A whip stops spooking out hacking?

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darkhorse123

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How?
And no im not having a go - ive just read another post re whips and read people deem then neccessary out hacking.
Now Im a novice so am very prepared to be wrong - but i dont carry a whip hacking out
Ive just read someone say a whip can stop their horse spooking and im very interested in this, so am asking how can a whip be used to stop spooking?
In my novice humble opinion i would have thought a whip could make an already spooky horse worse?
I just cannot honestly see how it can help?
Like I said I am learning and have always learnt lots on this forum so i am awaiting replies with genuine wanting to know interest
 
No it can't stop it spooking as such but when the horse looks and decides to run backwards towards a ditch or a car it can certainly prevent a crisis. A quick smack over the bum to get the horse going forward is definitely better than reversing into said ditch/car.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a horse that spooks by backing off the leg, making snorting dragon noises, and then hitting reverse. I find my stick very useful in these instances. It won't ever stop him looking but it can stop him getting us both in to serious trouble through going into reverse!
 
darkhorse123 said:
How?
And no im not having a go - ive just read another post re whips and read people deem then neccessary out hacking.
Now Im a novice so am very prepared to be wrong - but i dont carry a whip hacking out
Ive just read someone say a whip can stop their horse spooking and im very interested in this, so am asking how can a whip be used to stop spooking?
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It depends on the type of horse, tbh a novice will not be put on a sharp horse which may need to be schooled out hacking, that is to say there are different types of horses and some need to be educated to do the right thing, a whip may be used to back up aids like a squeeze of the legs, and in some cases s, a sharp crack of the whip to make sure the horse does not do something dangerous like running in to a bus!
A young horse which has only basic aids, and minimal experience may need a tap on the shoulder, or neck, or behind the rider's leg or on the rider's boot to make sure it reacts.
I don't always ride out with a whip, but that is because my horse is fairly well educated and experienced in the environment I am exposing him to, if I were to go to a new area with traffic and unpredictable environment, I would carry a schooling whip so I could make sure he did what was needed. I may carry it and not use it, but it is there if needed.
If i was going to take him down town for the first time, I would carry a short stick which would be used to get me out of an emegency situation.
 
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i dont think it can stop spooking but it can prevent shall we say the "after math" of the spook

for example when my horse spooks he runs sideways or swings his arse out... which on the road isnt great swinging into traffic and my whip blocks what my legs cant, and a sharp tap will also get him listening to me again when he goes in to panic mode if something really scares him

also they are good to keep traffic further away from the horse - i use a bright white schooling whip because my stirrups have been clipped too many times


i always carry a whip and i have no problem with people who do or dont people are too quick to draw conclusions that if your horse needs a whip it isnt well trained or that the rider beats it... annoying -.-
 
ty - mrs d yes i can see that.
My boy is a cob who is very leg and voice responsive normlly - however can spook but its nothing severe, more a twitch or 1 jump to the side which i cant see a whip could help with - i do see how it could help with horses who nap etc
 
I always carry a whip when im out hacking and are incouraged to do so by RI. I use my stick if horse misbehaves in a way that could be dangerous to both of us and to any other person/ animal etc. Or as a reminder if the horse decides not to listen to any other aid.
If you choose not to take one with you and your horse decides to take the Pss then it can be a long hack home instead of being able to correct what is usually silly behaviour there and then and get on with it.
 
Agree with the above comments. A whip can be really useful to block quarters from swinging out when the horse is spooking, or keep a shoulder straight. Also a good tool to get a horse moving forward when they hit reverse.

One of the horses I ride knows when you are carrying a whip. If you are carrying it, he is the most angelic 100% safe ride known to man. Doesn't spook at anything, stops and starts easily, so responsive. Don't carry the whip and he'll spook at everything, using it as an excuse to nap :rolleyes: he'll pull, tank, run backwards. Knows every trick in the book! He's easy enough to prevent if you're an experienced rider (even if not carrying a whip) ... but if a relatively competant rider gets on him, we just make them carry a whip and then know he'll be 100%. He just doesn't bother trying anything on because he knows they have a whip and could use it to stop him.
 
i think you are making me decide to carry one - athough he is good with very subtle aids and a verbal growl or firm kick has done it for me before, i can understand your points - ty
 
Trolt said:
Agree with the above comments. A whip can be really useful to block quarters from swinging out when the horse is spooking, or keep a shoulder straight. Also a good tool to get a horse moving forward when they hit reverse.

One of the horses I ride knows when you are carrying a whip. If you are carrying it, he is the most angelic 100% safe ride known to man. Doesn't spook at anything, stops and starts easily, so responsive. Don't carry the whip and he'll spook at everything, using it as an excuse to nap :rolleyes: he'll pull, tank, run backwards. Knows every trick in the book! He's easy enough to prevent if you're an experienced rider (even if not carrying a whip) ... but if a relatively competant rider gets on him, we just make them carry a whip and then know he'll be 100%. He just doesn't bother trying anything on because he knows they have a whip and could use it to stop him.
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that made me lol -not daft are they :D
 
When my boy spooks, he spins 180o very fast to the right and gallops down the road. If I carry my whip in my right hand, on the very first inkling of this manouvre I can lay my whip along his right shoulder which keeps him straight and stops the spook. No hauling on his mouth and no spinning.

I would also like to add that when I first got my lad (11 years ago) he was very very whip shy, so in order to be able to manage the spooking in this way I had to get him to trust me and the whip. The only reason I mention this is to show that the whip on the shoulder does stop the spook but doesn't cause my boy hurt or distress.
 
darkhorse123 said:
ty - mrs d yes i can see that.
My boy is a cob who is very leg and voice responsive normally - however can spook but its nothing severe, more a twitch or 1 jump to the side which i cant see a whip could help with - i do see how it could help with horses who nap etc
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Your cob may have been educated to respond to leg aids when it was young, because if it did not the aid would be re-enforced with a tap of the whip.
Young horses need to understand very basic aids, as they progress they learn to respond to more subtle aids, thus a dressage horse will be asked to do all sorts of changes by a rider who is able to train to a very advanced standard.
Horse have to learn aids, they are not innate, that is to say, one could teach a horse to back by saying "go forward you silly boy", and to trot by saying , slow slow quick quick slow.

It seem that you think that the whip it to be used to punish a horse, but horses don't understand "punishment", this is a human characteristic, most horses which have been beaten with a whip learn to dislike their rider, and may distrust humans in general.
If your horse spooks you need to "put your leg on" at the very instant it spooks, no point in being ten seconds/minutes behind the movement, in most cases if you anticipate by holding the horse between your legs, the spook will not occur, other strategies include leg yielding, which the horse has to learn from the rider.
A good rider has very few problems with horses which may seem unrideable, see endospink on youtube and think how long the average person would last with the horse he is asked to sort out, remember pro riders and handlers have already tried!
 
oh im gettign my whip out tomorrow - see i was never ever taught to see them as reassuring or even guiding objects - just to hit with - ty so so much everyone
 
Tamar will spin 180 to the left if he sees a bogey man (I can never see him!) or a large vehicle. I carry a schooling whip and can give him a wee ding on the butt or just flick it out and he sees it in the corner of his eye.This is usually enough to make him think forwards. Just glad he hasnt learnt to go right yet!!!! Would have to carry one in each hand :D
 
Hehe it's nice to know that my little man isn't the only one who's a demon without a crop! Nine times out of ten I don't need to use it, just having it in his line of sight makes him "forget" all about napping, bolting and spinning. Take him out without one and he's a real knob!

I think the whip is invaluable in tricky situations as long as it's used properly, as I would agree that "thrashing" a horse (as I've sadly seen done a few times before) on the hindquarters when it's already wound up is not productive but a quick reassuring tap or a firm tap can really help you when they're ignoring leg aids !

xxx
 
The whip doesn't stop the spooking, and it won't always work for every horse. It just enables more effective control of the spook.

My boy doesn't spook too badly. Occasionally he gets unsure and refuses to go forward. I tried reassurance, patting etc. And it gets me no where, he just ignores it. But one sharp tap, not even a hard one, gets him listening to my leg again. He'll walk forward again, listening to my firm but steady leg and vocal praises.

For me, the whip serves to remind him that I am there and that he needs to be listening to me. It is used in the same way it is in the school. He isn't listening to my leg, so I back that up with a secondary aid.
 
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I always carry my crop out hacking the biggest reason is for holding the catch up when hanging off side of horse to open gates. It is also good for swatting flys and branches and brambles.
 
darkhorse123 said:
oh im gettign my whip out tomorrow - see i was never ever taught to see them as reassuring or even guiding objects - just to hit with - ty so so much everyone
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Good grief , thats a bit worrying .

I always carry a whip , I wouldn't ride without it.

I have a long orange hiviz one at the moment and on the roads I carry it stuck out to the side and cars give us much more room when passing , incredible, but they do.
In the horsefly season I can reach and knock off a fly almost anywhere on him and he is very grateful for it .
If he thinks about spooking I can touch him behind my leg without taking my hands off the reins and stay in better control. He is much less likely to spin and run back much more likely to shoot forward past the object.

I did just wonder this summer because I have now got the knack of actually killing horseflies which are sucking blood with a swift slap of the whip , he doesn't even flinch but if I hit him like that when schooling he would shoot off and take quite a while to settle. It seems as if he knows I'm not getting after him just killing the damn flies.
 
nope it won't stop spooking but it might help with immediate control afterwards. I've never really needed to "smack" my horse but a tap at the right time can stop her swinging into a car etc. Also handy for picking things from the ground and gates!
 
I rest it on the shoulders if they are running through their shoulders or i use it to encourage them forwards, i've found it works especially with young horses who've hardly hacked out.
 
I never use the whip to 'punish' my horses, only as a last resort kind of thing, as others have said - it doesn't prevent the spook, but can stop things getting out of control.
One of my horses is awful in traffic, when we first took him on he was extremely dangerous, but has improved over the last few years (thank god!). He had a horrible habit of launching himself in front of random cars as they were passing with absolutely no warning, and although we obviously practised with our own cars, on the hacks we went on my whip was invaluable - if i hadn't had been able to use it on his shoulder i'm sure we'd have been in a serious accident by now. He also had a habit of running backwards at high speed into anything, when this anything was a cattlegrid, i managed to stop him running into it by using the whip on his bum which suprised him enough to distract him and enable me to to turn his head and get him out of danger.
He's the only horse i really 'need' it for, but i carry it with the others just incase, as it's better to be safe than sorry and if they were to do anything potentially dangerous it comes as a suprise to them when they'd otherwise ignore my voice/leg in their worked up state. hope that made sense, it was quite rambly!
 
I regard a whip as an extension of the hand; NOT as a form of punishment.

With my horse, he was very much lacking in confidence and wouldn't hack solo when I got him as he'd been a trekking horse and hadn't a clue about going anywhere on his own. So if someone had used the whip on him for spooking - then as my trainer pointed out it would only reinforce his fear of going solo and he'd think gosh every time I go out on my own then I end up getting a thrashing, so hey, I shan't go in future and will nap!!

And this is what the problem with a lot of horses is, I would venture to suggest. They're getting "punished" for reacting to a confidence issue, i.e. they're not confident to leave the yard because they're not confident with their rider as herd leader and are reacting accordingly.

Having said that, with some horses, they need just a tap on the bum sometimes just to remind them that the rider IS the herd leader as this is something which would happen in the herd situation if the horse hung back. If you as rider have asked the horse to go forward and have given clear aids to do so, and then the horse says "no", I don't have a problem with using the whip in this instance as there is a clear issue of who is herd leader and the horse has to realise that the rider/herd leader is the one to obey.
 
My whip is used as an extension of hand or leg to 'block' unwanted or potentially dangerous movements. I would NEVER hack out without it, it would be very foolhardy.
 
jesstickle said:
No it can't stop it spooking as such but when the horse looks and decides to run backwards towards a ditch or a car it can certainly prevent a crisis. A quick smack over the bum to get the horse going forward is definitely better than reversing into said ditch/car.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a horse that spooks by backing off the leg, making snorting dragon noises, and then hitting reverse. I find my stick very useful in these instances. It won't ever stop him looking but it can stop him getting us both in to serious trouble through going into reverse!
Click to expand...

Snap! It's also handy for getting brambles/trees out of the way and waving at cars/dogs that get too close :p (albeit schooling whip is better as its longer)
 
both my tbs have a habit of reversing when they freak out and if we are in the village and there are cars around they dont respect them at all. For my own and others safety i would never ride without a stick as it provides a stronger aid than legs when a horse has gone into complete adrenaline/primitive reaction mode reminding them that they are not actually in trouble

also always carry a stick out hacking... an old hunting thing as if a horse cuts itself badly then i have something to tighten a tournequet with... essential piece of equipment for safety imo
 
same reason as i wear spurs on certain horses - one horse i ride has a tendancy to do 180spins and bolt down the road, she doesn't respect a tap on the shoulder or whip on the shoulder enough to make a difference. schooling her to respond to my seat has had a huge effect and getting her to slow down and approach scary objects rather than race past has helped but the fact that should she start to spin i can apply a spur which she does respect (they're only little too) - has helped a great deal. the rest of the time the spurs aren't in contact with her sides at all :)
I carry a whip so if she's spooking at something that wasn't scary the previous outing i can reinforce the forwards leg aid to stop reversing (another fave trick)
 
No the whip alone wont stop the horse from spooking, but sometimes horses/ ponies will become dead to your leg so to speak when they are scared or whatever reason so the whip acts as a back up to your leg aids to encourage them to go forwards - and I dont mean battering the horse to get past just a quick sharp tap to say "hey, come on, go forwards I have my leg on".
 
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