Training a horse for barrels does not happen overnight. If you take your time, you and your horse will see the benefits down the road.
Once you start walking your horse through the pattern a few times a week, your horse should begin to walk through the pattern with only a little guidance from you. This means when you point him at the barrels he will start walking towards the first barrel once you cue him to move forward. After turning the first barrel he should head towards the second and then the same for the third barrel. Once your horse is doing this, you should start to pay attention to the cues you give your horse when turning. Notice how you approach each barrel. Before beginning the pattern, position your horse at least 60 feet away from the closest barrels. Make sure you are in the center of the first and second barrels, directly facing the third barrel. This is the position you will be in when entering an arena through the alley way gate, so you will want to start here each and every time. Make your horse stand quietly while facing the barrels, waiting on your cue. When beginning the pattern walk towards the third barrel while looking at the first barrel. Around the 30 foot mark you should gather the right side rein slightly, just enough so that your horse’s head and neck are giving to the right side. Now is when you will start to make a pocket. You can’t take a 1200 pound horse and expect him to run directly at the barrel and turn from a full run. You should aim your horse a few feet away from the barrel and go into the turn a little wide, turn the barrel and come away from it close enough to almost touch it with your boot. If you do this correctly, you should be aimed for the pocket on the second barrel. After making each turn aim your horse for the point you started from. This will keep you and your horse in the habit of following through with the third turn and making a straight line away from it. Practice this at a walk until your horse starts to easily follow your cues for the pocket and turn. Believe me, getting it down correctly in the beginning will cut down on costly mistakes when you start going at a faster pace.
