Eventually a few of my friends entered the warm up arena. I let out a huge deep breath and asked them if Beep could walk next to them and settle a bit. The second the horse came to Beep’s left side he turned his head towards the rider’s leg and immediately went into the position to be ponied much like he had done on the track. I reached down and gave him a big pat on the neck and assured him those days were over. He was now retired and his life was now different.
I had entered Beep in a few classes and wanted to give him some exposure. I like to set my horses up for success, and I am never in a hurry. It is important that any gaming horse, or barrel horse learn to do things very slowly and methodically first before speed is ever introduced. It is important to have a horse mentally and emotionally capable of handling high speed situations. After all, Thoroughbreds have many more fast twitch muscles than most other breeds. They are built for speed and distance. The secret to their success off track is to learn how to harness that section of their physical being and use it to your advantage. Speed comes when a horse firmly understands the foundation, and the basics. Balance and stability in motion are the key components to making a very successful high performance horse. One of the hardest aspects to achieve in training is to add speed, but to keep a horse soft and pliable. A barrel horse must be gritty, and full of heart. They may run in conditions that are less than desirable, and they may have to run against a clock or timer that is ticking seconds away that separate a winner and a second place and below finish. The popularity of Thoroughbreds in western disciplines has gained momentum. Part of my quest is to show how versatile these horses are. After all, their heart tends to be bigger in size than most horses. Beep was certainly beginning to show many that he was ready to rise to the challenge.
He took each class we entered with ease. A few minor spooks, but nothing short of what I had expected. He was brave, and he even got a few ribbons when he offered a slow lope through some of the patterns. I allowed him to decide what he was comfortable with and after we trotted through the first few patterns, he loped through the barrel pattern. At that point in time I had merely began to show him what to do with the barrels. I am very technical when it comes to placement. I wanted to show Beep through the many months of training that he could count on one thing. I would place him where he needed to be every run. He was in a routine of where we heading, and where he could learn balance. In turn he began to grow more and more confident. There Is one thing for certain when I teach a horse to run a barrel pattern. I want to be confident in that alley way or on the entry that we are not going to make silly mistakes and hit a barrel. If I can be 100% confident standing outside the pen that my horse will allow me to set him where he needs to be, then over time and experience the horse will add the speed and confidently step into that arena. If I know I won’t hit a barrel, then I can begin to push my horse in specific pieces of the pattern and wind up with better times, and much improvement. I will keep my horse sound much longer as well if my horses learn to not dive, or anticipate the spacing in a pattern. Beep was learning that he could run a straight line as he was used to running on the track, but the new section of his training was that he would need to soften through his body, step bilaterally with his hind foot, and learn to turn with the same speed. To coil his body and launch off his hind much like he had learned to do coming out of the starting gate.
Over the course of a month or so Beep really started to come into his own. His canter was beginning to lift and his shoulders felt so much different. I had begun to think about what I wanted to add to the freestyle. As much as I wanted Beep to be my next competitive barrel horse, I knew that I had a much better shot at placing higher in the freestyle category because of Beep’s lovely movement and willingness to learn the upper level movements. I wanted to add a combination of western dressage into the mix to show how much I could take my horse to a new level, with flying changes, lateral movements, and canter pirouettes. I had set my sights and goals much higher. I knew if we were going to be contenders than I would have to work hard to get Beep to a point of strength to carry out those movements safely and still be technically correct. My main goal was to perform simply, correctly, and clean. Time was ticking, and we had a few months to pull it all together. I decided to make the freestyle my main entry and the barrel race my secondary. I wanted to take the pressure off myself and Beep and go to Kentucky thinking it was just another competition for barrels. I had another year to make him great for barrels. We were in no hurry. If I kept his flat work top notch, then he would be ready for competitive barrel racing over time. I knew Beep could do it, and I knew he would try his hardest to learn as well. The sky was the limit, we were in it for the long haul. My partner was slowly beginning to shine just as I thought he would. I was right about him, he was amazing.
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He had 17 career starts, and one win.