Absolutely no rate

[Bob Gould]

I have a horse I am trying that is really fast and very quiet to ride. He can scoot across the pen faster than any horse I have ever been on. The problem is he has absolutely no rate. He goes into the alley really quiet and doesn't leave till you send him but then he is like a runaway freight train. He will run all the way to the wall then stop and come back for his turn.

He then leaves for the 2nd and does the same thing and then goes on to the 3rd and inhales it and scoots out really fast and stops well. The person that has had him for the past 3 yrs. has used a mechanical hack with a solid steel nose band to get him before his pocket.

Is there anything you can suggest that might get this little guy to rate. I hate extreme bits and equipment. I believe he has allot of potential if he would just rate his turns. He will not slow work the barrel pattern but will slow work if there is just barrels scattered around.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have.


Barbara Jenkins


Your horse is not broke or educated to the bit and until he gets some more education about the basics (Walk, Trot, Lope, STOP, Back, Sidepass, etc) then I wouldn't be RUNNING him anywhere.

When he understands the basics as applied to just riding ( at all speeds) then you will have to educate him to the basics at the barrels. He needs to learn that there is a RATE POINT and that anytime he passes that point, he should be thinking about getting his stride collected and preparing for the turn.

Set your barrels out in the open - no fences to bounce off of - and teach him to stop at the rate point. Do it until you have to drive him to the rate point before stopping. This won't be a "quick fix" or an easy project so be prepared to spend lots of time loping to the barrels and stopping.

Do it until he learns to relax and listen to your hands. Put whatever kind of correction bit or roping type bit on him until he learns to listen, then you can back off to something less (only if he continues to respond).
Good Luck
Martha Wright


Just wanted to say thank you for your quick response and the phone call from Ed. Wasn't what I wanted to hear but I was very appreciative of the advise. I will return the horse to his owner and tell them what Ed suggested about retraining him over a long period of time.

Again, thank you. I hope to be able to attend one of your clinics next yr. when my new horse is ready to move on.

Barbara Jenkins

[Spur Creek Ranch]

i bought a 8yr. old barrel horse from a lady, she had a boy riding him and they did really good together. but when we bought him we did good for a little while, but then he started blowing out the third barrel. once we got that covered he stopped rating the first barrel. the boy that was riding him was stronger and ALOT more aggressive. oh and another thing is that he lolly gags threw the whole pattern! i tried to start whipping but then he looses his mind! he can do i know he can. but why wont he make a nice fast clean run for me?PLEASE HELP! IS IT ME?

[Bob Gould]

It's my guess that the problem here lies not with the horse but with the
rider.  You say the previous rider was a lot stronger and more aggressive
but he may have been helping the horse more than what you are doing.  It
sounds to me like you are trying to "whip" your horse into working and
instead are only creating more problems for yourself.  Your horse depends on
you to give him CORRECT and consistent cues regarding when to get ready to
turn - called rate or collection - and when to complete the turn.  If you
are only interested in making him run more instead of work, then you are
going to continue to have problems getting a good run out of him.  You need
to learn to "think like your horse instead of thinking like a human"........
what can you possibly do to make your horse like his job and make it easy
for him????  Slow down as you get to the barrel and help him make the turn
before you blast off to the next one.
Martha Wright