10/13/2026
Yes!!!! Fix it off the pattern!
๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฃ
You might win the argument today, but youโll pay for it the next six months trying to fix what you taught them.
Iโve seen people get after a horse for diving into the second barrel. They make a big deal out of it, get aggressive, and turn that barrel into a fight.
And then they wonder why that horse starts ducking the second.
Will every horse develop a problem from one bad experience? No. But why risk creating one?
If you need to pick a fight with your horse, do it off the pattern.
That doesnโt mean donโt ever make a correction during pattern work. Thereโs a time and place for that. But donโt turn every mistake into a battle.
And while weโre on the subject, quit making barrel racing so complicated.
Stop. Back up. Counter-arc. Go to the fence. Turn around. Do it again.
Sometimes I think we get so caught up in being technical that we forget the basics.
I once heard a guy say on a podcast, โA monkey could pattern a barrel horse.โ
Obviously, thereโs a whole lot more to building a good barrel horse than that. But if you think about itโฆ
The foundation is repetition and consistency. Teach them where you want their feet, and reinforce it until they understand the job.
Not every mistake needs to turn into a training session in the middle of the pattern.
If something isnโt right, get off the pattern. Fix the problem. Then come back and try again.
Your job isnโt to win an argument with your horse. Your job is to teach them to do the pattern correctly.
Every time you ride, youโre teaching them something.
๐๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ชโ๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ชโ๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ญ.
