this is for my friend. when she barrel races her mare gets really hyper how can she calm her down?

She needs to go back to basics. Stop working on the barrel pattern so much, & never run full speed at home. Home is for practice, working on bending, arcing, flexing, etc, & rating. If u must work on barrels, try working only one at a time. Also, a good break from barrels is always good for the horse. Go trail riding. Maybe work some cattle. Another exercise that is good is to take the mare to playdays or rodeos that have exhibitions that r not very expensive. Make her walk the pattern while at the show. Tie her to the fence & let her soak it in. Just really do other things than running the barrel pattern all the time.

Half halts Half halts half halts. And maybe you could lounge her before she gets on!

Ramsey said it best, the only thing l would add is if she goes to places that offer exhibitions, sign up for that and go SLOW. Walk/trot. The horse will probably prance and try to charge, but once they realize that public does not ALWAYS mean fast, they should calm a bit.

Do half halts, and is she strong all round? if so take her in the school and do traffic light game with her red = stop, amber = trot, green = canter this will help hav good controll so say if some1 says red she stopps then they say green she has to canter from halt

l know people are suggesting riding tips, but maybe check her feed? she might be getting a little too much energy out of it. just a thought.

well at home just walk her a round the barrels take a lead rope and walk with her

l would suggest that u tell ur friend to do other riding exercises such as patterns & figure eights. It will help improve the horses' mind by letting him know he wo not always be running. She also could go trail riding as l know a barrel racer who goes trail riding to keep her horse with a good mindset. Make sure she knows that consistency goes over speed & it is actually better to practice at home at a trot or lope around the barrels rather than run which can help the horse to not anticipate as much of the running. Also she could try other disciplines such as jumping or flat work in english to help the horse with boredom.
Good luck!!

TRAIL RIDE!! Always, once the horse knows the pattern, u dont need to see the inside of an arena until u r at a show or a rodeo..or if there is an issue with a part of ur run (ex. ur first barrel turn or ur horse is dropping its shoulder during a turn) in this case, u need to disect the run into tiny components-- the pivots, flexing, lead changes etc.never just run the pattern over & over again to try to fix the problem--work on the horses basic manuvers & then put ur barrel pattern back together, run a few patterns to make sure the problem is fixed & you're ready to hit those trails again.

Also, never run full speed at home, save that for competitions.dont excite the horse before the pattern by turning in circles or backing up, false starting & pulling them back etc etc..this is unnessecary & can be dangerous to you, ur horse & other riders.

Good Luck!
BB

well thats normal for a barrel horse to get hyper befor they race because there ready to go. and when they are hyper they run faster.