Conformation for the Barrel/Gaming Horse
Head
 Wide distance between eyes
 Large nostrils (for increased oxygen intake)
 Short mouth (as opposed to a long mouth, in which the bit can interfere with the teeth, also tend to be less
sensitive or have less feeling). Too short-mouthed of a horse can also have problems and parrot mouths are
frowned upon. Too short and parrot mouths can cause eating and chewing problems.
Neck
 Some length to it, but balanced to the body. A horse with a shorter back can have a shorter neck. Same if
he has a longer back, he can have a longer neck. Important piece is to be balanced.
 Tie in cleanly to throatlatch.
 Refined where it comes into the chest.
 Ideal throat latch is small and refined.
Shoulder
 Long shoulder, with the point of shoulder as low and forward as possible.
 Hip and shoulder angle should match.
 A muscled shoulder, but not a horse too wide between the front legs and over muscled in the front end as he
will rely on his front-end too much and lose speed in the turns.
Front End
 The shape of an inverted “v” between the front legs as opposed to boxy, square or flat front end. The “v” is the
musculature between the front legs, where the legs attach to the horse’s chest and shoulders.
 A well-muscled chest consisting of long bulging muscle as opposed to short bulging muscle. Long muscling
allows a horse to move better and makes him less prone to injury or soreness.
 Knees close to ground, i.e. short, wide cannon bones.
 Shoulders, knees and feet line up (i.e. straight line when looking from side and front). Improper alignment
results in soundness issues.
 Calf kneed or “back in the knees” is a fault.
 Pigeon-toed (toed in) and splay-footed (toed out) are faults as well.
Pastern
 Average length – Too short takes a lot of concussion from the ground, making it hard on the horse and hard to
stay sound. Too long is worse in that it has too much give and stresses the suspensory system with each step
(the suspensory system includes the ligaments and tendons of the legs).
Heart Girth
 Average heart girth – A horse with a really deep heart girth uses his front end too much. On the other end of
the spectrum a “lizard-gutted” horse (shallow in the heart girth or tucked up like a greyhound) doesn’t have the
power to push when his body is bent the middle of the turn and makes him vulnerable to soreness and injury.
Withers
 Good withers hold a saddle in place.
 Don’t judge a young horse solely on his withers as he can develop them later (3 or 4 year old years).
Back and Underline
 Short, strong back.
 Long underline. (A short underline increases a horse’s chance or overreaching).
Hindquarters
 Should be long and not flat on top and not drop off too much.
 A lot of inside, hind-leg muscle necessary for a horse to run, stop and turn quickly.
 Long smooth muscles (short bunchy muscles get sore more quickly and are choppy movers).
Back Legs
 Strong through the gaskins, inside muscling more important than outside.
 Some width between the hind legs (where there is width there is balance). When the horse’s feet are wide
apart, his whole body frame has more support and better balance. Athletic ability is tied to soundness.
 Hocks should be low to the ground. Low hocks and short cannon bones create a horse that is athletic and stays
sound. Cow hocked is accepted over hocks that point out.
 Hind leg structure should line up just like his front leg structure (hips, legs, feet). The shorter cannon bone
lessons the stress on these areas and distributes it throughout the body.
 Dog-legged or sickle-hocked conformation results in a loss of power and ability to push out of a turn. Legs that
sit out behind the horse or legs that are straight up and down are weak and the horse is unable to get the
impulsion that he needs.
 When he moves, he should take his hind foot and stride over the track of his front foot. Movement should be
long and ground covering. Supple and soft with a gliding motion.
 Excessive knee or hock action (picking feet up high) is not desirable in a speed horse because there’s wasted
motion and time when the legs are in the air.
Feet
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Start looking at a horse at his feet and work your way up. Texture is more important than color.
The appearance and condition of the hooves are indicative of past nutrition, care and disease.
Well proportioned and has appears waxy, smooth, and shiny.
No cracks, some moisture, and is not dry or crumbly.
Coronary band should be slightly resilient, not dry and leathery. NO heat in coronary band or hoof.
Hoof should be round and not pointed or cut off square.
The slope of the hoof should match the slop of the pastern and the shoulder.
The heel should have some width to it and not be low to the ground.
Hoof should not be mule-footed (wall too steep all the way around foot) or clubfooted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Judging a barrel pattern
Foremost, all patterns in Western Gaming are judged on completing the pattern correctly, leaving all obstacles standing
(barrels, poles, flat containers, etc). Consult your Contest Guide for a complete list of faults and disqualifications. These
elements will be the first used to judge a Western Gaming class. For instance, knocking a barrel over will result in a
lower placing than a horse who trots the pattern or takes extremely wide turns. After a run is deemed “clean” (rules
have been followed, no faults or penalties), then a pattern is judged on a balance between speed and precision. A
pattern that is run extremely fast but has a 30’ circle around the barrel is not better than a pattern executed at a lope
but has 4’ circle around the barrel. For the sake of this judging, “pretty” will place higher than fast, as correct patterns
due to correct training will result in more competitive runs down the road and sounder horses (body and mind).
So what do you look for a in a barrel pattern? The following pointers should aid you in judging a class of 4 horses
efficiently.
 Straight lines. The rider should ride a straight line to each barrel. The starting point of the pattern is crucial only
in that the rider chooses the same departure point each time and since you will only judge one run, this is of
little relevance. What is important is that the line is straight to the first barrel. Running up the middle of the
arena and then cutting over to the first barrel results in more ground covered and therefore more time ticking
on the clock. Each horse needs more or less room to turn a barrel with impulsion (with power and speed,
“momentum”). Some horse will need to take their line to 10’ of the barrel before turning, others only need 4’.
The key is that the rider positions the horse in the best possible way to have a quick, snappy turn.
 Rating. Rating is taking a horse from a long running stride, to a shorter stride for turning. This should not be
interrupted as slowing down. On a finished barrel horse, they will run hard to the barrel, shorten their stride to
get around the barrel quick and lengthen it back out. You can feel this yourself if you set a cone, barrel, small
pet or sibling in the driveway. Run as hard as you can to and around the object, and head back the direction you
came from. You will be the quickest if you run with a long stride, then short stride around, and then long again
as compared to running with a long stride the whole way. You will either fall over or have to go wide. Rating
too soon on a pattern means a loss of time (you don’t cover as much ground with a short stride) and rating too
late will generally result in a wide turn.
 Position around the barrel. It is crucial to leave the barrel tight (within a foot or two but not knocking it down)
and heading in a straight line to your next barrel or time line. This is achieved through perfect practice at all
speeds, not running all the time. Going into the barrel, however, you need to give your horse a little more room.
Some horses may be able to turn the barrel being up tight to it the whole way, but most of them will lose speed
and time. Typically, going into the turn you want to be 4-6’ away, bringing that distance down to about a foot
leaving. This traditionally has been called a “pocket” because the turn will resemble a breast pocket on a shirt.
 Speed. Speed is judged only on correct patterns. If a horse runs a 20 but took the “scenic” route through the
course, they will be placed below a horse who runs a 21 but had straight lines, correct position around the barrel
and rated nicely (even if rating was trotting to the barrel and jogging around it). Times will not be used in this
judging, however.
 Examples of clean, smooth runs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqGi3WfY74w,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzM7hRC48Ks (wide leaving 3rd barrel though),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhhsfiBnm7I&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSI1DuBew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4IZFEMKmnM
 Examples of runs that need more work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knqewA14y2k (First barrel too
wide, 2nd and 3rd nice turns), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhxnYi9KuxE,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPviz2xV9PY&feature=related (pixilated on my computer, but you can see
wide turns, not running straight between barrels, loss of impulsion/momentum).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Judging a Pole Bending Pattern
 Again, consult your Contest Guide for any faults or disqualifications for this event.
 Your “runs”, that is the race straight down to the first pole and straight home after your last end turn,
should be straight.
 You need to be far enough off the poles (to the left or right of the pole) so that your horse does not duck
early (begin weaving or turning before the end pole) and so that you have enough room to turn the end turn
with impulsion.
 Your end turns should be as close to the pole as possible without knocking. There are two alternative styles
of turning: 1) Moving your horse away from the end turn so that when you finish the turn and begin weaving
again or running home you are close to the pole and 2) Going past the end pole a horse length and turning
back towards the pattern. All three styles will be demonstrated at the workshop before the judging. The
horse that has a quick, efficient (not using more time or space than needed) turn is to be placed higher than
one that goes really wide into or out of the turn, breaks the time line, or wastes time on the turn.
 Weaving: Weaving is the artful part of pole bending. While weaving you want your horse to be facing the
end turn the entire time as opposed to doing wide serpentines through the pattern like a snake. Your horse
should lift his shoulder and change leads in between the poles, not at the pole. Shoulder control is the
essence of pole bending. You do not want your horse to be facing away from the end turn and making a
giant zig zag pattern throughout the pattern as that is more ground covered and more time on the clock.
 Examples of good runs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-swzaH0RNkE (stayed nice and close to poles,
horse’s body straight through run facing end of pattern entire way),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qDSPqasnNg&feature=related ,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7HPxR5M3Y&feature=related
 Examples of runs that could use some work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GcQlGFanmQ&feature=fvsr,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4kCsmJgL_4 (speed aside, this run is not as smooth as the examples of
good runs, more head bending, less straight body through weaving),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh4qXXezJcM&feature=related (more serpentine-y through than nice
straight body)
A word about the videos: These are examples only. Each video may have good or bad qualities to it despite
being labeled “good” or “bad.” Also, I view with the volume off, as I suggest you do as well. The background
commentary can be distracting or lead you astray from the learning points of the run.
Pole Bending
Straight Runs (At beginning and end of run)
Ideal
Fault
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Straight
Equal distance off poles
Even speed
Riders Hands Quiet
Rider leaning slightly forward
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Line(s) not straight
Varying distance off poles
Sped up or slowed down (exception
rating)
Riders hand jerking or rough
Rider leaning back (exception rating)
Rating (Shortening of stride before turn)
Fault
Ideal
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Rated correctly (stride shortened
without a significant decrease in
speed)
Rated at ideal spot
Quickly left turn
Rated late
Rated too early
Slowed down in turn
Did not increase stride leaving turn
Sluggish leaving turn
End Turns
Ideal
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Fault
Same distance from pole all the way
around
Correct pocket (Slightly further off
pole at beginning of turn then end)
Ideal impulsion around turn
Efficient turn (not using more strides
or time than is necessary
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Ran past pole
Too wide going into turn
Too wide coming out of turn
Loss of impulsion
Inefficient turn
Weaving
Ideal
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Fault
Free moving
Cadenced (rhythmic)
Smooth
Horses body is straight throughout
weaves
Shoulder is lifted to weave
Horse and rider more coordinated
Appears effortless
Stays close to poles without
knocking
(If running) Switches leads in
between poles
Rider quiet with cues
Rider balanced in saddle
Rider consistent in cues (when
weaving horse and rider should be
like dance partners gliding around a
dance floor)
Horse maintained same speed
throughout weaves
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Choppy
Knocked a pole (s)
Horses body serpentining wide
through weaves
Shoulder dropping at poles
Weaving far away from poles
(If running) Switches leads at poles
Rider jerking on horse
Rider moving horse’s head side to
side more than necessary
Inconsistent gait or speed
throughout weaves
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two-Barrel Flags
Ideal
Fault
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Straight line from time horse crosses
time line to second barrel
Straight line from second barrel to
time line
2nd barrel turned with a pocket
(coming in a slightly wider than
leaving)
2nd barrel turned roll-back style
2nd barrel turned equal distance all
the way around it
Same speed throughout entire
pattern
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Crooked line from time horse
crosses time line to second barrel
Squiggly line from time horse
crosses time line to second barrel
Crooked line from second barrel to
time line
Squiggly line from second barrel to
time line
2nd barrel turned with a marked
decrease in speed
2nd barrel turned too wide to drop
off first flag
2nd barrel turned too wide to pick up
second flag
Speed not held consistent
throughout pattern
Picking up and Carrying the Flag
Fault
Ideal
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Picked staff up below flag
Picked flag up as running past (or
with no decrease in speed)
Flag was picked up in one attempt
Flag held next to horse
Flag held parallel to ground
Flag dropped off at second barrel in
first attempt
Second flag picked up immediately
following first flag dropping off
Second flag picked up smoothly
Second flag picked up on first
attempt
Second flag dropped off with flag
pointed to back of barrel
Second flag remained in second
barrel
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Picked up staff where flag attaches
Picked up staff above flag
More than one attempt needed to
pick up flag
Flag held far away from horse
Flag held perpendicular to ground
First flag missed second barrel
First flag took more than one
attempt to place in second barrel
More than one attempt needed to
pick up second flag
Circling the barrel to pick up either
flag
Dropping flags into barrel with a
stabbing motion
Second flag missed second barrel
Flag dropped in between barrels