Sunny Ranch Performance Horses

What is the most underrated drill in the barrel race?

A small circle. Emphasis on small.

As trainers, our time is typically spent with other professional trainers and high level competitors. With that said, it’s easy to look past the simple, yet difficult task of loping a small circle.

It seems that the majority of barrel racers don’t lope small circles. Often times they are unable to get their horses to do this maneuver. Rather. the horse or the rider doesn’t have the needed body control to perform this task. Outside of skill, they sometimes they don’t posses the strength either.

Think about it from outside the box. If you are training for a strongman competition, would you be lifting heavy or distance running?

If you only lope big circles how can you expect to run small circles?

The physical training of those muscle groups is important.

Unfortunately, many of us ride horses that are not broke or responsive enough to do these controlled maneuvers. Unfortunately still, we don’t necessarily know they aren’t "broke".

Ride with more skilled riders. Learn more about body control. Learn about body mechanics. If you want to win, step up to the plate and master the fundamentals.

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📸: Bee Silva Photography