Natalie Overholt - Riding and Ethics - Part 4 of 5

Without vet checks at most rodeos, barrel racers on the rodeo trail can get away with more than those showing futurities or some of the larger horse shows. An unspoken questions is often, "What is that horse running on?" Below, Overholt addresses her thoughts on steroids, her own riding ethics and much more.

Riding and Ethics
How much time do you spent reviewing your runs and going over what you did wrong or right?
I watch the run a few times on tape if it was taped, then think about what went wrong and start on a solution as soon as possible. The sooner I can figure out the problem and find a solution to the problem the better.

What do you do to practice on your older horses if you’re having a problem?
Usually if the horse is finished, seasoned and already winning and I start having problems with it I go to the vet to see if they are sore, and that usually fixes the problem.

What do you do best riding-wise?
Getting the most potential possible out of a horse, and I’m light handed.

What do you or have you struggled with the most while riding?
I have trouble keeping my stirrups. It doesn’t matter what I do I seem to lose them. I’ve also had to start over from square one with a lot of green horses.

What rules do you play by? Any ethics you try to follow when it comes to doing what it takes to win?
I try to see each individual horses strength and build from there. I feed vitamin supplements. I’ve seen too many good horses get wrecked or messed up for life because of steroids so I stay away from using that kind of stuff.

What veterinary technique has served you best (i.e. hock injections, Legend, shock wave therapy, etc.)?
Chiropractor adjustments and having the knees, hocks and stifles injected.