Folks have been out buying cow horses over the past year for barrels and roping. Many have come to understand that their athletic ability reaches farther than facing up to a cow or rating one down the fence then sliding ahead to drop their butt in the ground then reach out of their turn to rate again going the other way just to drop another turn on a fresh cow, then taking that cow to an open arena in a head to head symmetrical circle both directions. After all that they calmly stop and walk quietly out of the arena, almost as though they are thinking "just another day at the office". Apparently the training and their natural abilities are catching the attention of other disciplines. From their collection, agility, speed, intelligence, attitude and flexation have many desiring their powerful hind ends and being able to respond willingly to position, balance and speed. Then I have seen barrel racers ride their first cow horse and decide "this is what I have wanted to do" and never look back at another barrel race again hmmm just makes one think a minute. Now spurs take your horse and run them cans, rope a steer, face a cow never think that your horse can't do anything and never let anyone tell you "he's just a ..... so and so horse" "he's not a so and so horse" many others rarely venture out of their "discipline" the truly great horses are the All Around Horse. Never let anyone tell you "your horse is not a (fill in the blank) horse" just grin and tell them looking them square in the eye and say "tell me that when I won the class you wanted"

deeper saddles have their advantages!!!!!!!!! respond to you rancher when i have a minute.......

Wow here I was thinking that Team Penners were the best being they have to get those cows in a Penn of sorts and those sorters were so good at doing the counting but some one told me that it was actually the horse that knows what to do. Ole Buck and I will have to give barrel turning a try he's darn fast and turn he turned me right off yesterday.

Yes, team penners have a bad reputation too,, Ive been to a couple Reined Cow horse clinics and there is always someone that will bring up Team Penning and the clinician will always let them know what they think ..I do love to teampen but I dont announce it around those guys..LOL .. I was at a Les Vogt Clinic in Ca once, and Les had mentioned how impressed he was with Sherry Cervi, the night before at he Cow Palace Rodeo running barrels,, how well she set her horse up before a barrel turn. Her horses are as light and supple as any reining horse.Ive seen her in the warm up pen here in Tx and her horses are all in German martingales and are being flexed and suppled constantly. As I said earlier there is all levels of knowledge, my biggest pet peeve at a barrel race, the horse that has his head tied down so tight he fights it the whole way, and doesnt even see the barrel.it happens way too often.

roflmao!! ohhh G-Man your bound and determined to drag me down this road huh ??

Vicky thanks for the 'come hang yourself' question'. I think team penners and sorters AS A GROUP, are the least experienced riders in equestrian sports. Better qualify this, some of those folks are very experienced, but most are not. If you go to a large team penning or sorting you will see some folks equiped to chase wild longhorns in the brush country. So to answer your question most would be using alot of equipment because they saw it some where else. No other group I know jerks their horses around like sorting and penning. No other group I know can ruin a good horse as fast as they do. Of course there are exceptions to every opinion, even mine. Oh Julebug the only barrel racer I know with a bad rep is Dasher.

Vicky, good question to Rancher. I've wondered about the running martingales also...several years ago I tried it because so many people whose methods I respected were using them...I figured there must be something to it and I wanted to see how it felt.....did NOT work for me! I felt I lost sooooooo much control when asking for speed and agility. I get some flack because I do not keep my mare all flexed up with her nose nearly touching her chest. But, she knows her job and I give her head...she has never once missed a cow or a turn because I didnt have her all flexed up. She and I are both happier I think and it is much easier for me too! Now I am still using the martingale on my 3 yr old while she's getting trained but that will go by the wayside when I consider her more finished.

Jules, you and Cowgirlgh are both right regarding our barrel horses. Yes, they are bred to run and turn, and with the proper training they do not require anything to restrict the head. You will seldom see a tie-down used in the top-levels of competition, only in the semi-pros and locals, where inexperience will induce the trainer to by-pass the slow work. I think Martha Josey was the first to claim horses use the tie-down as a brace in the turn. I think she was trying to justify why the tie-down was so popular at the time, but I believe that thinking is wrong. As the horse is nosing out to balance in the turn, the tie-down gets stretched tight. -And I haven't seen Martha using a tie-down in many years. As far as not running barrels "on their own".... I bet if asked to, many barrel horses would do just that! My horses love to knock my plastic barrels over and roll 'em around when they think I am not looking!. I think they do it for fun, I can see the gleam in their eyes. LOL ...and we have all seen a rider fall off on the 1st or 2nd barrel or pole, and the horse finish the pattern alone. Well patterned! Rancher, I have a question for you - Do Team Penners use the running martingale as a fashion statement, a copycat syndrome, or because they have some strange idea it helps control their horse? I think it is the copycat syndrome first- they do it because they see others doing it, and they think it looks good. --Sooner or later they must realize it hinders control of their horse?? What do you think? Vicky

"I know Barrel racers have a bad reputation" well--not in this old girl's book they don't--at least not the one's doing right by their horses. a cow bred horse goes for the cow, sometimes on his own--he is bred for it, and trained. a running horse breaks the gate and keeps going, sometimes in spite of pain--he is bred for it, and trained. a barrel horse shifts into 5th just to be ask to shut it down, then hits his speed again, just to be ask to shut it down again, all the time manuvering a sharp turn thrown in there not just once but 3 times----he is trained for it. yes--they are also bred for speed, agility. i do understand that. but i can also see the training in a great run. i guess my point is: i've seen very cow bred horses "work" a cow down the fence on its own in the pasture; i've seen a field of racing bred yrlings run flat out down the field as if practising for the belmont. i have never seen a horse run around barrels out in a field on his own--so i figured a long time ago that a barrel horse that gets his job done well has a good bit of training in him--like any other horse that excels in any other sport. but--riders who use all sorts of harsh contraptions and bits--nothing good to say there!!!

As far as Barrel Horses go,, Some horses benefit from a tiedown as they brace against it in the turn, others it is a short cut for an unbroke horse started on barrels too fast with a person with bad hands.. If you happen to watch the NFR, to my recollection there is not one horse that ran in one, as those women are all excellent horsewomen with the knowledge to make a horse broke in the face,they are all run on a loose rein.. I know Barrel racers have a bad reputation, but as in any discipline there is all levels of riders/trainers.