Prairie Pines Performance Quarter Horses

06/01/2022

Trainer Nisa Berry shares her foundational drill in these easy steps.

05/15/2022

𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩: Rider body position isn't as important as horse body position going around the barrels. ⁣
⁣
𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵: Rider body position is something that can cause a lot of trouble with horses, or people that don’t look at the spot they want to go to, they just look at the barrel. This makes the horse anticipate and sometimes crash barrels.⁣

05/12/2022

To prevent your horse from anticipating turns use this square exercise. Guide your horse around the barrels in a series of 90-degree turns.

05/05/2022

𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬, but the mouthpiece is really underutilized in the industry. Ports receive a reputation for making a horse stiff, and that’s probably true. The reason a port will more a horse stiff is because he hasn’t been educated. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
Typically, with barrel horses, they are raised to be a barrel horse or came off the track, so they are ridden in a snaffle and then transitioned to a gag bit. In other industries, such as cutting, they start horses in a snaffle, then they go to a correction bit with a lot of sweep and a short port—they ride in this bit just like they would an o-ring snaffle. Riding a horse this way, the horse learns flexion with a port. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
For barrel racers, you can combine a short port with a cheek piece that gags. Then, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. ⁣If you try to switch to this type of bit—or to any bit—give your horse time to get used to it. Pretend it’s a snaffle bit and pull your horse around, ride him off the fence, back him in circles, this will help educate him to be soft in the port. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
As with any bit change, there won’t be an overnight fix. You need to understand where your horse is sensitive—bar, tongue, pallet, etc.—and bit him accordingly. 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Learn more about ports for barrel horses: bit.ly/TFlaharty

05/03/2022