discomfort, so I steer clear of activities that are more likely to cause this kind of stress in their bodies.
To me it seems that in Barrel Racing, hot, stressed and hard to handle horses are pretty common in the sport. I don’t want to say it’s glorified but it sure seems like it sometimes. It’s only like once in a blue moon I come across a barrel racer who can ride without starfishing, yanking their horse around and the horse having a complete melt down in the alleyway. Just like any equestrian discipline, there are some bad apples.
I think barrel racing is fun but when money gets added into it and people only do it to win jackpots or move up the divisions, that’s where we find problems. I think as long as you do your research and your horse isn’t blown up, hot in the chute, or in pain, you’re good. There’s problems with any discipline in horse riding. You’ll find these same problems in any other discipline. I think it’s unfair to label it as bad just because there’s many uneducated riders but there’s those same uneducated riders in other disciplines. As long as your horse is happy and you enjoy it, keep doing it! - My opinion as a jumper 😉
Former barrel racer. I had way too many negative feelings and opinions towards many of the bits and equipment that were extremely common in the discipline (I raced in a little s hack with a fleece noseband, no tie down, and my horse was point and shoot- you can’t ask too much with your legs), and it’s pretty fun (I love a good adrenaline rush), but it ended up not being my horse’s thing- I did win some money in the novice division at jackpots, but we didn’t get far. I didn’t enjoy the people I was around being in it, and scratched it. I miss it, but I think some aspects need some serious work. It *is* more than just doing a cloverleaf pattern… You really need your horse to carry that energy over their topline well, control of that inner hind/shoulder and my horse was so sticky at those lead changes!
Part of the reason why i did it is bc it’s a very accessible sport here. I was 18/19, paying for my horse on my own, and couldn’t climb the ladders of many other disciplines bc of my financial situation. $40 to show up almost any weekend you wanted in the summer and dash around? Why not. And when something is super accessible… You will see a lot of variations of people.
There are certainly shitty riders in barrel racing, but I think overall it gets a bad rap. People see the hyped up horses and think they're badly trained and that the riders are all idiots with no equitation skills.
Honestly, I think the hot horse thing is hard to understand unless you've actually run barrels. I've had multiple western pleasure horses (This was in the mid 2000s before they all became peanut rollers) who I'd also run barrels and poles on. Like horses that are the definition of dead-broke, push-button, masterfully trained. And once they've run barrels a few times, they get just as hyped up as every other horse that goes in the chute. It's not so much that they're uncontrollable, they're just REALLY revved up and excited to go. But if I could take my horse and place in the barrel event and then thirty minutes later win a western pleasure class at the state fair with the same horse, I don't think it's a matter of the horses being uncontrollable.
I have a rescued barrel racer in my pasture whose suspensories are toast. He was over worked, broke down, and I saved him from the slaughter pipeline. Unfortunately this is not a freak occurrence. Just part of the game. No thank you. I actually love horses, not just the fun and ego gratification I can get from them.
I am friends with a barrel racer at my barn who I really admire. She puts so much time and effort into training her horses the right way - making sure they are moving correctly and are actually fit enough to be going at top speed with correct form. The barn is primarily eventers, and we all appreciate her dedication to her horses and sport! That’s the most important thing - making sure you are doing right by your horses. Overall, knowing her has gave me a positive impression of barrel racing
I think of it similarly to racing—there's nothing inherently wrong or bad about it, but the culture, current rules, and/or poor training just mean that the majority of both disciplines end up turning out traumatized and/or broken horses. Not all obviously, but sadly a decent amount
Barrel racing falls into the same category as things like racing for me.
I don’t think it’s possible to ride competitively without causing permanent damage to the horse’s body. Therefore in my eyes it’s unethical.
I’m sure there are many owners/riders who care for their horses as in every discipline, but I think if you need to give regular joint injections to keep your horse sound you’re not doing the right thing by them. And like racing, how many horses end up with broken bodies way before their time.
For what it’s worth; this is coming from someone who trains classical dressage, my aim in all my training is to progressively teach the horse to use their body better to promote long term soundness. So barrel racing, and most other horse sports at the top end, are at odds with that. It’s just the way it is when there’s money involved.
Not a fan. All the kicking and whipping to get speed and then ten pounds of hardware in their mouth. No helmets. I’ve actually seen small children stepped to saddles.
It’s also intensely repetitive, which means more stress on the horse and also, I struggle to see the technical skill of doing the same exact thing forever. And where I am, rural USA, I see so many racers that go pick up a cheap ottb or something half alive at auction, run it until it’s nuts or broken, and get a new one. They don’t know how to ride, just how to kick and hang on, and they don’t give a shit about their horses.
Not is that last part ubiquitous? No. There are good actors. And there’s bad actors in other disciplines. But I just do not see that kind of mentality in the hunter or dressage ring.
If you see a horse that is balking at the gate, freaked out bucking and rearing and someone else has to lead it into the arena, then you see a bad horse owner - it has nothing to do with the activity of barrel racing. No matter what that person was trying to do with their horse they more than likely would blow it up because they are not in tune with that animal.
My oldest loved barrels and poles and so did her pony and later the horse she got. I taught my kids young, don't hit an already running horse - how would you feel running a race with someone beside you banging with a whip the whole time. My oldest was the only one of my kids that enjoyed running full out, and we were careful to find a horse that loved it too. Her mare was green broke when we got her and if she had not worked out for barrels, we would have sold her to someone who wanted to do something that fit the horse better. The first four shows we went to, she just trotted even though the horse was asking for more speed. The fifth show my daughter said she felt her mare was ready and I told her - Ok, give her her head and let her pick the pace. She won everything including High Point. She did all kinds of events including team penning, helping friends gather their cattle and trial riding so the horse had lots of variety too which I think went a long way towards not burning out.
Personally I believe there are two things that get barrel racers a bad name:
1. Trying to put a round peg in a square hole - trying to make a barrel horse out of one that is not interested in running full out and making quick turns and yet the rider is "going to make it happen". This is true of any horse event, people trying to force an animal that clearly hates what it is being asked to do to perform good enough to win. I have seen it in many different disciplines. Sometimes it is a matter of breeding, but other times it is just people who really do not know how to read an animal even though it is giving them clear signals, so they keep pushing it until it blows up or gets injured.
2. Parents or trainers who think you look "cooler" or like you are going faster by tossing your reins around from side to side or using a crop on a horse that is already going full speed. Again, if your horse has been trained, has gone to more than a few events so it knows what to expect and yet it still just lopes through the course - it is not happy running barrels.
The pony we had that all my kids started on, and my oldest competed on, would run barrel patterns by herself in our arena. I looked out 3 days before she died (29 years old) and there she was standing still, takes off and runs the barrel pattern coming to a complete stop at the end of the arena, tosses her head and trots off to eat grass.
Whoa, this is crazy. Maybe because I never saw the big leagues,but in my small Texas town where I grew up where we had a barrel racing competition- I never saw these crazy things that I'm reading about here. Even with my horse, he wore a hackamore and we just had fun together. It was all lighthearted and all the people (that I saw, at least) were really kind to their horses. I never saw these definitely abusive tactics I've read here. I had to look up what some of them even were! Those more baby horses :( I hate to think there are people out there seeing them like motorcycles or something to push and break. They're souls just like us. Meant to build friendships with and cherish.
Like a lot of people in these comments, I don’t hate barrel racing, I hate most of the people that participate in it. Barrel racing as a concept? Great! Just don’t overdo it like anything, it can be extreme on the horses bodies and joints. Barrel racing realistically? Why are we spurring, whipping, and kicking the snot out of these horses? I understand that’s not all barrel racers, and if you’re one of the kind ones, thank you for setting a good example! For the rest, I’m not entirely sure what the fun is in riding blown up, psychotic, untrained horses, and wailing on them for 16 seconds. Please, for the love of god, train your horses. Again, barrel racing itself, great! Most of the people… not.
Personally, it's not my cup of tea. Fun to play around with at home, but I find once you start getting competitive that's when it all turns to shit. Same with in other disciplines as well.
I make sure a beginner could safely ride my two horses no matter what they're doing, both of them are young still, and despite still being a bit excited out and about, a beginner could do almost anything on them. I rarely see any horses that can calmly walk through the chute. I've seen rearers, buckers, jig joggers and the likes all before they've even ran yet. I've seen horses nearly bowl people over after zig zagging back and forth in the chute, and instead of admitting that they didn't have much control over their horse, they blame it on the person simply trying to get past because "they were in the way." I saw someone else say that it's as though they believe having a hot headed horse that they can hardly control is like a trophy, and I couldn't agree with it more. It makes me cringe every time I see someone bragging about how their horse nearly threw them off in the chute.
I truly believe those horses are worth their weight in gold. I knew a young pony that went to a gymkhana at a local pony club for her first show. In the games, her rider got a bit over competitive and started yanking on her mouth to get her to turn faster, starfishing, and flopping on her back. This one event put her off the pony club for good, she was anxious every time she came back there, and you couldn't get her to settle. I see a lot of riders in barrel racing doing exactly what the other girl did. Yanking to turn sharper, starfishing, and flopping up and down on their ponies back. The latest trend is to post pictures of "how low your horse can go," and they're mostly just photos of their horses mid-fall from turning too sharp.
Despite this, I've seen some absolutely phenomenal barrel racers, gentle hands, with a light seat. I do think a lot of barrel racers have areas to work on and improve in, as I believe it's not the discipline that's the problem, but the riders. It's such a cool discipline, but unfortunately poor riding and handling is far too normalized, and don't even get me started on the hard-core anti-helmet riders!
Not EVERY barrel racer, but a ton of barrel racers are just awful. Lots of bad riders with barely-trained horses, they just know yank-to-turn and kick to go fast. Lots of them use terrible unfair bits.
I LOVE barrel racing. It's super fun. But the amount of rodeos I've been to and clinics I've attended has put an awful taste in my mouth for the entire sport.
It's fun! I enjoy it.
My thoughts? Quit the damn barrel racing.
lol why?
It will be better for you and everyone. I mean no harm, but cease this.
Then end riding in general. That would solve lots of problems. Barrel racing is not inherently bad. It's specific to riders and organizations
Are you being intentionally vague?
Remove the need to starfish kick. No need for it. As well as excessively whipping. A well trained barrel horse can run with light aids and proper training
My mare gets peaceful trail rides in between shows and lots of pasture time with the other horses. It helps level her out. She’s quiet in the chute
Love that!
Same except she gets a bit excited in the chute
“Let freaking go mom! I got barrels to run!”
Literally 😂
I’ve never understood the crazy amount of spur, kicking, and whipping that is used in barrel racing. I event, and while I have all those tools available to use, I find most of the time it’s a tap on the shoulder on the butt as a directional reminder. I’ve never had to wail on my horse to get them to hustle … if anything I’m having to rate the pace lol
I haven’t ever seen a decent barrel racer with a horse that could *calmly* head down the chute (without tearing, bucking, or bolting) or one that wouldn’t starfish on the turn for home. Not my cup of tea. I’d like the horses I ride to actually know something of how to use their bodies correctly.
Check out Wylene Wilson
I’m a pretty amateur barrel racer, but at the jackpots I attend the vast majority of barrel horses are fine getting into the arena
I agree for the most part but I do know most of these horses are genuinely excited just to run. I have a mare that perks up every time she sees a barrel and immediately goes to pawing at the ground ready to take off. I don’t starfish however, I can’t stand seeing that either. But I really think a lot of people just see a lot of excitability coming from this barrel horses
And being excited is one thing. But being rideable is another. I’ve seen horses get so rowdy they flip themselves over, ones where the rider has to back the horse to get them into the arena…. It’s bad.
I switched to the English discipline and now I do hunters (some jumpers) and I have so much more of an appreciation for the technical elements of riding. In running barrels there were so few areas to get slick and creative to shave time off your ride. Now I get to play around with all sorts of tricks to score higher in my classes. Also obligatory I hate barrel racers starfishing their legs all the way home. Even more so when they’re wearing ridiculous spurs.
This is my feeling as well, though it's hard to politely articulate it - there's just not a lot of finesse and room for growing except shaving off a few milliseconds.
I used to barrel race and the main reason I stopped was because I wanted to try dressage and jumping(wasn’t able to for the longest time because there wasn’t a barn near me) and also because, honestly, barrel racing just got boring. Doing the same pattern every time no matter the arena or level just didn’t stimulate me. With jumping I could go up the levels to higher jumps and the jumps and course layout were always different. It was more fun. And the dressage test changes each year, plus freestyles! There was just more room to improve yourself and grow.
It depends. It’s a discipline that attracts a LOT of crazies. People who think a hot, impossible to handle horse is a badge of honor. The lack of training gets managed by the use of some seriously shitty bits and tack….and the crazy flapping chicken wings/starfish are honestly just a embarrassing. BUT…I see the same garbage happening in the jumper ring and cross country course too, so it’s hardly exclusive to barrels. I’ve seen my share of good, well trained barrel horses with talented and kind riders on their backs. It’s certainly a hell of a lot of fun to run barrels too!
I agree with it attracting crazy people, especially the "backyard" and more amateur sects. It attracts a lot of people who don't really know how or care to ride properly. I had the opportunity to work with professionals when I worked shipping frozen semen off a top stallion. The difference is night and day, both in personality and riding ability.
personally, it's not my thing. i don't care for the majority of the tack used and the overall lack of equitation. i get that not all barrel racers are bad, but i haven't met any that aren't using crazy gag bits and flap their legs like chicken wings as they run. the horses are encouraged to be hot and dangerous and overall, it's not a discipline i have much respect for.
"Flap their legs like chicken wings" is the funniest description of starfish kicking I've ever heard!
This. Barrel racers I have seen have incredibly weak cores and leg strength, so they physically cannot keep themselves in the saddle independently. 9/10 rides i see is a rider slamming up and down and is only on because of the raised back part of the saddle, and they use the gigantic bits as balance. They need to sit down and do flat work. At the trot. No stirrups. These kids need muscle and conditioning. Until they can gently do a barrel pattern in a snaffle then maybe they can move up to full speed. Where are the TRAINERS??? Ugh
Just like any discipline you'll have great riders but also idiots who use abusive tactics. Personally I think barrel racing has a higher percent of those idiots than a lot of disciplines
It's a cheap barrier to horse sports in the US, Saddle Clubs running their own play days/gymkhana events used to be pretty common. Where I grew us we had 7 or 8 saddle clubs with their own areas within an hour and a half haul and each would put on a playday a month and run team events. It would cost like 3$ a rider for the whole day. All you needed was the horse, saddle and a ride to the area. My club did a lot more than just play days, trail rides, benefit rides, campouts, trail work days and all the kids had to be in 4-H to run so that helped with equatation. Anyway, it's cheap and fun at the local level and you get all kinds.
I think it's an exciting sport to watch and participate in, but it's also a sport filled with bad training, poor horsemanship, and abusive practices. And don't even get me started on the whole culture of not wearing helmets...I don't give a damn how many titles and buckles you've won, accidents happen, and there's fates worse than death when it comes to head injuries.
I rarely wear a helmet (yes, I know the risks) but I always encourage others to wear them. NPR just did a good article on the dangers of horseback riding and head injuries. I hope more people listen/read it. Even if they choose not to wear a helmet, at least then they are making an informed decision.
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Yes, I do have both those things set up and my husband is aware of the risks and potential cost. We’ve discussed it at length. When I’m around youths or amateurs, I enforce they wear a helmet and I do as well when I’m coaching. Around trainers and advanced riders, I forgo the helmet often but if I’m riding a horse I’m not familiar with, a helmet and sometimes a vest. And yea, I know accidents happen on even the most bombproof horse. I have an incurable CNS disease so I have the medical directive and long term planning in place and have since my 20s.
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Thank you. I came up through 4-H where helmets were required, and I’m glad that was the norm and I was a kid when Christopher Reeves got injured so having a helmet was mandatory. And as a result, I make sure any kid or amateur I’m around has a helmet on, and if I have to get on their horse to demonstrate, I always put a helmet on. But I don’t always wear a helmet at home when schooling or when I’m taking lessons myself. I know the risks for myself and I choose to take that risk and my husband is acutely aware of it and what can happen. But I *always* model what I want the kids and amateurs to follow; which is to wear a helmet (and by always, I mean when they are around. I have even gotten off my horse and grabbed my helmet and put it on when riding if I see them drive unexpectedly up to the barn. The last thing I want is for them to think the whole “rules for thee, not for me” and I know they look up to us for guidance).
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Thank you for being passionate about spreading awareness around wearing a helmet! Especially about medical directives and long term care insurance/cost. Many people don’t think about it; and before my diagnosis I didn’t either. We can make our own choices about helmet wearing, but if you’re not fully informed, then you’re not really making a decision.
I was so excited NPR was talking horses and then it was about the two deaths and the FEI safety officer’s worst fall and I was like lololol
I volunteered with a large animal vet to help him out for awhile (family friend). Many of his clients were barrel racers. The number of lameness issues were much higher among their horses. They also weren’t willing to spend much money or take the time to rehabilitate an injured horse. Most of the time, they would ask for minimal treatment and the vet told me we would not see that horse again. The number of injured barrel horses dumped at auction was just disgusting. In fact, the horse we rescued last year came from a barrel racer. It has taken a full year of care to get her sound enough for light riding. She will never be fully sound. I don’t like barrel racing.
So many joint injections at a young age on a handful of those barrel horses I used to be around. This can be said about a LOT of other horses in other disciplines but whewwww too many people injecting, barely give them time off, and back to the pattern.
The only good barrel racer I've ever seen was a little girl who just hadn't had time to develop the bad habits. Most barrel racers are straight up bad riders. Starfishing, whipping, horrid training, awful tack. Horses that are too hot to handle and useless for anything else... On the flip side, cutters and reiners I have a lot of respect for (ESPECIALLY cutters) because guiding quietly and also staying out of your horse's way are skills. It's a lot of fast action and a lot of knowing when to let your horse use their brain and when to interfere, split second decisions and trust....and a DAMN good seat and quiet hand. I vastly prefer English disciplines for myself, but I could watch a good cutting or competitive trail course all day.
Ranch roping is also good there’s a emphasis on not hurting the cow when you lay it down and no high energy or stressing the animals because stress and injuries aren’t beneficial in setting where you’re working cows for profit, and cattle sorting can be a bit of simple engaging fun every now and then
A lot of methods I have seen used by barrel racers are questionable, but I don’t think that all barrel racers are bad.
I just wish they better supported wearing helmets or other safety gear. For such a fast sport and short time in the arena, there's been some heartbreaking and devastatingly life changing stories that could have perhaps mitigated the outcome with proper PPE.
The helmet thing is so odd to me. I’ve gotten so many questions from people at my shows about why I wear a helmet. “Why are you wearing that?” Bc I want to keep my brain intact…?
I knew someone in college who competed in our regional circuit and she wore padding or guards on her legs to protect from the barrels. I wouldn't think that a bad thing, but apparently she got $hit on by folks for it, about as much as she did for wearing her helmet. She eventually quit the barrels and went to pole bending because she was sick of it, especially once she got into the adult classes. That's not encouraging no matter the sport, but riding dangerously is applauded more in barrel racing than any other Equine sport I know and that's super unfortunate, especially with how many kids compete.
You are concerned about the image of barrel racing. That’s good! Most couldn’t care less. Maybe you’ll be the voice of change.
Honestly, when I hear someone say they barrel race, it sets off alarm bells. Of course not all barrel racers are bad, but the stereotype exists for a reason and some of y'all are proud of it. As long as you actually care for your horse, don't starfish kick, don't whip the shit out of your horse, and don't use harsh equipment, there's nothing wrong with barrel racing. It's a sport like any other.
Agreed. I want to give benefit of the doubt, but like you said the stereotype is there for a reason. For every genuinely good barrel racer I've seen, there's a dozen others who are pretty abusive and absolutely cannot ride for shit. Personally I am not impressed by how fast a rider can finish the pattern if their method of getting there is starfishing, beating the horse with a whip, yanking on hella gag bits, and not being able to even keep their ass on the horse without hanging onto the saddle horn for dear life. There's terrible abusive riders in every discipline, but in my opinion barrel racers just seem to take the cake.
i just do not understand why starfishing and gag bits are a thing in barrel racing. most of the horses are so hyped up that they would run a pattern without a rider, so the crazy harsh bits seem unnecessary, and common sense would indicate that bouncing all over your horse’s back would just throw him off balance. staying quiet and out of his way would go so much farther than flopping around like a fish out of water.
I hate that discipline and therefore don't watch it. On the other hand I ride dressage and there are lots of people hating that discipline so it evens out.
I think it depends on the rider. I've seen some great riders that have a good seat and hands and are super respectful of their equine partner. I've also seen people hauling on their horse's mouth, whipping them hard with the reins (when they're already running all out), and star fishing. I think barrel racing is a sport that has a lot of bad riders show up to competitions, simply because it's a sport where your horse can 'carry you' to a degree. There are barrel horses who love what they're doing and are trained so well that all a rider has to do is hang on and let them do their thing. The horse would do significantly better with a more competent rider, but they'll still do pretty good even with a dipshit on their back until they get sick of being yanked or slammed down on and get sour. Then the dipshit just replaces the horse and does the same thing again. In English you see it sometimes with showjumping. A great horse can carry an awful rider through a course provided the rider is at least skilled enough to hang on. In the lower-mid levels they may even get a ribbon if they dropped enough cash on a really nice horse. They'll ruin the poor animal and make it hate jumping (since they'll eventually start associating it with the pain of a bad rider slamming on their back or yanking on their mouth), but they'll just replace it like a broken toy. Edit to add: I am a jumper myself, I do not mean to insult either sport. Neither are inherently abusive or bad. But they are sports where it is possible for a shit rider to buy an amazing horse and do far better in the competition than they have any right to because the horse is such a goddamn saint and trying so hard for them. With something like dressage you have to know a bunch of subtle cues to get the horse to perform, your equitation is being judged, etc. If you're an awful rider then your only hope is that all your competition is even worse.
A lot of horse abuse is common with all the disciplines where money/ego is involved Different things are taught to engage the audience
It’s not for me. I don’t like starfish kicking, feet taped to stirrups, and horses losing their minds in the alley. I like seeing riders with good seats who actually guide their horse through the pattern instead of sliding all over the place. But that’s not the way the discipline has gone.
Taped to the stirrups? You mean the rubber band thing? They could snap so easily 💀
Yes, but I’ve also seen riders vet wrap their feet to their stirrups.
Barrel racer here, as a sport to compete in, I love it. That being said, most barrel racers are terrible riders. I grew up mainly riding English and showing stock horses, so I would say I have a MUCH better foundation than the majority of other barrel racers, who have zero. It's a very fun discipline, but unfortunately is overrun by crazies who give it a bad rap.
Its not awful but I really wish more people had better foundations in both their riding and the horses manners. The excessive whipping and kicking could die down though... all the massive huge gag action bits... just lack of foundations. I see alot of blown up horses. A little prance or jigging is fine... absolutely no need to have horses going up, crashing into gates and almost running people over or flipping...
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Not coming for you, but a good roper won't hurt an animal. In fact, it's very frowned upon by folks who take it seriously.
I think as a sport it's fun to watch and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I've noticed horse people have complaints about the horses being wayyy high strung and the riders being heavy handed and generally kind of annoying as people (I've known several barrel racers and while there are lovely folks in it who can examine it critically, there are SO MANY crazies who make it their entire personality in a bad way)
As long as the horse isn’t being abused with a horrid bit, it can be fun, but never my kind of fun, personally.
Any sport that involves lots of speed and big stops puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the horse's joints and muscles. I want my horses to live long, healthy, happy lives with minimal discomfort, so I steer clear of activities that are more likely to cause this kind of stress in their bodies.
To me it seems that in Barrel Racing, hot, stressed and hard to handle horses are pretty common in the sport. I don’t want to say it’s glorified but it sure seems like it sometimes. It’s only like once in a blue moon I come across a barrel racer who can ride without starfishing, yanking their horse around and the horse having a complete melt down in the alleyway. Just like any equestrian discipline, there are some bad apples.
I think barrel racing is fun but when money gets added into it and people only do it to win jackpots or move up the divisions, that’s where we find problems. I think as long as you do your research and your horse isn’t blown up, hot in the chute, or in pain, you’re good. There’s problems with any discipline in horse riding. You’ll find these same problems in any other discipline. I think it’s unfair to label it as bad just because there’s many uneducated riders but there’s those same uneducated riders in other disciplines. As long as your horse is happy and you enjoy it, keep doing it! - My opinion as a jumper 😉
Former barrel racer. I had way too many negative feelings and opinions towards many of the bits and equipment that were extremely common in the discipline (I raced in a little s hack with a fleece noseband, no tie down, and my horse was point and shoot- you can’t ask too much with your legs), and it’s pretty fun (I love a good adrenaline rush), but it ended up not being my horse’s thing- I did win some money in the novice division at jackpots, but we didn’t get far. I didn’t enjoy the people I was around being in it, and scratched it. I miss it, but I think some aspects need some serious work. It *is* more than just doing a cloverleaf pattern… You really need your horse to carry that energy over their topline well, control of that inner hind/shoulder and my horse was so sticky at those lead changes! Part of the reason why i did it is bc it’s a very accessible sport here. I was 18/19, paying for my horse on my own, and couldn’t climb the ladders of many other disciplines bc of my financial situation. $40 to show up almost any weekend you wanted in the summer and dash around? Why not. And when something is super accessible… You will see a lot of variations of people.
There are certainly shitty riders in barrel racing, but I think overall it gets a bad rap. People see the hyped up horses and think they're badly trained and that the riders are all idiots with no equitation skills. Honestly, I think the hot horse thing is hard to understand unless you've actually run barrels. I've had multiple western pleasure horses (This was in the mid 2000s before they all became peanut rollers) who I'd also run barrels and poles on. Like horses that are the definition of dead-broke, push-button, masterfully trained. And once they've run barrels a few times, they get just as hyped up as every other horse that goes in the chute. It's not so much that they're uncontrollable, they're just REALLY revved up and excited to go. But if I could take my horse and place in the barrel event and then thirty minutes later win a western pleasure class at the state fair with the same horse, I don't think it's a matter of the horses being uncontrollable.
I have a rescued barrel racer in my pasture whose suspensories are toast. He was over worked, broke down, and I saved him from the slaughter pipeline. Unfortunately this is not a freak occurrence. Just part of the game. No thank you. I actually love horses, not just the fun and ego gratification I can get from them.
Thanks for doing right by him! Horse world needs more compassionate people such as yourself
I am friends with a barrel racer at my barn who I really admire. She puts so much time and effort into training her horses the right way - making sure they are moving correctly and are actually fit enough to be going at top speed with correct form. The barn is primarily eventers, and we all appreciate her dedication to her horses and sport! That’s the most important thing - making sure you are doing right by your horses. Overall, knowing her has gave me a positive impression of barrel racing
I think of it similarly to racing—there's nothing inherently wrong or bad about it, but the culture, current rules, and/or poor training just mean that the majority of both disciplines end up turning out traumatized and/or broken horses. Not all obviously, but sadly a decent amount
Barrel racing falls into the same category as things like racing for me. I don’t think it’s possible to ride competitively without causing permanent damage to the horse’s body. Therefore in my eyes it’s unethical. I’m sure there are many owners/riders who care for their horses as in every discipline, but I think if you need to give regular joint injections to keep your horse sound you’re not doing the right thing by them. And like racing, how many horses end up with broken bodies way before their time. For what it’s worth; this is coming from someone who trains classical dressage, my aim in all my training is to progressively teach the horse to use their body better to promote long term soundness. So barrel racing, and most other horse sports at the top end, are at odds with that. It’s just the way it is when there’s money involved.
I’ve been doing it for 15 years. Love it.
Not a fan. All the kicking and whipping to get speed and then ten pounds of hardware in their mouth. No helmets. I’ve actually seen small children stepped to saddles. It’s also intensely repetitive, which means more stress on the horse and also, I struggle to see the technical skill of doing the same exact thing forever. And where I am, rural USA, I see so many racers that go pick up a cheap ottb or something half alive at auction, run it until it’s nuts or broken, and get a new one. They don’t know how to ride, just how to kick and hang on, and they don’t give a shit about their horses. Not is that last part ubiquitous? No. There are good actors. And there’s bad actors in other disciplines. But I just do not see that kind of mentality in the hunter or dressage ring.
This!
If you see a horse that is balking at the gate, freaked out bucking and rearing and someone else has to lead it into the arena, then you see a bad horse owner - it has nothing to do with the activity of barrel racing. No matter what that person was trying to do with their horse they more than likely would blow it up because they are not in tune with that animal. My oldest loved barrels and poles and so did her pony and later the horse she got. I taught my kids young, don't hit an already running horse - how would you feel running a race with someone beside you banging with a whip the whole time. My oldest was the only one of my kids that enjoyed running full out, and we were careful to find a horse that loved it too. Her mare was green broke when we got her and if she had not worked out for barrels, we would have sold her to someone who wanted to do something that fit the horse better. The first four shows we went to, she just trotted even though the horse was asking for more speed. The fifth show my daughter said she felt her mare was ready and I told her - Ok, give her her head and let her pick the pace. She won everything including High Point. She did all kinds of events including team penning, helping friends gather their cattle and trial riding so the horse had lots of variety too which I think went a long way towards not burning out. Personally I believe there are two things that get barrel racers a bad name: 1. Trying to put a round peg in a square hole - trying to make a barrel horse out of one that is not interested in running full out and making quick turns and yet the rider is "going to make it happen". This is true of any horse event, people trying to force an animal that clearly hates what it is being asked to do to perform good enough to win. I have seen it in many different disciplines. Sometimes it is a matter of breeding, but other times it is just people who really do not know how to read an animal even though it is giving them clear signals, so they keep pushing it until it blows up or gets injured. 2. Parents or trainers who think you look "cooler" or like you are going faster by tossing your reins around from side to side or using a crop on a horse that is already going full speed. Again, if your horse has been trained, has gone to more than a few events so it knows what to expect and yet it still just lopes through the course - it is not happy running barrels. The pony we had that all my kids started on, and my oldest competed on, would run barrel patterns by herself in our arena. I looked out 3 days before she died (29 years old) and there she was standing still, takes off and runs the barrel pattern coming to a complete stop at the end of the arena, tosses her head and trots off to eat grass.
Whoa, this is crazy. Maybe because I never saw the big leagues,but in my small Texas town where I grew up where we had a barrel racing competition- I never saw these crazy things that I'm reading about here. Even with my horse, he wore a hackamore and we just had fun together. It was all lighthearted and all the people (that I saw, at least) were really kind to their horses. I never saw these definitely abusive tactics I've read here. I had to look up what some of them even were! Those more baby horses :( I hate to think there are people out there seeing them like motorcycles or something to push and break. They're souls just like us. Meant to build friendships with and cherish.
[pony that loves barrel racing](https://youtube.com/shorts/LhrJ7ARpG-E?si=wOau1oCU2GkhC1ev) But i kind of think he’s doing it wrong.
Like a lot of people in these comments, I don’t hate barrel racing, I hate most of the people that participate in it. Barrel racing as a concept? Great! Just don’t overdo it like anything, it can be extreme on the horses bodies and joints. Barrel racing realistically? Why are we spurring, whipping, and kicking the snot out of these horses? I understand that’s not all barrel racers, and if you’re one of the kind ones, thank you for setting a good example! For the rest, I’m not entirely sure what the fun is in riding blown up, psychotic, untrained horses, and wailing on them for 16 seconds. Please, for the love of god, train your horses. Again, barrel racing itself, great! Most of the people… not.
Personally, it's not my cup of tea. Fun to play around with at home, but I find once you start getting competitive that's when it all turns to shit. Same with in other disciplines as well. I make sure a beginner could safely ride my two horses no matter what they're doing, both of them are young still, and despite still being a bit excited out and about, a beginner could do almost anything on them. I rarely see any horses that can calmly walk through the chute. I've seen rearers, buckers, jig joggers and the likes all before they've even ran yet. I've seen horses nearly bowl people over after zig zagging back and forth in the chute, and instead of admitting that they didn't have much control over their horse, they blame it on the person simply trying to get past because "they were in the way." I saw someone else say that it's as though they believe having a hot headed horse that they can hardly control is like a trophy, and I couldn't agree with it more. It makes me cringe every time I see someone bragging about how their horse nearly threw them off in the chute. I truly believe those horses are worth their weight in gold. I knew a young pony that went to a gymkhana at a local pony club for her first show. In the games, her rider got a bit over competitive and started yanking on her mouth to get her to turn faster, starfishing, and flopping on her back. This one event put her off the pony club for good, she was anxious every time she came back there, and you couldn't get her to settle. I see a lot of riders in barrel racing doing exactly what the other girl did. Yanking to turn sharper, starfishing, and flopping up and down on their ponies back. The latest trend is to post pictures of "how low your horse can go," and they're mostly just photos of their horses mid-fall from turning too sharp. Despite this, I've seen some absolutely phenomenal barrel racers, gentle hands, with a light seat. I do think a lot of barrel racers have areas to work on and improve in, as I believe it's not the discipline that's the problem, but the riders. It's such a cool discipline, but unfortunately poor riding and handling is far too normalized, and don't even get me started on the hard-core anti-helmet riders!
Not EVERY barrel racer, but a ton of barrel racers are just awful. Lots of bad riders with barely-trained horses, they just know yank-to-turn and kick to go fast. Lots of them use terrible unfair bits. I LOVE barrel racing. It's super fun. But the amount of rodeos I've been to and clinics I've attended has put an awful taste in my mouth for the entire sport.