Barrel Racing in the Raw
What would you do if you were told that the only activity that you truly love is cruel? In society today, barrel racers are being bashed for cruelty of their horses. I have been barrel racing for eight years now and I can confirm that the sport of barrel racing, if performed correctly, is not cruel to the animal in any way. However, it is quite the opposite. Riders take special care for their horses, it is difficult to cause a horse pain, and there are rarely any body functioning issues that caused by barrel racing that cannot be corrected. It is my goal as a barrel racer that everyone is informed and believes that barrel racing is not a cruel sport.
To introduce, barrel racing is a sport that tests the abilities of the horse and rider together as one. Riders are asked to turn three sharp barrel turns as fast as they possibly can. The racers race at breakneck speeds, all desiring to win the prize money in the end. With any sport that speed is a key factor, more aggression will be used that comes from adrenaline. However, this aggression does not bring abuse or cruelty. Barrel racers are extremely nervous, excited, and adrenaline filled as they step into the alleyway. As they take off it is as if, for just a second everything stops and all they feel is themselves flying with their beastly animal underneath them. With this feeling it is difficult to control how hard your feet and hand move. To further on, barrel racers take extra care of their barrel horses. The horse always has; grain feed with optional all natural supplements to assist the horse’s bones in feeling refreshed, special types of hay, and fresh water. They also take extra care in the arena as well. They wrap what is called sport boots around the horse’s legs. “Sport boots are made out of the same material as a human knee brace”(Prezi.com). With this same material a sport boot can help much like a knee brace can. Sport boots are used to support the tendons and ligaments of the horse’s legs. It can also eliminate damage done by the other hooves scraping the inside of the horse’s legs. Then, they always warm their horses up before a run to also prevent injury. Warming up the horse is a system of many loped circles. This gets the horse’s heartbeat moving faster and loosens the muscles, preventing tightness while running and turning. There are many …show more content…
However, horses are rarely injured from this sport. “ Studies have shown that in barrel racing the most common injury has to do with incorrect shoeing, which can be corrected by a farrier” (Prezi.com). Correct shoeing plays an important role in barrel racing. Barrel racers usually have a professional farrier shoe their horses. With the correct shoeing, horses will be able to run pain free. Many make the claim that OCD in the hock joint is caused by barrel racing. OCD must be corrected with hock injections. I have at some point had to have hock injections for a horse of mine for OCD. A barrel horse that I used to own, Sandy, had OCD. However, she had this as a filly. She had this hock issue long before she was barrel racing. There are few body functioning issues caused by barrel racing that cannot be
What would you do if you were told that the only activity that you truly love is cruel? In society today, barrel racers are being bashed for cruelty of their horses. I have been barrel racing for eight years now and I can confirm that the sport of barrel racing, if performed correctly, is not cruel to the animal in any way. However, it is quite the opposite. Riders take special care for their horses, it is difficult to cause a horse pain, and there are rarely any body functioning issues that caused by barrel racing that cannot be corrected. It is my goal as a barrel racer that everyone is informed and believes that barrel racing is not a cruel sport.
To introduce, barrel racing is a sport that tests the abilities of the horse and rider together as one. Riders are asked to turn three sharp barrel turns as fast as they possibly can. The racers race at breakneck speeds, all desiring to win the prize money in the end. With any sport that speed is a key factor, more aggression will be used that comes from adrenaline. However, this aggression does not bring abuse or cruelty. Barrel racers are extremely nervous, excited, and adrenaline filled as they step into the alleyway. As they take off it is as if, for just a second everything stops and all they feel is themselves flying with their beastly animal underneath them. With this feeling it is difficult to control how hard your feet and hand move. To further on, barrel racers take extra care of their barrel horses. The horse always has; grain feed with optional all natural supplements to assist the horse’s bones in feeling refreshed, special types of hay, and fresh water. They also take extra care in the arena as well. They wrap what is called sport boots around the horse’s legs. “Sport boots are made out of the same material as a human knee brace”(Prezi.com). With this same material a sport boot can help much like a knee brace can. Sport boots are used to support the tendons and ligaments of the horse’s legs. It can also eliminate damage done by the other hooves scraping the inside of the horse’s legs. Then, they always warm their horses up before a run to also prevent injury. Warming up the horse is a system of many loped circles. This gets the horse’s heartbeat moving faster and loosens the muscles, preventing tightness while running and turning. There are many …show more content…
However, horses are rarely injured from this sport. “ Studies have shown that in barrel racing the most common injury has to do with incorrect shoeing, which can be corrected by a farrier” (Prezi.com). Correct shoeing plays an important role in barrel racing. Barrel racers usually have a professional farrier shoe their horses. With the correct shoeing, horses will be able to run pain free. Many make the claim that OCD in the hock joint is caused by barrel racing. OCD must be corrected with hock injections. I have at some point had to have hock injections for a horse of mine for OCD. A barrel horse that I used to own, Sandy, had OCD. However, she had this as a filly. She had this hock issue long before she was barrel racing. There are few body functioning issues caused by barrel racing that cannot be