06/11/2025
Don’t train your horse to look cool in the warm up pen—train him to run barrels!
Yes, correct precise maneuvers are important tools your horse needs to be able to accomplish, especially in early training, but those maneuvers are a means to an end (winning barrel races), not the final purpose.
Just because your horse can slide to a stop doesn’t mean he should—he’s not a reining horse.
Just because he can lope an uber collected circle doesn’t mean he should, he’s not a dressage horse.
Just because your horse can execute a perfect rollback doesn’t mean he should, he’s not a cutting horse.
I’ve seen it a million times in the warm up pen.....someone spinning their horse in the warm up pen, because he can, and someone might notice and compliment the action, only to run over all 3 barrels in his run.
Use the tools you NEED to set your horse up for success in the arena, not to look pretty the warm-up pen.
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