One good beating....(opinions)

actually, i would rather give a horse one good "crack" than lots of mini half-hearted ones...

if a horse i was riding and it refused at a jump with no reason, then i would give it 1 "crack" with the stick and represent it at the fence, and more often than not the horse will jump it then. my horses arnt allowed to learn bad habits - they get told off once for doing it - eg. refusal.

however, if the stop/run out was my fault, then i would not hit the horse at all. this happens more often than not!
i used to ride a pony for working hunter, and it was a little s**t and would stop at the most random fences for no reason, so i learnt to sit back and "threaten" with the stick and he started to jump.

my old pony used to be a bit bogey and stubborn sometimes (stubbern connie blood
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) so on xc i would ride with my stick out towards a fence if i felt him backing off it, and he then realised that i meant buisness and he would jump prefectly.

i have been told that if i stop "beat the crap out of the pony" but have never done so, have found that the correct combination of voice and the threat of the whip works perfectly.

a beating to me consitutes that the horse is being whipped constantly for no apparant reason, or that the person has fallen off and is hitting her horse. to me, hitting a horse in a foul mood is unforgivable, and blaming it for your mistake is unforgivable as well.

please please dont shoot me down - i use the whip correctly and only when i have to - i never "beat" a pony, have come across so many ponies that are head shy beacuse they have been beat around the head - one with a lead pipe.
 
My view of beating is being hit several times in quick succession, yet a napping horse can be reprimanded by one or maybe two well-timed smacks with a lunge whip each time it tries to spin. Laying into a horse is something entirely different and, whilst some of the examples stated in these posts lay testament to this method, I feel it should not be used as a matter of course.

On a lighter note, maybe I've just been spoilt with the lovely horses I've had and have ridden for other people.
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I do remember one nappy one that bolted through the village with me at primary school pick-up time, much to the disgust of the mothers. Now that was scary (the horse, not the mothers!)
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I got off Ty once and hit him hard (once) with a schooling whip - which resulted in him rearing and galloping off down a road.

Really don't think that sort of violence gets anyone anywhere and I could have lost a horse that I care a great deal about and probably killed a few humans in the process.

A moment of madness which I'll always regret!
 
there's a difference between being firm and beating it. Yanking the rope and speaking firmly is not the same as beatin git.
 
A trainer once told me "Violence is when people run out of tools"

I'd agree with that. All the incidents of horses getting beatings/good hidings etc have always been because the handler has become exasperated because nothing else has worked, or because they don't have the tools to do it any other way in the first place.

BTW I'm talking tools as in ways of schooling rather than actual tools!!

There are some people in this world who genuinely think that dishing out violence in huge doses to a horse who puts one hoof out of line is the way that it should be done, no questions asked. But when we stop asking "is there a better way?" we stop learning, and I know of one very salient example of very highly renowned couple I went to have a dressage lesson from. I got told to smack my ride - repeatedly, often and "harder, much harder" because he was too tired or not fit enough to perform the tasks in question. Needless to say I left, disgusted and certainly did not follow her instructions. Interesting that at the same time the husband was in the other school and I heard some effing HUGE cracks with the whip and shouting F'ing, Blinding. I didn't see what happened but what I did see beforehand looked textbook perfect.

Interesting that this couple, whilst they have got so far, they have never risen higher. My opinion? Because their training methods make horses shut down to cope, and they can never perform at their best in that state.
 
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He was whipped and whipped to get him out of the yard on occasions, to some that would be beating?

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Point taken - yep, I'd class that as a beating.....
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What're your opinions on this everyone?

I was talking to a friend of mine who I haven't spoken to in ages, and she has worked with horses for years, has loads of experience and has worked on some pretty top level yards. Her general opinion of how to deal with horses that don't tow the line was that you should beat the cr*p out of them - and this really surprised me.
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She said if a horse won't go forwards, get someone to beat it with a lungewhip 'til it does - if it rears, beat it with a lungewhip etc...and that most people are too soft on them.

Am I just too soft, or what? IMO if a horse doesn't want to do what you're asking, generally speaking either it is in pain of some sort, or you aren't asking correctly. Ok there is no helping some horses, but I was shocked that she had worked on such 'good' yards and used these kinds of methods. Surely, when the horses are sold on, if the person then doesn't beat them, they won't be able to do anything with them? I just don't understand it
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Am I just being 'soppy'?

Btw...she doesn't ride anymore as she thinks it's too dangerous!

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People like that sicken me, they really do.

You're not soppy, you're obviously someone who is intelligent, kind and patient enough to recognise that a horse is a living, breathing, feeling animal, not a machine.

I'm glad that the cow baggage doesn't ride any more. Because if a horse dumped her, she would no doubt leather it, even if it was her own fault.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
 
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He was whipped and whipped to get him out of the yard on occasions, to some that would be beating?

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Point taken - yep, I'd class that as a beating.....
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Not by me I hasten to add!
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Dont get me wrong he still gets a few good smacks from me if he tries napping now, he is old enough to know better, but luckily I started riding him when he WAS rideable.

However, if he hadnt been handled as firmly as he was, I have no doubt he would have been put down, he was a lovely horse, but wasnt cut until 5, been used as a stallion, walked all over his previous owner, he was just pure naughty, and becoming dangerous (galloped 3 miles home with 1st owner).

He had spent 2 years getting his own way, his previous owner was terrified of him, and being the clever horse he was, he used it to get out of doing aything.
Even today, at 19, he will test every rider, the last HHO'er who visited found him planting his feet for 4minutes in the school, then trying to nap and take off on a hack, he is the type of horse that is always pushing the boundaries and seeing what he can get away with.

He is good for me, but we obviously know eachother very well now.

I am not for beating horses, but I absolutely agree, as much as I love him, that Lance did need whipping to get him out of the yard. He isnt scared of anything, def not whip shy, but if it hadnt happened and he had just been given up on, he wouldnt have went on to event and compete, and wouldnt be the horse we have now.
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Beau on the other hand, I have never ever hit him, he only tries to please and doesnt have a naughty bone in his body, but all horses are different.
 
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