Survey on banning whips

I read through it, and it seems the survey is designed in such a way as to give the results as they hope: people that use a whip in any way come out looking like violent ignorant people. That may be clever statistics, but it's poor research.

I carry a schooling whip most of the time, and when I jump, I carry a short stick. I work hard to improve my technique, and try to make sure that when I touch the horse with it, I know why and where and how much, and that I catch the right moment. That's miles away from whaling on it in anger.
 
The person who wrote that survey obviously is for banning whips, there is bias all over it
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No point in conducting a survey if you're not interested in the other point of view. In reality, the person conducting it should have a neutral view so that the questions are completely free of bias.
 
I wonder if this has come from the same source that was voicing off on I think Competition Riders on here recently. I said that I thought the person behind it was trying to make a name for themselves and it was part of a marketing ploy. An awful lot of nonsense was spouted by this person, the worst part of which was that she announced the whip had been banned in Scotland, when all that there is is a voluntary code of practice without the force of law and which she miserably failed to understand.

Anyone with any sense will not use a whip wrongly, anyone without any sense is prone to using a whip wrongly, just as they are their spurs, heels, hands, feet, whatever. It is not whips that are the problem. It also attracts a lot of the wrong media attention to the horse world who, in their ignorance, will think it a great problem. And yes, the survey is biased and loaded and not neutral at all.

To me, this sort of fuss over nothing and attempts to ban things is typical of all what is wrong with this country.
 
I did it although it's not a great survey, and said in the comments that I will ALWAYS carry a whip for safety reasons. I very very rarely have to smack Genie but you never know what you will encounter and what the situation may be. When I do touch her with the whip it's usually just a light tap on the neck.

I also put that if whips should be banned, spurs should be as well (IMO), as I have seen them misused WAY more than I have whips.
 
Personally I dislike carrying & using them and almost think they are miss-used so frequently as to be worth banning/limiting the use of in competition. As per higher level dressage I think the aim should be to not need one and that would set a good example.

Think the worst things are probably

- giving them to novices with badly coordinated legs instead of teaching them to ride properly. I selected a RS that didn't let you carry one for the first year or so which did me (and their horses) a load of good.

- using them in anger/frustration/on scared animal rather than to back up leg as a forward aid (only thing I use one for).

Having said that I do think I've seen better surveys...
 
The survey is rather black or white, there are areas where whips are necessary, but not in whipping the horse, eg lunging. This is not even thought about. It still comes under using a whip.
 
The person who wrote the survey is Emma Kurrels, an Equine Behaviourist with many years experience. True, she most likely is biased (she is very much a Positive Reinforcement advocate), but I doubt very much it is a marketing ploy. She is already established and not really the marketing type. she's just very passionate about what she believes in.

I agree, Tickles, that some competitions show mis-use of the whip in an appalling fashion. I had to restrain myself from hurling expletives at the f***wit at Cranleigh Show openly whipping his carriage horse with no idea of what punishment is, causing him eventually to back into the rails, at which point the judge had thankfully had enough and he was escorted out of the main ring. That said, it's very rare that you see extreme examples like this. I'd be much more in favour of educating people about the principles of positive punishment, how it should be carried out, if at all and what the effects are (both of getting it wrong AND getting it right).

I do carry a whip, but rarely use it in a punishment sense (although it has been known). It's a vital 'extra leg' and a pointer for when we're on tricky terrain. If Henry is preoccupied by something, a tap on the shoulder lets him know that there's a minor obstacle (large stone, step, roots...) and I use it as a safety measure on the roads, to move branches out of the way, to brush flies off his bum, face, belly, chest... (it's a schooling whip). In the event of my safety (or his) being compromised, then yes, he will get a smack. It is rare, but I'd rather have a horse that jumped back into reality than a pot of ashes or broken limbs. I certainly wouldn't ever stop carrying one on the basis of a survey.
ETA:

I'm back after completing the survey! I have to agree that it's very poorly designed and I also felt I couldn't answer questions accurately. I did give feedback to this effect in the comments section (all one inch box of it, lol), so hopefully these will be taken on board and a better survey will be produced as a result. I don't think the results of this survey will be very useful, based on the answers I had to give!
 
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