Blown Up Barrel Horses

Riding bareback… is it good? Well that depends! We have Paisley and other students ride bareback on occasion to encourage balance. BUT notice Paisley is NOT HANGING ON HER HORSES MOUTH. She does not use the reins for balance. She’s engaging her core. She’s also not constantly squeezing with her legs which would send mixed signals to the horse. She uses her legs when appropriate and only makes contact with the horses mouth when necessary. So if the rider can ride this correctly bareback, then it’s great! But if they get nervous and squeeze with their legs constantly, or hang on the reins constantly in order to stay centered, then I suggest they do not ride bareback. That would do more harm than good. And it can also transfer to how they ride under saddle. If a rider ever gets in the habit of using the reins to balance themselves, they have to make contact with the mouth in order to do that. Therefore, the horse will learn to ignore bit pressure and learn to push into the bit or grab a hold of it and not respect it. It’s a really bad habit and it is a very hard one to break. 

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A couple of our students are preparing for the AQHA Youth World Championships where they will compete in barrels, poles and stakes. Although we don’t usually practice pattern work every day, we do need to a little more often in the day’s leading up to the competition. The riders need to really be in “time” with their horses at speed. One exercise we like to do that helps teach your speed horses to elevate their energy level then regulate their energy level is to do slow work AFTER speed work. In slow work we will exaggerate body control and the pattern itself. This is especially great for horses that tend to be really “hot”. On poles, slow work means being very relaxed and calm, walking the actual pattern after running it, circling every pole completely. This exercise also teaches your horse to keep its shoulder up and not fall into the pole. It also helps them learn to wait on the rider to ask them to cross over, rather than anticipate it and cross too soon and hit poles. If you or your kiddo would like to set up lessons with us, we do have a couple more openings for the remainder of the summer and fall. We’d love to welcome you to our team 🤗 #TeamBlownUp We also have one opening for horse training beginning Aug 1st.

Here’s a really good exercise to do with your barrel horse…. Ride circles one handed, use your leg to move the horse out, pick up the inside rein to move his shoulder out… then draw back in and tighten the circle by taking your inside, leg pressure off and easing up on the inside rein. Then push back out… etc.. At first don’t expect a ton of in and out. Subtle try is still a try! keep your hand light and floating. Helps with control in the turn and even helps with a bit of collection. If you have questions about this drill, or would like to set up lessons, shoot us a message! #TeamBlownUp

Something to think on 🤔… We see a lot of riders, adults and kids, that have “hot” horses and are constantly pulling up on the reins in an attempt to keep them under control and not run off… you’ll see these horses prancing and pushing right through the pressure of the bit. And the rider just holds them there with absolutely zero response except keep pushing through. In our training program we expect any bit pressure to actually mean something to the horse. Either slow down or stop or reverse. It’s creating a bad habit when you allow the horse to just push through the bit and keep speeding up. Eventually, you’re going to have a very hard time rating that horse. The horse certainly will not be soft in the mouth, and gaining collection will be nearly impossible. We also believe a good barrel horse knows how to collect. This is a little more advanced riding and training, because you are actually putting pressure on the bit, but expecting forward motion by squeezing your legs, driving that horse’s hind end up underneath them and rounding out their back yet maintaining forward motion. At this stage, you are setting their head and body up to stop or slow down smoothly. They don’t actually stop until you release leg pressure. That’s a whole other lesson lol It just puts them in a more athletic position to do their job and protect their body from injury.  It seems to be a natural instinct in the rider to just pull back when their horse is being hot and prancing around and won’t just walk or trot on a loose rein without speeding up. Yet allows the horse to completely ignore the pressure. Here is a drill we like to do and we have taught Paisley. In this video she’s riding a young horse, Moose. This is a fairly new concept to him. We like to do big circles and ask the horse to ride up into his bit a little while squeezing your legs. In the beginning, you only want a stride or two and then release . Eventually you can ask for more. Someti

* watch how between the first and second barrel Paisley uses her left spur to help Moose move over to the right while still holding him straight so he hits his correct pocket, INSTEAD of pulling his head over to the outside causing him to drop his shoulder then whip around the back of the barrel. Moose has a tendency to leave the second barrel too soon and not finish his turn. Although we work on drills to correct that, when she breezes him through, she can offer a little help with her outside spur, in this case, her right spur. Watch the backside of her turn, how she uses her outside spur to encourage him to finish his turn. She isn’t gouging him the whole way flapping her legs, she is not tensing up and squeezing them into his side. She is only making contact with the spur when it’s needed. She is doing it at the correct time and in the correct manner. This takes practice. Especially for kids. **Sometimes we get asked about running barrels with spurs. Our answer is… it depends! A lot of riders don’t truly understand how to use spurs or when to use spurs. I always say, “They aren’t to make you look like a cowboy/cowgirl!” They’re a tool. NOT FOR SPEED! But rather for BODY CONTROL and sometimes CORRECTION. There are some kids that have no business wearing spurs at all much less during a barrel run. Simply because they are so unaware of what their feet are doing, and they are making contact with the spur at the wrong time for the wrong reason in the wrong way or maybe they’re not releasing them at the right time. Sometimes we advise people that know how to use their spurs correctly to maybe use them during slow work and take them off during a run. It is so easy to lose control of your feet when you’re making a run. Everything happens so fast. If spurs are used correctly, they are a tool that will help you with your riding/ training. But if they’re not used correctly, they can be a real detriment. They are not painful, but they apply a ce

Some phenomenal horses have been ruined with bad hands. Teach your kids to have good hands 🙌 #TeamBlownup

All info in comments! This gelding was started by Bill Lopez and has a very correct handle on him. He’s been through the pattern about 15-20 times. Has a ton of take off power and speed but really wants to rate himself at the barrel. Showing a lot of natural talent. 109% sound. Paisley Lopez will be exhibiting him at the Josey Ranch in Texas Thursday may 11th.

Warming horses up before a lesson. These 3 girls did great and made huge improvements in their pole patterns🙌 we have open spots for lessons with plenty of one-on-one work. We’d love to welcome you or your kiddo to our team 🤗 #TeamBlownUp

Had a great practice last night with a few students. Worked on transitioning from a lope to a trot, trot to lope using our seat and legs as much as possible and our hands as little as possible. This is a great warm up for horse and rider. The girls and their horses all did great. If you or someone you know are in need of performance lessons give us a holler! We’d love to welcome you to our team! #TeamBlownUp

One of the things we see most often is kiddos (and adults) that don’t ride correct during a run, or otherwise. It’s not only important that kids ride correct during a run, but also when trail riding, slow work, warm up, cool down, etc. it’s about forming the habit for horse and rider. If it’s habit during slow work and leisure riding, it will more likely be habit in a run. That will help calm the riders nerves because they won’t have to think about so much, which will calm the horse as well. A lot of alley issues come from the rider’s anxiety and confusion on the horses part because the rider isn’t giving consistent cues during a run. Sometimes it’s easy to expect too much of our horses and not enough of the rider. A horse’s performance is a reflection of its training AND its rider! Kids are capable of learning to ride correct. We have lots of drills, tack suggestions and hacks to help improve your child’s riding. Contact us on our cells or message this page to schedule lessons with us this spring and summer! We want to see your child WIN! And we’d love for your kiddo to join our team! #TeamBlownUp *this video is an example of excellent riding technique during a run. It took a lot of practice to get Paisley to this point. She’s 10. There are still a few things to work on, but this is a really good example! Watch her seat, when she sits up in a turn, she looks up at her next pocket, she drives forward between barrels, she rates, her feet are NEVER behind her and her hands are quite and stay low and in front of her. Bends her elbow in the turn and pulls towards her waist. And she stays 2 hands in the rein as long as she can, she doesn’t go to her saddle horn until she’s at the barrel. All these things and habits are what helped her make this winning run.