Using the whip down the neck- yay or neigh???

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matthew

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Was just wondering what everyone thinks about using the whip down the neck as an aid. I have heard lots of conflicting advise re this.
Leslie Law for example feels that it is an incorrect way to use the stick and upsets the horse. Were as people such as Lucinda Fredricks seem to use it as a 'wake up and listen to me' Aid.
So- who do you agree with?
 
i do it alot. but it depends what im wanting the neddy to do fo example if i want her to move forward its always behind the saddle but if like sarahjane said to straighten them up or give a 'wake up call' ill tap on the shoulder
 
I rarely use or even carry a whip, but might use one occasionally on the shoulder lightly as a wake up, only behind the saddle if I REALLY need to move a horse foreward (ie rooted to the spot)
 
I only use the whip rarely although I always carry one. I only use it on the shoulder when we are jumping and Ross feels like he's about to stop or run out, and so I use it as an 'oye' type aid. But tend to use it behind the leg when I'm telling him off.
 
If jumping will use it on his shoulder mainly because if he is tapped behind your leg when jumping he gets distracted or puts in a small buck
 
The only time I use it on the shoulder is when im jumping, generally give him a little tap over the first jump to remind him to pick his legs up which is what my instructor suggested.

However im not aginst it, I have just never been taught to use it on the shoulder as an aid for schooling on the flat.
 
My gelding will sometimes drift right into his fences, especially when they get larger. When he does he sometimes takes off with one hindleg first rather than both at the same time and will have a fence down, so I will only occaisionally use a whip to tap on the shoulder to straighten him up. I can probably count the times I've used a whip behind the girth, when jumping, on my fingers but then I've never had a bad tempered mount!
 
i tap it down the shoulder, coming to corner and skinny fences etc, and hold it down the neck sometimes for flatwork, to control the shoulder and give the horse the idea of what i want. i don't use it in front of the saddle (i.e. hit with it) though, cos it makes them think or go backwards if you're not careful, which is the last thing i want!
 
I was only thinking about this the other day, I agree to straighten a horse out if they're drifting or ducking to one side when jumping is ok for the shoulder tap but to encourage a horse to move forward I would always use it behind the saddle to back up the leg. I was in a riding lesson the other day and one person was struggling to get their horse to canter, the instructor encouraged them to tap the horse on the shoulder but IMO in that situation it should be used behind the leg. BTW tapping it down the shoulder didn't seem to work for this particular horse!
 
Responding to abigail, I think that if you are using a short stick and you have to take your hands off the reins to use it behind the leg, then sometimes using it on the shoulder is a compromise that doesn't alter contact. But that's why schooling whips are better when schooling!
 
A dear old instructor of mine used to discourage it, telling me it made them suddenly think backwards which can be quite detrimental if you're two strides off a fence for example!!! Since then its just something I haven't done even though I have no idea if she was right or not.......
 
I have used it to straighten a horse, especially a bolshy baby or a horse that leans on one shoulder as an evasion (after making sure there's no other reason for the horse doing it, of course) but I agree I can't see the point of it to make a horse go forward - it's so against everything else we teach. It also often means the rider changes their contact just at the moment when he/she needs it the most "closed" if the horse is looking to hesitate.

I think Leslie's point was that it does tend to distract the horse in the "wrong" direction, even to the point of making it throw its head up or deviate from the line. If the rider does it all the time I guess one could argue the horse is used to it but then that calls into question the effectiveness.

Using the stick behind the leg when jumping is a real trick and honestly I think that's why many people go to the shoulder instead. It's a skill worth developing, although it can produce a spectacular reaction in the circumstance sometimes!

If I really think I need a stick as an aid while schooling I'll ride with a long one (usually a cut off thick dressage whip) and use it to back up my leg. X-C obviously that's not an option so then I just muddle along as I think the situation warrants.
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One thing I was taught to do was "flip" my jumping bat before using it, like a jockey. If you teach this as an aid, prefacing using the stick, the horse will learn it means "get a move on or else" and often it's enough of an aid in itself. Be VERY careful if you do it on an ex-racer though!!
 
Me too - if horse is trying to grab some grass, or bite neighbour - it gets told off for bad manners with a flick down the shoulder. If I want horse to move - behind leg.
 
When I DO use a whip, and I don't very often, I generally use it behind the leg, except yesterday when I was riding a very naughty pony who kept trying to cart me out of the school, so when he was pointing his head in the direction he wanted to go he got a slap down that side (on his shoulder, not his head!) to discourage him.
 
I went to the lesley law demo at oldencraig recently and he tried to demonstarte why using the whip on the shoulder when jumping was a no go. He jumped and used it on the shoulder and the horse jumped foot perfect he then jumped again and used it behind his leg (saying this is correct) and the horse knocked the jump down. This was one of Sam Jennings Intermediate horses and the jump wasn't huge so should have managed it no problem. His theorie was that on the shoulder makes the horse tense and behind the leg makes them move forward. Not sure if he prooved this or not
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i use s schooling whip to literally tickle a horse to help them understand lateral movements but i dont use it down the shoulder.
but i dont do much jumping, ive often seens it used to help stop a horse falling out its shoulder and run out at a fence...?
 
My horse wont flippin jump at all if I smack her. She gets upset and sulks, and goes on strike. She only refuses if I put her in at jumps wrong anyway. But in general I think you do what works for that particular horse. If your horse needs a tap down the neck to straighten it or its a last minute thing to encourage them to jump, then if thats what works, then you can do that. I think using the stick behind the leg is more correct though. Sometimes if my horse is being a bit feeble and stops when she could easily have jumped, she will tolerate one tap behind the leg and jump the next time, so that tells me it can give the right message.
 
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