I am obviously a horse beater...

brighthair

brighthair

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on another forum for saying I would smack a horse
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My post and reply below

all depends. If the horse is usually ok, capable of jumping the height, saddle, back and teeth fine then yes - if the horse stopped, I would use the whip once as a reprimand

Reply - It's not natural for any animal to be abused by people. People only hit animals so that it frightens them into doing what you want it to do. People domesticated animals, the animals didn't do it themselves.

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this was my reply :-)

right so in that case we shouldn't be riding them at all
One smack is not abusing. Horses discipline each other by nipping, kicking etc, and a horse is a lot stronger than me - I could not force a horse into doing anything if it was truly frightened or in pain. However each horse is an individual. If I had ridden a well trained, well schooled horse with correct impulsion and rhythm to a small cross pole and it stopped, I would bring the horse round again. If it stopped again, I would use a slap with a stick (behind my leg) and probably drop it to a pole on the floor so the horse had to go forwards over it
I don't hit a horse to frighten it, I will slap a horse if I need to discipline it. If a horse bites me, I don't have the chance to converse with it, speak to it softly and ask what is wrong. The horse needs to know instantly, and a growl and a slap on the shoulder will do that
 
lol, was going to say parelli!! Then you could beat him arround the head with a carrot stick meeooow!!!! Cos thats ok you know
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The response was a bit ott, but if a horse who normally jumped refused i would consider what i was doing before smacking it. A lot of horses just get more wound up by a smack. It always pleases me when top sj-ers who get it wrong just re present and get a nice jump rather than giving the horse a smack.

Edited as i was distracted by family guy and by the time i finished writing you posted again saying what i would think also
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So ignore me! lol
 
I am not a fluffy bunny, however I do believe you have to look at the reason WHY the horse has stopped.

A quick slap is not a quick cure, e.g. if the horse cannot physically make the jump, does not have confidence, isnt concentrating, bad riding, sunlight in their eyes there are a lot of reasons a horse will stop.

To my mind I would much prefer a horse to jump because they want to, and think about the jump and even put in a stop if it is unsafe or beyond their ability to jump. Jumping is about teaching the horse to think for his self as well, a stop is not always a bad thing and can stop some of the horrific falls we see. I always work at home on a second chance, if I come into a jump and they stop, I ride away and come again if they then stop, they may then get a reminder if I truly believe there was no reason behind the stop, physical reasons are not always the reasons why a horse stops, if they jump straight away then obviously something was not right the first time and my job as a rider is to work it what it was and try and avoid in the future.

I dont think you are a horse beater, however the bigger pictures from the horses eye is not the same as from our eye, and our logic is not theres, a dangerous horse to me is one that jumps and does not question or think but jumps because it has to, or too scared of the consequences if it does not. A partnership is about both thinking, seeing and working together.
 
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The response was a bit ott, but if a horse who normally jumped refused i would consider what i was doing before smacking it. A lot of horses just get more wound up by a smack. It always pleases me when top sj-ers who get it wrong just re present and get a nice jump rather than giving the horse a smack.

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I get what you mean - I have had one horse who got more wound up by it - but usually you know the horse well enough as to whats best. One I have ridden will grind to a halt for no reason other than the light looks funny/the pole smells weird!
I use the whip once when she stops and then come back round. I think you just have to be aware of when it's your fault, and when it's the horse. Obv I am not advocating beating but on a sticky RS pony, sometimes a well timed PC kick or smack works!
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I will say though, a smack going into a fence when being a bit sticky i see as ok, a smack after a refusal i do not really. A whip is an aid, not a punishment, and getting a smack once the event is over is probably more confusing.

But you're not a horse beater
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ETA (again) i use a schooling whip most times i ride, i use it to tap the bum/ shoulder over when hacking out, or to back up my leg aid, by literally having a loose hold and letting it bounce a few times behind my leg when it is being ignored. This is usually enough to get a horse moving forwards and if not i will smack it against my boot a few times to make a loud noise. This will get the laziest horse moving forwards. So a 'smack' for being lazy is also not the most productive way of getting them moving forwards. So there's actually little need for it at all IMO
 
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The response was a bit ott, but if a horse who normally jumped refused i would consider what i was doing before smacking it. A lot of horses just get more wound up by a smack. It always pleases me when top sj-ers who get it wrong just re present and get a nice jump rather than giving the horse a smack.

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I get what you mean - I have had one horse who got more wound up by it - but usually you know the horse well enough as to whats best. One I have ridden will grind to a halt for no reason other than the light looks funny/the pole smells weird!
I use the whip once when she stops and then come back round. I think you just have to be aware of when it's your fault, and when it's the horse. Obv I am not advocating beating but on a sticky RS pony, sometimes a well timed PC kick or smack works!
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So if it's your fault and not the horse!! Who gives you a quick flick with the whip?
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Sorry it just seemed such a funny statement
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Did the horse tell you the light was funny and the pole smelt weird
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seriously - you know how light shines in through an indoor school? If the light moved in front of the jump (not blinding her, just on the floor) she would stop. If a person in the school was helping with poles and changed the jump from a cross to an upright (same height) she'd stop
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I know if I bring a horse to a jump with no impulsion or my heart not really in it, and they stop = my fault
But if I put a horse on the correct line, correct impulsion etc etc etc to a 1ft6 jump, and they stop
I'm probably not phrasing this well
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but what I'm trying to say is everyone knows THEIR horse. I knew that if my old horse stoppd, something was majorly wrong. Another horse, can stop on a regular basis
 
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oh and it should be the instructor who goes "YOUR FAULT THAT STOPPED!" and then beats me up after the lesson
LMAO

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PMSL and would that be with a lunging whip or schooling whip or a short crop
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I don't know what you are trying to imply!!
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Nah, I'd just have to muck out several hundred stables as punishment!
 
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oh and it should be the instructor who goes "YOUR FAULT THAT STOPPED!" and then beats me up after the lesson
LMAO

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You've met my old trainer then
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I'm a horse beater too
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My lazy bugg*r of a horse will stop dead when my legs are away from her sides about to do a good old PC kick - therefore she now has a small smack from the whip instead
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Noone can judge what is and isn't right, it's you and your instructor with the horse, all horses are differen't and require differen't schooling techniques, otherwise we could all learn from books and wouldn't need lessons! Horses aren't cars, nobody can tell you if what you were doing was right.

I know about the light in indoor schools, mine shies away from it and jumps or high steps over it!
 
I agree with the person who said she carries a schooling whip and hits her boot or lets it tap the horse as you're riding. This works well on my horse. If i hit her with it, she kicks out with her back legs and walks backwards quicker.
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However, on a good day a tiny touch can encourage her to go past the scariest objects (bearing in mind she's very spooky and most things count as scary objects
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).

Can anyone tell me why we carry short crops for jumping, I understand changing a schooling whip over when jumping could be awkward, but mine doesn't listen to a shrt crop but really respects a schooling whip so I figured I could jump with a schooling whip, get more response out of her if necessary
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I ride a cob sometimes who needs a little extra help over a fence and I jump him with a schooling whip. I wouldn't normally but I find he needs a little tap in the last stride just to remind him to keep going. Hitting him with a short whip beind the leg would be too much, a PC kick too unbalancing at every fence and a smack on the shoulder doesn't encourage him forward.

He never stops, but without the schooling whip he will hesitate and dither or even slow to walk and go over one step at a time.

I was sooooooo embarassed when he picked his way one foot at a time over a 2'6" gate in a working hunter class....... he cleared it without a touch but we didn't get many marks for style........
 
I know exactly who you mean. And her entire experience of horses is a couple of years at a riding school, and a share horse she couldn't control as it walked all over her. Lovely ideals but rather lacking in actual practical experience
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I have to say however - I jumped all kinds of horses, from the totally over enthisatic, the reluctant, the honest jumpers and the dirty stoppers. And I've never once needed to 'punish' the horse for refusing or running out. Mainly because they don't think like that and rarely associate the stop with the punishment. Yes, I've used a stick to encourage the horse to keep going (or insisted occasionally) but punishing them aftewards doesn't acheive much other than make them wary.

You can always tell a horse who is used to getting punished for stopping - they become panicy and stressed as soon as they've stopped, usually doing an little half hop round and away, with their head right up. It doesn't prevent them from stopping, it just makes them worry about it.

I have a horse who is very honest jumper but not hugely brave. If something is scary she will occasionally grind to a halt and have a look. She is NEVER punished for it. Instead she is represensted and always jumps it a second time. And she is totally relaxed and calm about it. She has no fear or anxiety over stopping and having a look and the second try is calm and relaxed. Until the one day a friend jumped her, she stopped to have a look and she got a hard smack. The next try was paniced and rushed and she didn't really want to jump the rest after that.:(
 
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I was sooooooo embarassed when he picked his way one foot at a time over a 2'6" gate in a working hunter class....... he cleared it without a touch but we didn't get many marks for style........

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P.S We do that.
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2'9 workers. Big scary sheep fillers, chicken statues and water trays. And the terrifying Kalli-eating purple flowers. So we trotted up to each on, ground to a halt, had a sniff then dantily hopped over each from a stand still. Didn't clip a thing either
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If I didnt ride my share horse with and use a whip, we wouldnt ever get going without the obligatory PC kicking.... he is not beaten or abused, just an effing lazy git!!
 
personally I do not carry a whip and haven't done for years. I don't feel the need to and can honestly say that I have never had to smack a horse in years. I always try to find a way around any problems that occur using other methods. ie if the horse wont go forwards, I make him go backwards. If he wont go past something I get off and lead. and so on. I don't consider myself a " bunny hugger" just an experienced and fair rider/owner who has seen too much over use of the whip.
 
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