When you go on the hunt for a barrel horse or a barrel horse prospect, it can be hit or miss. I know this. Besides the speed necessary, your ideal horse needs to be athletic, sound and trainable. He must be easy to live with. These things are not easy to tell in a trial run on an unfamiliar horse. I know that feeling too.
To make this easier, I have a list of questions you can ask. Starting at the first phone call to the seller of a horse, continuing through more steps that end in a test ride. There are questions that need to be asked and behaviors that need to be observed. With this checklist you will be able to create a list of pluses and minuses.
If the new horse earns pluses, buy him. And please do not call or go and look at horses that are outside of your budget. Also, make sure he passes a veterinary pre-purchase exam to your satisfaction. Remember, there are no perfect horses. You will just have to decide what you can live with as far as personality goes and also maintenance requirements. You may also feel that you can improve on his issues. But, if your horse earns lots of minuses, move on to another prospect. This one may just be too big of a risk.
1. The Initial Contact: So you have found what sounds like a promising barrel horse prospect. Use your initial contact, be it social media, private message, email, or phone call, as a screening. Ask the following questions and you may be able to rule some horses out without ever putting a single mile on your truck.
2. What Are The Horses Bloodlines? Personally I am a huge fan of Quarter Horses. But, I have seen many Paints, Appaloosas, a few Thoro’breds and a combination of these make winners in the barrel pen. Remember, we are breeding for barrel horses now. Just like they have bred for halter horses, cutting horses, reining horses, western pleasure horses, race horses, etc. I believe that if the sire has produced winners or has won at barrel racing, and the dam was a winning barrel horse or has produced winners, your chances are much better of getting a barrel horse. Another way to say this is, “If the daddy’s done it and the momma has done it, the baby will also be able to do it.” So, if he is not bred to be a barrel horse or has no speed or race horses or proven barrel horse producers in his background, I would call that a minus. Funny story, but somehow true, my father was not a cowboy or horseman at all. He did however, have a horse crazy daughter that wanted to barrel race. So he took me to a rodeo. I wanted a horse of a certain color. We watched the barrel race. Dear Dad’s reply was “Nope, you are getting a brown horse, because the brown horses win.” Now mind you, brown, sorrel, bay, and chestnut were all brown to him. But, I gotta tell you, to this day, go and watch a high level barrel race and you tell me what color the largest percentage of winners are? So don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Go with proven barrel horse lines.
3. Is this horse “Off The Race Track” If so, how did he break from the gate? How did he load in the gate? What distance did he run?
If this horse broke well from the gate but fizzled out in the end, he may just have the short burst of speed that you need for a barrel horse. This would be a plus. If he loaded bad in the starting gates, he may not have been able to handle the pressure. He may end up being a barrel horse that is bad at the gate. This would be a minus. If this horse was a long distance runner, he most likely will not make a great barrel horse. You need a horse that did well at a short distance. Something like 300 or 350 yards would be best. So you see, if buying the fastest race horse was the answer, finding a barrel horse prospect would be easy, just go to the race track. Well, what I am trying to tell you is, “it does not work that way”.
4. Was this horse originally trained for another event? One of the pluses here is the fact that he is trained or well broke. The minuses can be endless though. Why did he not continue in that event? Was he bad in the roping box? Was he not fast enough to catch the steer? Or did he overrun the steer? A minus because he may be too chargey and not have enough rate for the barrel pattern Did he run off on the ends in the cutting pen? This one will probably be too hot and not be able to handle the pressure of barrel racing. Was he not athletic enough to continue as a reining horse? A minus because he will not be athletic enough to be a barrel horse. I have found that hot does not equal fast and calm does not equal slow. There are many cowhorse lines that have been bred to be stingy but not fast runners. So be sure and check that there are some bloodlines in here that have made barrel horses. And of course, having a cowhorse/racehorse cross was the original barrel horse before barrel racing got so much money in it and became so popular and specifically bred for
5. Going To Actually See and Try The Horse? I like to see a horse that has not been caught and tacked up. It makes me wonder if something is being hidden from me. Is he hard to catch? Grouchy when being saddled? As you approach the horse should stand relaxed but notice your presence. Does he look kind? Can you touch him as he stands quietly? Does he seem to enjoy human company? This one is likely to try and please you. A huge plus. Does he pin his ears or worse? Does he head for the corner to get away from people and turn his rear toward you? This horse could be a danger and it could be a result of mishandling. A red flag minus.
6. Conformation. When the horse is led out of his pen, lead him to a level area and look him over. I cannot give you a conformation class here, but does he stand square? Are his legs straight? Do his feet look good? When led straight away from you, does he travel straight and level? If the horse still interests you at this point let the seller know how you want to proceed.
7. Tacking Up and Under Saddle. Run your hands over the horse and feel and see if he is sore anywhere. If he swishes his tail or threatens to bite, he could be sore. This would be a red flag to either pass on this horse or, at least tell your vet what you found when you have the pre-purchase examination done. Having a horse that pulls back when tied or acts bad when the cinch is being tightened is a definite minus. How is this horse to bridle? Does he stand well and let himself be bridled easily or does he raise his head and try to avoid the bit? These are things to think about, since you may have to deal with them for a long time. I suggest having the seller ride the horse first so you can watch how he acts and rides. Don’t buy a grouchy horse that looks miserable to ride. There are to many pleasurable horses out there to have to ride a bad one. If this horse is pluses so far, ride the horse yourself. If you like how the horse rides and performs, he may just be the horse for you.
8. Watching The Horse Being Ridden. Does the horse remain relaxed and responsive? Increasing and decreasing speed only when asked to. Does he appear supple and cooperative and coordinated? These are all pluses. Is he tense and stiff? Does he pin his ears? Is his head extremely high? Does he look hot and chargey? All minuses. If you are looking at fixing training problems or lack of training, you may overlook these things. You may also want to take into account his rider. Is she overly tough on this horse? I would suggest that you take a professional or someone you trust to go with you to look at a prospective barrel horse. This other person may be able to help you to see this horse clearly without emotions involved.
9. The Barrel Pattern. If this horse is already a barrel horse, have the seller take him through the pattern first so you can watch. If the horse remains quiet and controllable before she runs, it is a plus. If he looks focused and rates each barrel well (slows down for the turn) another plus. If he stops easily at the end, if he has a good attitude after being corrected for any mistakes, another plus. If you do spot problems with his pattern, it will help if you have a respected barrel horse person with you to help you decide if they can be fixed.
If this horse hops, rears tosses his head, jigs toward each barrel, red flag minus. If he runs off, big red flag and I would pass on this one for sure.
10. Your Ride. If you are still interested and the horse appears safe to ride, mount up. The same minuses and red flags apply for you as when you watched the seller ride the horse. Does he quietly accept your cues and attempt to respond correctly to you? Does he try to do what you are asking? Cooperative attitude and desire? These traits make for a highly trainable horse. If he also seems athletic, you should consider buying him. On the other hand, if he tosses his head and is tense, maybe you should skip this one. Rather than responding instantly to your cues, he gets nervous and begins to prance. Such a horse lacks the confidence to accept new situations and barrel horses experience new situations all of the time. Avoid falling into the emotional trap that you can do better with this horse than anyone else has. Avoid the feeling that you can fix problems that no one else has been able to fix. If he is jumping and rearing making you fear for your safety, get off and say good bye.
11. Riding Out Of The Arena. If the horse is more plusses than minuses, ask if you can ride him out. Even if it is just a ride around the premises. Such a ride will give you insight into this horses out of the arena controllability and his ability to accept other situations. If the horse walks calmly along and accepts new situations, this is great. If he maintains the same speed on the way back and does not appear in a big rush to get back to the barn, another plus. This horse appears to like his under saddle job and will be a joy to trail ride when not running barrels. If he is prancing and charging back to the barn it is a minus. If he is spooky, he may be spooky in strange arenas and not fun to take new places. These things could never get better, or at the best you will have to spend extra valuable time getting him acclimated to new surroundings
Never underestimate the help of another barrel racer that you respect in the industry. They can be another set of eyes for you when shopping. They will not have on the emotional goggles of getting a new horse. I hope this list has helped you, and happy shopping.