Thursday, June 20, 2013

Turtle Racing!

That is what my Dad called it when I told him I got some barrels to teach Linus barrel racing!! Ha Ha Ha, what a comedian eh?! Although, from lesson 1 today - he was right - don't tell him that though! : )
We certainly weren't flying like Janeen and Corky, but one day soon we will be!!



I started with an intro to the barrels. Just letting him sniff and nose and because it's Linus; he also had to knock them over!! The barrels were not an issue. Allie the Arab was a bit freaked by them but Linus just looked at her performance and rolled his eyes. Before long, she came and sniffed them too. She's actually a better size for barrels than Linus is, but it's only for fun and to change things up a bit for us!


Do we roll them??


He stood stock still while I rolled the barrel right underneath him both ways. What a guy!


And then he stood patiently waiting while I lined the barrels up. We worked on standing while mounting a couple weeks ago (I like to keep on top of that!) and he stood perfectly for me. I mounted from the right side. I believe in switching that up too!


We had nobody around to take pictures today, but here he is after his first Barrel Racing 101. I teased him because he actually worked up a bit of a sweat (go fatty!). We had fun, we just walked the pattern today. My first goal is for him to learn the pattern. I'm switching up the hackamore for tomorrow's lesson. It's all set to go!! After a few rounds of walking the barrels Linus caught on that after the 3rd one we speed up for home and he started going into that one with more energy. Maybe to wake him up a bit before tomorrow's run we'll go in and cut a few calves if it isn't too hot. This has been the wackiest weather season! We haven't even cut any yet because just a few days ago the fields were flooded! ugh!

Safe and Happy Riding everyone!
Donna & Linus
Lunenburg, On

4 comments:

  1. Linus is such a good guy. I mentioned on fb that I would like to try the pole bending. That looks like so much fun! Actually, I'd like to try EVERYTHING! Why not? I bet Linus would be great in a versatility show once he gets a little older; do you think you will ever try that?

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  2. Good for you, Donna! And I do believe Linus would beat Corky in a dead run! Corky tries hard, but he'll never be super fast just because he's short. Love how Linus is so nonchalant about the barrels! I'll have to try rolling one under Corky.....well, maybe it won't fit because he's pretty close to the ground himself.

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  3. He seems nonchalant about everything..which is awesome but sometimes frustrating too! It can be hard to get him in gear unless you're pointing him down a trail! I think losing a few pounds will help though!! It is handy that I can move the barrels from his back though : )
    Corky's doing great! I know a few barrel racers that actually prefer a shorter horse. They say some of the short ones can whip around the barrels faster?

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  4. I think he would do good in a versatility show Susan. I have shown cows but never horses so it would be a huge step for us. Never say never though right?? Step 1 is to do some solo off-farm riding!! Thanks for the vote of confidence : )

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