Barrel Turns for
Cowboy Mounted Shooting
By Gary and Megan Bennett AKA “The Baddogs”
B
arrel turns in Cowboy Mounted Shooting
are different from the turns that are made
in barrel racing. In barrel racing the horse
has to complete a full turn around each barrel.
In Mounted Shooting there are 63 different patterns and multiple types of barrel turns, though
the one seen in over half of the courses is a half
turn. The half turn around a barrel is found in
all courses that have a run down barrel. What
is tricky, or can be, is that shooting horses have
to know how to make a full turn and a half turn
efficiently. There is no way to pattern a shooting
horse as the courses can be so different; it is
important to have your horse listening to you
and asking questions when he sees a barrel, not
making assumptions. You know what they say
about ASSumptions, right? Oh, don’t forget,
you, the rider, are going to need to learn to turn
a barrel one handed, no holding a saddle horn
in this sport; you’ll have a pistol in your other
hand pointed at the next target. To be a competitor in this fast growing sport it is imperative
that you learn to master both types of barrel
turns. The goal is to stay out of your horse’s way
and maintain your own balance without using
your horse’s mouth to balance yourself.
Before we look at the barrel turn, let’s talk about
the communication you need to have with
your horse to be able to compete safely and
competitively in Mounted Shooting. You need
to be able to move your horses shoulders and
hips independently any time you want. You also
need to be able to ride well enough that you
aren’t getting in the way of your horse doing his
best. This is a team sport; you and your horse
are a team. If you want to ride the best horse
out there it is your job to learn to be the best
rider you can be for your horse. Lets put it this
way: You’ve got lots of riding in your future!
For us at Sunset Ranch, good barrel turns start
in the round pen. A good horse, whether for
shooting or any other speed sport, needs to
know how to handle its feet at all times and
all speeds with short reaction time and in any
direction asked. To sensitize my horse I like to
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March 2014
do serpentines all over the round pen making
sure to look first, next I use my legs to push
the horse around the turn and then lastly, if
my two preparatory commands fail, I use my
reins. Even with a horse that is well trained it is
advisable to work these maneuvers in the round
pen to tune up the horse to you specifically.
Every rider rides a little differently. Give your
horse the benefit of having your riding style
explained in a stress free environment. By
always going through the three steps of turning
in the order I mentioned above: look, leg, rein,
your horse will lighten up and begin listening
to your body position and legs; not your reins
alone. After serpentines I teach my horses a
basic roll back, or roll away. This maneuver
uses the fence to teach a horse to rock back
onto his rear end and push out going in the
opposite direction. (We will go into more detail
on each of these maneuvers in a later article)
After serpentines and rollbacks I move on to
turning 360’s over the haunches at the walk,
trot then canter. This maneuver is important to
teach your horse how to more effectively use his
hind end. By randomly calling for a 360 your
horse eventually stays on call and will keep his
hind end “loaded”, able to go any direction you
ask at any time. After each 360 turn ride back
to the rail encouraging a big push from behind.
All this pushing from behind will have your
horse thinking he’s been on the stair master at
the gym; you’ll love the results! Now that your
horse knows how to push off his hiney we’re
ready to look at the barrel turn!
When your horse is saddled and it’s “Barrel
Turn Day”, my wife Megan and I, like to
use drills. Why drills and not just running
courses over and over? Drills are valuable
because they allow you to practice multiple
turns in a shorter period of time. The trick
to any speed sport is to create memory in
your muscles. Let’s face it; there is only so
much you can consciously think about in
a 10-18 second run. Muscle memory is a
conditioned response that you can train into
your body allowing you to repeat a motion
without conscious thought. Muscle memory
is achieved through repetition. Here’s the
catch, the way you practice is the way your
muscles will remember how to do something
so MAKE SURE YOUR ARE PRACTICIING
PERFECTLY! You should practice you