Page 94 - Barrel Stallion Register 2016

by John Moorehouse
Q. When you’re looking at prospective futurity horses, what do you look
for, what qualities (be they physical
or temperamental) and how much importance do you place on pedigree? Oen: One of the very first things I look for is
an eye, more than anything. I want to look at
that horse’s face. I might look at a horse off of pedigree to start. But, I like a big soft brown eye. I don’t like the white around the horse’s eye. I
like kind of a short, solid mouth. I’m a little bit
of a whorl freak. I like horses that have only one whorl in their forehead. I’m kind of a believer in that. That’s always been a controversial statement between me and some of my friends. My friends kind of think I’m crazy, but I just kind of grew up that way. There are a couple of articles that have been written about that. It’s kind of a superstition of mine, but I think it holds fairly true myself. I’m very, very big on a horse with a soft brown eye and a short mouth. More so, I get a feeling about a horse when I walk up to it more than I do by looking at it. I don’t know. I want to take a read
on them, I guess, just by walking up to them and kind of standing around, watching them do their thing, whether it’s in their stall or with whoever’s got them out. I normally start with pedigree, but I typically go with conformation flaw.
Q. At what age do you prefer to start working with a futurity horse?
Oen: I normally like the horses to start right around their three-year-old year. I’ve had horses I got late in their three-year-old year . . . but in a perfect world, with me, I like to get them going no later than March of their three-year-old year. I’ve gotten them as late as May and been okay, and maybe they’ve been solid by December.
Q. Once you start the training process, how long does it take to get a horse ready to go and compete?
Oen: I honestly think it takes, just on the normal overall average, it takes close to a year to have a horse ready. Ten months to a year to get them truly solid. There again, there’s always a special case. One filly I have, I think I got her
back in June [of 2014] and she was running
in January and started coming on strong in March. She was a special case. It doesn’t always happen, but she just trained that way. But there again, she wasn’t ready in December. I ran her in December, but she wasn’t really solid.
Q. When you’re out on the road, what types of items do you find are most beneficial to you when hauling and competing to keep you and your horses at the top of their game?
Oen: I think the most important thing, probably overall, is to take your feed and your hay with you and try not to buy it on the road. I feed Blue Bonnet, which is a product that’s not sold nationwide . . . so I think probably the hay and the grain, not having to buy them on the road. It’s also stuff that they’re used to eating. You try to keep everything as normal in their life as it is at home. We take several therapy things, back wraps and ankle wraps. And obviously, don’t leave home without your bridle or your saddle.
Pete Oen has come from small-town roots in Ohio and is now recognized as one of the top barrel horse trainers in
the industry. Based in Oklahoma, Oen has a thriving training program and the accomplishments that prove it. Oen discusses with Speedhorse his career, training methods and thoughts on the barrel racing world as a whole.
“More so, I get a feeling about a horse when I walk up to it more than I do by looking at it.”
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