Does your barrel racing horse get overly excited when he sees the barrels? If he has the desire to run and turn, leaving you as a passenger instead of the driver, it’s time to refresh your cues. This means practicing without a barrel present. Working on speed changes and turns without the barrels will help your horse remember to listen to your aids instead of moving around the cans as he sees fit.

Here, trainer and top barrel racer Kelly Kennedy Joseph teaches you a practice drill that she has riders work on if their horses have taken the lead. She wants her horses and riders to work together—and doesn’t want a horse to anticipate what to do if he hasn’t received a cue.

“This is one of the drills we work on to help riders get their bodies in the right position and get the horse and rider in the right timing without working on the actual barrel pattern,” she says. “This drill helps the horse listen to you and rate his speed and turn on cue. Sometimes horses get running and stop thinking. There’s more to the barrels than going fast and pulling them around. You want them to respond to you.”

With Kennedy Joseph’s barrel racing exercise, you can practice barrel racing elements anywhere. You’ll have the skills you need to ensure your horse is listening.

Ride the Diagonal

Begin by clearing the barrels from the middle of your arena so you’ll have ample space to lope and turn in various locations. You may leave barrels in the arena to help show your horse that the usual clover-leaf pattern isn’t the plan for today. Instead, he’s to follow your cues as you direct him on a new and different path.

Warm up your horse by working in each direction at the walk, trot, and lope. To begin the drill, ride to the corner of the arena. Position yourself so that the long side of the arena is in front of you and your horse’s hind end is all the way to the left of the short side of the area. You’ll travel across the arena diagonally, moving from left to right.

Ask your horse to canter and pick your reins up slightly to the inside to keep your horse’s nose tipped away from the straight line. This will help you rate his speed and keep him from charging ahead.

Remind your horse to listen to your body cues. Roll your hips down onto your horse’s back to ask him to collect and use his body before you ask for a turn. Make sure to keep your hands low and sit down on your pockets as you move straight across the arena’s diagonal.

Each time you practice this long line, choose the speed you’d like your horse to go. You can choose to lope slowly or add leg cues as you ask for speed.

The Turn

Look ahead and plan for a place where you’ll turn. You’ll circle an imaginary barrel at the opposite end of the arena from your starting point. You’ll need to decide when to cue your horse to collect and slow before asking for the turn.

1 of 5

“When you’re ready, roll your hips down to help your horse collect his body beneath you as you continue to drive toward your turning spot,” says Kennedy Joseph. “Make sure to keep your reining hand low. As you roll your hips down, your horse will place his hips beneath you.”

When you reach your invisible barrel, cue your horse into a circle. Turn your horse to the left, toward the middle of the arena. Keep your hips rolled down as you turn by lifting your reining hand to the left and applying outside leg pressure.

Do a turn around your imaginary barrel. Turn tightly, then move your hand forward and toward your starting point. Move out of the turn quickly by rolling your hips forward to ask for speed as you finish the pattern.

“Keep rolling your hips and look ahead as you prepare to turn,” says Kennedy Joseph. “If your horse thinks he should turn before you ask, use your reins to direct him straight ahead and keep him moving forward. At the same time, roll your hips to keep him collected. You’ll need to slow down and stay straight before you turn. Your horse should be tuned in to feel when you want the turn.”

Kennedy Joseph says this exercise will help you learn how much of a cue your horse needs to move forward and then turn on cue. For some horses, you may need to keep pushing forward so that he doesn’t anticipate a turn.

Many horses that are trained for barrels will turn as soon as your forward motion cues stop. For other horses, you may need to help guide the straight line and help the horse through the turn. When the barrel isn’t present, you’ll learn to feel what specific cues your horse needs.

Kelly Kennedy Joseph has been active in barrel racing since she qualified for Little Britches Rodeos. She now coaches riders from her Berthoud, Colo., facility and races at the professional level nationwide.

This article about barrel racing practice without barrels appeared in the May 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Barrel Racing Practice Without Barrels appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Two potential dangers for your horse are strangles and equine herpes virus (EHV), both of which are highly contagious and can easily infect a horse at any barn, arena, or other facility. As cases increase during show and rodeo seasons, Kelli Beavers, DVM, clinical assistant professor of equine veterinary education at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ Veterinary Education, Research, and Outreach (VERO) program, housed at West Texas A&M University, gives advice on how to prevent illnesses like strangles and EHV.

Preventing Exposure

Preventing exposure to strangles or EHV starts by taking simple precautions when you travel with your horse to new facilities around other horses.

“Both of these illnesses can be transmitted by horses and by people. Most disease transmission occurs from horses that do not yet show signs of illness.” Beavers says. “Be very careful about traveling with your horse. Make sure to clean the stall you will be using before you unload everything, including your horse. Washing with soapy water is good and using a hand-held disinfectant sprayer on the walls of the stall as well. One example of a disinfectant is Virkon-S. As far as avoiding exposure, just make sure that you don’t comingle your horses with others that you are unfamiliar with.”

It is also important to ensure your horse is healthy prior to any travel. It is best to avoid any travel if your horse has signs of illness.

Beavers explains that having a quarantine barn is important for coming back home from an event.

“It’s a really great practice to protect your home farm by having a quarantine barn,” Beavers says. “If you come back from a show and realize that your horse has been at risk or exposed, you can make sure to keep other horses safe, whether it be your own horses or others sharing a boarding facility.”

Using Public Utilities

Wash racks and other areas at public facilities can be helpful but should also be approached with caution. Beavers explains how to use these amenities properly to keep your horse from becoming ill.

“When using public utilities at shows or rodeos, be sure to give yourself enough time to get done what you need done without being crowded by other horses,” Beavers says. “You can certainly wash down or disinfect any walls or railings. Make sure to keep your distance from unfamiliar horses if you can and use your common sense in those situations. You can’t completely avoid all risks, especially in common use areas. Using your own grooming equipment, and not comingling your equipment with unfamiliar people or horses can reduce the risk of these illnesses.”

Veterinarian Help

Working with your veterinarian when you suspect your horse might have contracted an illness is crucial, especially if it could be strangles or EHV. Beavers explains how veterinarian help is important to give your horse the best chance of recovery.

“When working with your veterinarian, you can make sure to stay up to date on medication and vaccinations for your horses that do travel and your horses that stay at home. With your veterinarian you can also create an individualized plan for you and your horse,” Beavers says.

Some horse shows and facilities require that a horse be vaccinated with EHV and equine influenza vaccines within a certain timeframe before the event. Be sure to check state and local regulations before traveling.

Next Steps After Horse Illness Exposure

Exposure to strangles or EHV can be shocking and even scary, so focus on the steps to a solution if this occurs.

“If your horse has been exposed, make sure that you have a plan for quarantine set up where you keep your horse. Make sure to monitor your horse for any signs of fever and take their temperature daily,” Beavers says. “If you’re taking care of sick or exposed horses, be sure and take care of them last. That way you can change clothes and get yourself clean without going back to tend to healthy horses.”

Isolate Horses with These Symptoms

It’s essential to know the early symptoms of illnesses like EHV and strangles. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, symptoms to watch for include:

1. Body temperature greater than 101.5°F (38.9°C)
2. Ataxia or recumbency
3. Aggressive behavior or stupor
4. Profuse diarrhea
5. Oral or coronary band vesicular or ulcerative lesions
6. Nasal discharge, coughing, and/or lymphadenopathy

Tell your veterinarian, farrier, trainer, and any other individuals who might come into contact with your horse becomes symptomatic. These professionals work with multiple horses every day, so it is important to notify them of exposure to keep other horses safe.

“It’s important to stay informed, Equine Disease Communication Center is really great because it tracks incidents and when horse illnesses occur so that you know if [strangles or EHV] is in your area,” Beavers says.

Travel with horses can bring excitement and new opportunities for equestrians of all kinds. Keep the excitement going this summer and integrate these tips into your travel routine to keep your horses safe from illness.

The post Preventing Exposure to Illness When Traveling with Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Growing up, Amberley Snyder, star of a rodeo movie on Netflix, competed in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and breakaway roping. She won the World All-Around Cowgirl title at the National Little Britches Rodeo Association and qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in 2009.

In 2010, at the age of 18, she was driving through Wyoming from her home state of Utah on her way to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver when she glanced down to check her map. She had just stopped at a gas station and had forgotten to re-buckle her seat belt.

“As I looked up, I realized I had faded over a lane and was heading towards a metal beam on the side of the road,” Amberley recalls. “I tried to correct my truck, but I slid off the road, and my truck turned completely sideways. I was ejected and hit a fence post on the side of the freeway. I knew I must have broken my back, because I did not have any feeling in my legs. I underwent five hours of surgery, which left me with a whole lot of hardware in my back. The doctor’s prognosis was that I would not gain any feeling below my waist, nor would I have any chance of regaining the use of my legs.”

Behind the Scenes of Her Netflix Rodeo Movie

The 2019 rodeo Netflix movie Walk. Ride. Rodeo. is based on Amberley Snyder’s life.

“The movie process was eye opening,” she says. “It takes a village to make a movie. I was able to be a part of the process from start to finish. There were some things they wanted to be different or bigger for Hollywood, but I feel I was able to keep it 85 percent accurate. My little sister and I were the riding stunt doubles! My favorite part was getting to ride for the film.”

After her accident, the doctors told Amberley she wouldn’t ride again—not the kind of riding she had in mind, anyhow.

“I’ve been in love with horses for as long as I can remember,” she says. “At 3 years old, I started riding. I feel like it’s just been in my blood. It’s something I love to do, and it stuck with me from the time I got on a horse to the first time I did a barrel pattern at the age of 7.”

She knew she wanted to ride again after her accident, but it took her four months of rehab and a lot of convincing before her mother and the doctors agreed to let her try it. In her mind, she thought the back of a horse was the one place where everything would feel the same. On a horse she would be out of her wheelchair and completely free.

However, once in the saddle, Amberley realized she couldn’t feel her legs around the horse and had to learn a new way to balance. She could ride, but it wouldn’t be the same.

Despite the heartbreak of that initial ride, Amberley carried on riding throughout that first summer, adding modifications to her saddle.

These included a padded seat, a seatbelt pulled from an old car, and Velcro around her legs and stirrups.

“A lot of it was trial and error since no one had done what I was doing—wanting to not just ride but compete again someday.”

Finding Her Way

It took a while before she was ready to compete—about 18 months.

“It was wonderful competing again,” Amberley says. “There are definitely frustrations like not being able to kick, but being back competing was spectacular. It’s what I’ve always loved to do and still love to do. The meaning has grown because it’s a time where I don’t have to be in my wheelchair. I get to be on my horse, and I get to move around like everyone else. It’s a joy I have.”

Amberley went on to compete on her college rodeo team in the competitive Rocky Mountain region. Then came an even bigger surprise in March of 2015: As seen in the movie, Amberley was voted in as fan favorite to compete at RFD- TV’s The American—the richest one-day rodeo in the sport.

“It was such a blessing from beginning to end, meeting the people who have been my idols and who I’ve watched for years. Just making a run in the same arena as those people was nothing short of amazing.”

Since then, Amberley Snyder earned her pro rodeo card and competes on the Wilderness Circuit, placing at multiple pro rodeos. In 2016, she was a 2D champion and top five in the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association.

Amberley’s horses have adapted to her being in a wheelchair in ways she never imagined, but there are difficulties.

“I have to be careful about the horses that I’m around on the ground,” she says. “Obviously height is a challenge, and not being able to reach everything I want to reach. Saddling and doing chores is challenging. Everything you don’t think twice about is a whole new ballgame for me.”

Amberley graduated from Utah State in 2015 with her bachelor’s degree in agricultural education, and earned her master’s degree in school counseling in 2018. Currently she’s focusing on her health and young horses, as well as motivational speaking.

“I feel like [sharing my story] gives me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of many people. And this movie has opened the doors to my ability to reach even more people.”

This article on Amberley Snyder, star of a rodeo movie on Netflix, originally appeared in the September/October 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Amberley Snyder: Walk, Ride, and Rodeo Star appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.