barrels

Question
My horse is a small but is fast and all taht and but she allways trie to turn back to the gates and tack wide turns around the barrels. and when i trie to get her to go straight she vier to the gate. she always toses her head when i try to stop her as well from a run and i have tried the one rein stop but when i do she would stop at a barrel whenever i turn her aroun it. also Spirit will always circle a cone now when i pass them fine when i dont want her to and when i do she'll wont do it right. no i do not pull back on her or anythin like that when i turn her i just use neck rein. what can i do?

Answer
Hello!

Thanks for your question and I hope I can be of some help. But unfortunately, I have never spend a lot of time riding western. I was trained in dressage and eventually switched over to hunter. The only western riding I have done was either on trails or for fun. And I once rode an ex-barrel racer but he was the exact opposite. My suggestion would be to talk to someone more experienced and practise. Practise will help you find the way your horse responds best to you. Some horses just don't respond to the conventional ways. I know the first horse I rode over jumps was a very odd horse. He responded to whole different set of commands than any horse I had ever ridden but it worked and he was an amazing jumper. You just half to find the way that works best for you. Another idea I got is that your horse is turning a bit barn sour. Meaning she doesn't really want to work, shown by her always trying to get to the gate. My suggestion for this is to maybe give her a bit of a break from barrels. Try giving her a break from training and leave her in the paddock for a day. And then maybe some trail rides with other horses or maybe games or something like that. Things that aren't serious and don't really matter how you do them. It helps your horse to relax and to bond a bit better. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or in this case makes Spirit barn sour. Other things to check for that might prevent her from doing what you want are: illfitting saddles, sore feet, too tight rein etc. But other than that I don't think I can be of much help to you. My experience of western is very limited. I would definitly find someone more experience in the subject to assist you. I hope that helps at least a little.

* meg *