Taking My Saddlered Barrel Racing!

When most people see a saddlebred they see a high stepping show horse. I have 2 saddlebreds and both are show horses. But resently I found my pinto mare saddlebred took a liking to Western.
After she had done well in western performance I thought maybe she would like to do some Western games.
She has really taken to Barrel Racing!!! You would never picture a Saddlebred Barrel Racing! but she is very good at whipping around the barrels and I found she has a lot more speed than I thought! What do you think about my show horse doing barrels?

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Permalink Reply by Laura on August 24, 2008 at 9:22am

I think it's a great idea! Horses (and riders) should be versatile. It makes life more interesting and fun!

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Permalink Reply by SkyHilaryLove on August 24, 2008 at 2:05pm

Thanks I found out how fast my little mare could go! I knew she was fast cuz at the barn they always called her "The Little Spitfire" or "Pistol". LOL! But man can she Move!

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Jeffery on August 26, 2008 at 10:47pm

I think it's great that you are willing to try western with your mare. Just a word of warning and I'm sure you've heard this before.....just be careful she doesn't get too hot. You need to keep it slow during training times and go fast in competition only. That way the two of you can perfect your technique and get good times at the competition level. Good for you!

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Permalink Reply by SkyHilaryLove on August 27, 2008 at 5:28pm

Thanks :D and thanks for the tip too. If you have any other tips let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Hannah on October 4, 2008 at 11:09am

I had a Saddlebred mare as my first riding horse. She was fairly well at barrels. I never competed with her, but I did work her on barrels to get me started. I recently sold her to move on to a 3 year-old rather than a 22 year-old. I also had gotten my 5 year-old to where I could ride him.

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Permalink Reply by RhondaL on October 7, 2008 at 10:18am

Years ago, a friend of ours who did barrel racing and pole bending got a saddlebred for the sport. That horse could fly. Good luck and have fun.

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Permalink Reply by Nora Robinson on October 11, 2008 at 3:20am

I think it is great!...Have fun doing it and maybe she is telling you that she is more than "just a pretty face"!

My little arab mare is 1/4 Saddlebred and I would love to do some gymkhana with her too!

Just like people.....they are not all cut from the same cloth. If she is telling you that she enjoys what she is doing....go for it.

Hang on and have a great time with your horse!

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Permalink Reply by Marcy Lawhead on December 6, 2008 at 4:44pm

Dude i think its awesome my saddlebred actually does barrels too!!! and he turns and burns he was supposedly an ex show horse also and then my friend has a 25 yr old saddlebred they use in illinois high school rodeos he ropes and does poles and barrels and is very good in it!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly Mikoula on December 14, 2008 at 4:46am

I think it's awesome i barrel race and normally it's Qh. I brought my MorabXQH barrel racing and it's not often you see anything but QH in there.
I went to a competition this year and there was a saddlebred she looked so sweet doing the barrels and kicked butt it was nice to see a diffrent horse then the same old same old. I think it's awesome the horses just want to have fun too .. The games do the horses good and they relax them after doing the same thing every time they want to have fun too. I think it's awesome your doing barrels with your Saddlebred keep it up :)