Heather Smith

Heather has successfully trained for and competed in reining, and has experience with colt starting and rehabilitating troubled horses. She now dedicates her time to barrel racing professionally and educating others at BarrelRacingTips.com.

Smith has worked closely and ridden with many leading professionals whose guidance has influenced and shaped her integrative style of horsemanship and teaching. In addition, Heather has invested a great deal of time and resources developing her education on the
specific topics of equine bodywork, nutrition and hoof care.  She holds an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Veterinary Technology and licensure as a Veterinary Technician.

Heather’s experiences have led her to realize that achieving success in barrel racing, or any discipline, is more about personal development than horse training, and that only when we reveal the best in ourselves, can we do the same with horses.  Through her own experiences, she’s become determined to make the critical but lesser-known secrets to barrel racing success more understandable, applicable and readily available to barrel racers around the world.

“Our performance horses have benefitted from handheld light therapy devises for several years.  The drawbacks, however were that they required a person to physically hold them in place, and they only treated a very small area.  My husband Craig and I are “stayers”  – our horses are part of the family and now that our top performance horses are in their teens, after investing so much into their education and health, it makes sense to do everything possible to keep them healthy, happy and performing at their best for a long as possible.

“That’s where RevitaVet comes in!  With the IR2 System we can now treat several body parts at once, such as hocks and back, or feet – all at the same time.  Another benefit is that while I’m always monitoring the horses closely, I can get small chores done near their treatment area as they receive therapy – making even more efficient use of time.  Any professional competitor knows that training, traveling and competing alone is nearly all-consuming, so although we also do hands-on therapy, it’s so nice to have effective, hands-free options!

“We use the RevitaVet system every morning and evening on our performance horses depending on their individual needs.  The independent, battery powered wraps are perfect for quick & convenient treatments on the road or pre-race.  I always have them available on our short trips and never leave for the weekend or extended travel without the entire IR2 System.  I know the reason our aged performance horses are still competitive and feeling great is in large part due to the therapeutic support they receive from RevitaVet.  I’m confident it keeps them going strong by reducing inflammation, healing micro-stresses to their bodies, while relieving the aches and pains that come along with high-level timed-speed event competition.”

Since launching BarrelRacingTips.com in 2011, she’s been doing just that through her best-selling book series, weekly email tips, social media, online articles and videos, podcast and coaching.