So how many horses buck in response to crop on bum when riding?

Absolutely - my horse would definitely buck if whacked on the rump with either a short crop or schooling whip. He also doesn't appreciate constant nagging with legs - clear concise aids work better
 
Thankfully mine were born with brilliant work ethic so never need to carry a whip, they always give everything you ask for and more.
 
Jericho said:
Not beating him, just a smart smack. It was more horrid to watch her flap flap flap boot boot boot. I felt sorry for him although he had no interest in going forward at all and would just stop completely given the chance. IMO he needs to get out of school and go hunting - that will soon give him some motivation


And for those that asked it was a short crop. I will politely suggest she can borrow my schooling whip next time....
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I've a similar problem with a friend. She's got into a habit of smacking cob on the rump when leg flapping proves ineffective :( have had to ask her to stop if she's riding in front of me as it upsets the horse I ride. Have explained to her again and again that she should tap behind her leg,and why, but she also uses a crop so might try your suggestion re schooling whip :)
 
I always have a consistent approach on any horse i get on. First time i ask is gentle squeeze. if i need a second time its much firmer. if i need to ask a third time i use stick behind leg and am prepared for a buck or shoot forward. If they move forward i reward, regardless of if its too fast. if you need to ask a horse to do something simple three times, then its ignoring you or there's an issue. You see so many people nagging horses non stop and it just dulls them and tunes them out. I find if i use the three chance method consistently the horse understands what happens if it ignores the aid. usually i just have to do it three times and then the issue never arises again.
 
I haven't ridden with a short crop since my riding school days, but a couple of days ago I had one to walk down the lane with, to use on my horse's shoulder to keep him straight. Then went into the menage and had a canter - had a lovely transition but then he was falling out and ignoring my leg and without thinking I went into pony club mode, put my reins in one hand and gave my four year old WB a crack on the bottom. :o Unsurprisingly, he bucked, but then he went forward in the canter, so I'm counting it as a success, although I really must remember to actually use my brain when I ride.
 
Yeah, I think I would be off too if I hit Pip's bum. I've never 'whacked' him, only tickled with the whip behind the leg, and that invokes enough of a response lol!!

There are lots of ways of increasing forward, Pip is lazy and objects to any kind of force, lots of schooling on hacks has really helped him become sharp off the leg.
 
Reading this thread reminds me what a tough old boot my mare is...she wouldn't even flinch if I tapped her on the rump. Even when I lunge her you can virtually tangle the lunge whip around her back legs and she doesn't react at all. She's responsive enough to the leg luckily, but has no fear/reaction to a whip...she'd probably make a good vaulting horse.
 
Sorry, have to smile at all the people categorically stating that you can't send a horse forwards with a tap on the shoulder. Yes you can.

This morning I was riding my newly backed cob outdoors for the first time and I patted his neck with my hand when he wasn't expecting it. What did he do? Run forward. It's my experience with many horses over many years that most of them would go forward in response to a tap on the shoulder. It's a basic 'outrun the predator' instinct.
 
IMHO is you need to 'boot, boot, flap flap' or use a stick to get your horse going forwards then you also need to book some lessons with a decent instructor pronto. If you are riding your horse properly from your seat you won't need a stick orto nag with your legs to get your horse going forwards.

If you can't be bothered to learn to ride properly then you should put up with a horse that isn't forward going rather than subject it to a stick or constant nagging with your ineffectual legs. Neither of these are what creates a forward going horse.

Personally I have a lot to learn but I recognise that and have lots of lessons to make sure I improve rather than subject my horse to the negative consequences of my inadequacies :)

If I was rude enough to hit my horse on the rump OR to constantly nag with my leg rather than ask my horse to come through from behind properly then my horse would be well within it's rights to boot me off.
 
Depends what mood he is in!! usually a tap behind the leg is sufficent, he puts in a lovely big bucks if he is in the mood. but very rarely do i have to use it although he knows when I`m not carrying it.
 
Knobberpony does.It's just about the only time she does buck,bless her.She'll sometimes refuse a jump and then buck in anticipation of a tap.

Last year,my eldest took her around a clear round jumping course and had a few refusals or run outs,at the last one,she gave knobberpony a tap on the bum.The old girl bucked,recieved another tap and promptly reversed into the jump and bucked it down.My daughter was crying and I struggled to keep a straight face,although I did tell her if she used the whip again,she was going straight home.To ad insult to injury,my youngest,who hadn't ridden her for 6 months, got on and had a clear round until the last jump,where she had a refusal.She said it was her fault,not the pony's as she hadn't approached at the right angle.

I hate flashes and have taken our new pony's flash off.
 
TandD said:
1. I don't agree with hitting on the shoulder....would you like to be hit on the neck/shoulder area?
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no, but then i wouldn't want to carry someone around on my back either as i am not a horse!!

i don't carry a whip, bad carpal tunnel made it very uncomfortable to do so, ginger boy was scared of it and big bird ignores it, if i need more ooomph from her then a quick slap of the loop of the reins on the saddle is usually enough, if not then a slap on the neck always works.
 
I always find it quite amusing when horses 'know' you are carrying a whip as they just become that little more responsive! My daughters pony can be quite lazy, you only have to pass her a whip and he goes up a gear but she never has to use it.
 
I carry a schooling whip and tap down her shoulder when she naps towards the gate and has already ignored my leg blocking her.

Occasionally tickle her behind my leg to ask her to yield when she's ignoring my leg, if I use it too much she grumps and hollows so it's counter productive and I've been using it more of a means of getting her attention rather than a correction or punishment.
 
Smacking Arion on the backside tends to result in an enormous surge of forward movement - much more than I would like - he just goes. A light tickle from a schooling whip is all that is required if hes ignorning my leg, or if we are out hacking and hes refusing to move forward to avoid something he gets a tap on the neck so that we get a controlled forward movement instead of a 0-60 in .2 seconds that would be the result of a smack behind the leg :D My first horse would buck if you put a whip anywhere near his back end, he was rather indignant of whips
 
Mine gets a sharp smack on the backside with my whip if she naps, that's about it! She doesn't buck however she has never bucked once in the 4 years Iv had her
 
Well I'm very envious reading about all the perfectly schooled horses that go with the merest touch of the leg etc I have a very well schooled older horse who is a wily old bird and who knows every evasion in the book. Great schoolmaster though! I also use the nudge, kick, tap approach and it's really helped to stop me nagging (which I assure you is very easy to do on this horse). However, he's always a bit behind the leg in our first left canter which I sharpen up with a tap on the outside hind. Sometimes my schooling whip is in the wrong hand and I get that surge of forwardness just by transferring the whip to my right hand. My very experienced trainer always laughs and says "guilty conscience!"I would never school him without a whip, that doesn't mean I beat him up but I'd much rather use a quick tap of the whip than constantly kick him. AND yes, he can buck for England if you are too sharp with him, inside Mr Lazybones is quite a dominant horse!
 
cptrayes said:
Sorry, have to smile at all the people categorically stating that you can't send a horse forwards with a tap on the shoulder. Yes you can.

This morning I was riding my newly backed cob outdoors for the first time and I patted his neck with my hand when he wasn't expecting it. What did he do? Run forward. It's my experience with many horses over many years that most of them would go forward in response to a tap on the shoulder. It's a basic 'outrun the predator' instinct.
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That is reallk
 
Sorry!! Using phone....I meant, that is really interesting cptrayes, I was riding my rather sharp and nervy 6 year old and when he panicked I put my hand on his shoulder (instinctively) to calm him - previously I just used my voice and my hand sent him into a meltdown, taking off and I broke my ribs in the process.......
We have done quite a lot of desensitisation since then!!
 
Difference between experienced horses and babies I guess.

Most of the novice friendly rs ponies I've ridden go better with a stick and the most experienced will threaten to buck on the first use as they've learned this can make the rider back off so they get a nice lazy lesson. ..
 
Interesting thread! Im amazed that so many people think it's ok for their horse to buck in response to being given a reminder. A long schooling whip can and should be used in a targeted way - a tap behind the leg is fine if you want more forwardness, but I use it further back and lower down to encourage a bit more motivation in the hind leg, or slightly higher up to correct a trailing back end in sideways work. I'll also use it on top of the hindquarters to encourage a bit more bounce in piaffe/passage. I rarely carry one, but when I do, I expect to be able to use it wherever i like without the horse telling me to do one!
 
Actually thought of another good reason for a stick - gives better reach when trying to discourage flying biting things. Obviously gently flick across rather than smack down.
 
Auslander said:
Interesting thread! Im amazed that so many people think it's ok for their horse to buck in response to being given a reminder. A long schooling whip can and should be used in a targeted way - a tap behind the leg is fine if you want more forwardness, but I use it further back and lower down to encourage a bit more motivation in the hind leg, or slightly higher up to correct a trailing back end in sideways work. I'll also use it on top of the hindquarters to encourage a bit more bounce in piaffe/passage. I rarely carry one, but when I do, I expect to be able to use it wherever i like without the horse telling me to do one!
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Not read the whole thread, but I agree with this . . . and would add that any horse reacting violently to the whip should be assessed for straightness/soreness.

P
 
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