Why cant gypsy vanners barrel race?

Question

They arn't different from other horses, right?

Answer 1

Though barrel racing would be a very unorthadox discipline for a draft horse such as a gypsy vanner, I have come across draft racers before. With the heavy push for "sport" drafts, which are basically the more athletic versions of their cart-pulling counterparts, more and more people have started to ride draft horses in a variety of disciplines.

Now, many people will make typical, "they are too big and slow" remarks; however, a draft cross has as much chance at barrel racing as any other horse. Think about it this way: any one who knows anything about riding understands the importance of dressage. Whether you jump or barrel race, dressage is an important foundation for any style of riding. Therefore, if sport drafts compete so effectively in the dressage ring, why would they be ineffective at running a barrel pattern? People assume that barrel racing is all about speed, which is false. Barrel racing, when done properly, actually models of basic dressage movements: i.e. laterals, working of the leg, etc. etc. Speed comes with practice.

In all honesty, a gypsy vanner would not be ideal for barrel racing. Smaller, more compact horses have an advantage because they can turn with more precision and they can navigate smaller courses. A bigger horse means longer strides, which makes sprinting short distances much more difficult. You may notice that larger horses have trouble running around the barrel; many will actually break down into a trot when rounding the barrel, and then switch gaits during the straight-a-ways. Obviously in a fierce circuit the inability to properly round the barrels would not yeild a winning time.

So to answer your question, any horse can barrel race. I do not see any reason why a smaller sport style gypsy vanner could not learn the pattern to compete locally. However, it would be highly unlikely to see a well bred traditional gypsy vanner excelling with barrel racing. But if you're anxious to try it, don't let anybody discourage you! Just look out for your safety and your horse's safety!

Good luck!

Answer 2

Are you talking about this kind of Gypsy Vanner?

http://www.vanners.org/

they're beautiful horses, but they aren't built for speed, which is what you need for a barrel horse. As far as I know, unless you're talking about a breed-specific competition (e.g., AQHA or something), any horse of any breed or no breed can compete in rodeo Barrels competitons. But Barrel Racing horses need to be fast and be able to make tight turns quickly if they're to have a chance of winning, and I just don't think a horse with the build of a Gypsy Vanner is going to do well against the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred sprinter types.

Answer 3

anything can be trained to do barrels if that's what you want to do with him. He's not going to be that competive but maybe that isn't whats important to you. If he likes it and has fun doing it that's what's important. Realize he may not take to it, that he was bred to pull and be more like a hunter or a draft breed but if he likes to go under saddle and he seems to enjoy the barrels by all means go and have fun with him. I've seen kids take horses in 4h shows that were by no means show horses but they didn't care it was just for fun, and you know they all had our respect by the end of the show because it was about the bond and the joy of the horse not about how beautiful or graceful he was. If you want to be competive try finding a QH or QH cross like an appendix (a throughbred/QH) otherwise just go have fun, it's what it should really be about. In fact if your just starting barrels i think a vanner would be a great horse to learn on cause you could learn the pattern without having to worry about getting sucked down on the barrels. The QH's can really motor and it's really easy to get over matched and scared on a fast QH that gets really hot on barrels.

Answer 4

Gypsy Horse Racing

Answer 5

They are much heavier and slower. (They are actually a draft breed.)

They are also considered cold-blooded (most drafts are), and don't have that extra "oompf!" that drives a barrel horse. Most barrel horses are Quarter Horses, or other stock breeds that are considered "warm-blooded" or "hot blooded", with the occasional Thoroughbred thrown in. (This actually doesn't have anything to do with their body temperature or their blood. All horses have a normal body temperature range of 101-101.5 degrees F. The designation of cold blood or hot blood is a traditional designation that identifies a horse breed's temperament and movement characteristics. The cold bloods are the drafts and workhorses, so named because they are slow moving, heavily muscled and generally have easy going, less reactive temperaments. The quick moving, more reactive hot bloods are the performance and saddle horses. Crossing these two types resulted in the warm blood breeds, which are bigger boned, and a little more docile than the average hot blood. )

Technically they could, but they probably wouldn't win because of their speed

Answer 6

Being a Draft breed, the tight turns and quick movements required in barrel racing are more difficult for them to do, compared to say a small, stocky, and quick Quarter Horse. While they could complete the pattern, I wouldn't expect to see one able to compete with the smaller breeds.