Whips good or bad

[LittleMissHorsey2885]

I personally only ride with a whip when I'm riding a lazy pony because sometimes just seeing the whip speeds them up or a light tap on the bum works just as well. Some people say it's cruel to use a whip on ponies after all they have feelings but I think unless you thwack them a light tap is just saying " Come on pony wake up it's time for work"
What do you think?
:confused3:

 

[oldie48]

Well no doubt this will bring the "it's cruel to use a whip" brigade out but there's lot of ways that a rider can abuse a horse and using a whip correctly to back up a leg aid is not one of them. Over fed, over rugged, ridden in poorly fitting tack, poor shoeing resulting in collapsed heels etc, youngsters "brought on" by inexperienced well meaning people which result in horses with behavioural problems or no understanding of basic aids etc. etc These seem like cruelty to me but a tap behind the leg to ask a horse to be in front of the leg, move laterally etc seems a lot better than kicking the hell out of it and deadening them to the leg.

 

[Tobiano]

I am 'into' Intelligent Horsemanship which is all about non violence - and I use a whip. I have never thwacked it but I will tap with it because I think that is (a) better for the horse than constant kicking and (b) produces a more responsive horse. IMO if a whip makes a noise when you use it then you are using it too hard. Otherwise it is a very useful aid.

 

[NZJenny]

A whip is another tool in the box and it's all about the user and the situation. I use one for schooling, but leave it at home when hacking. Coming from an endurance background, it took some practice to get used to carrying one.

 

[StormyMoments]

I think its how you use a whip - if you beat your horse with it then yeah that is abuse but you don't have hit your horse with a whip for it to be any use - for example if your horse leaves its bum behind doing lateral work then having the whip against their bum can help straighten them out to an extent - out of all 3 of my horses i only ride one with a whip and i cant remember the last time i actually had to use it on him but just carrying it reminds him to listen - one of my others has only just been broken in so i don't carry a whip with her anyway and the last one has had a bad experience with a whip at some point and freaks out if you carry one so i see no point in trying to acclimatise him to me carrying a whip when i don't need to

 

[millikins]

I'm not trying to be rude but I would suggest that a rider without the experience to canter would also lack the knowledge to know when a whip is being used appropriately.

 

[Tnavas]

I'm not trying to be rude but I would suggest that a rider without the experience to canter would also lack the knowledge to know when a whip is being used appropriately.

Hopefully the above rider will be under tuition where the coach will advise when to use the whip.

When I had my riding school ALL riders had to carry a whip, learn how to hold it and how and when to use it. Consequently I had really great obedient free moving school horses and ponies.

The whip applied at the right moment helps to develop a responsive horse. If the horse mucks around and you have no whip with you, it's very hard to correct the problem.

Teach a rider early on how to use a whip correctly.

 

[millikins]

Teach a rider early on how to use a whip correctly.[/QUOTE]

The OP's instructor had an interesting take on "correct use" in her previous thread!

 

[EffyCorsten]

I always carry a whip, such a valuable tool as long as it's respected. If i ride a horse that reacts at the sight of a whip I'll desensitise rather than not use one.

I find non horsey people asume the whip is there for whacking the **** out of your horse to get it to gallop faster because that's all they know.

 

[Copperpot]

I ride with one sometimes but don't use it. Just the holding it seems to do the trick. If he's being lazy I tap my boot and he perks up instantly.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I very rarely carry a whip. I ride some of my ponies with one in the showring because it is proper too, others I don't as they become speed demons at the sight of them. I ride one shetland with one purely because he knows when you have one and he becomes a lovely forward going responsive ride, without carrying one he is a lazy toad! I have never had to use it on him its purely a sight thing for him.

Same with a few of te racehorses at work - you carry one, they work. Leave it at home and they dog it.

I have never managed to get to grips with the length of a schooling whip so mine has been relegated to teaching youngsters to keep straight when learning to walk and trot on the lead.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

A schooling whip can be a very useful tool on a hack, not for touching the horse but for holding out horizontally to remind drivers to stay wide. As someone else said, often just carrying a stick can liven up a backwards thinking horse.


ETA I'm not sure that ridiculing OP for asking a question is going to help her to learn. It must be really nice to have been born knowing everything!

 

[treacle_beastie]

mines very handy for puling gates shut and keeping cars away from my stirrups

 

[Tess Love]

I carry one out hacking use it purely to ensure cars pass a little wider than they might otherwise (and in the summer flick horse flies off!) I was taught to hold one when I learnt to ride and somehow it doesn't feel right without one a bit like driving without a seat belt.

 

[JillA]

I always carry a whip ever since being without one meant I couldn't enforce what I was asking and the mare in question spent the next 6 months arguing. Don't often use it but one tap with a whip to back up a leg aid is kinder than several hefty thumps with heels in the ribs IMO. As ever, it isn't the whip but the hand that uses it that can abuse.

 

[amandap]

Why does the sight of or just carrying a whip make many horses move faster?

 

[sandy3924]

Why does the sight of or just carrying a whip make many horses move faster?

Because, sadly, they know from experience what happens when a rider carries a whip and they don't co operate. Simple.

 

[gryff]

I was always taught better to carry a whip you don't need than need a whip you haven't carried.
Always carry one out hacking, as others have said, to hold out to he side when on busy road, to push branches and nettles away, scratching my back, etc. As another poster said, I almost feel slightly naked without on

 

[AdorableAlice]

No horse should be ridden on the road without a whip being carried in the outside hand.

 

[Tnavas]

Because, sadly, they know from experience what happens when a rider carries a whip and they don't co operate. Simple.

Why sadly?

Mine respect the whip, I bred them, and the whip has only been used a couple of times when instructions to move forward have been ignored! I certainly haven't beaten them with it.

The whip is part of a horses education just as bitting, learning to stop, move over and forward. Far better a smart tap with the whip than endless thumps with heels!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Mine also move smartly when a whip is carried but I have never used them for anything more than a mere flick to get their attention. I have backed, schooled and brought these ponies on myself.

 

[Emilieu]

No horse should be ridden on the road without a whip being carried in the outside hand.

Mine should. He came to me terrified of them. I can now walk beside him holding one without him freaking out and he will let me scratch him all over with it but if he catches sight of it unexpectedly during riding - say if i acknowledge a slowing driver - he will leap forward into gallop. I never carry a whip now but back my legs up with my voice if needed.

 

[putasocinit]

My late father alsways said to me, what did god give you legs for, use them. No i dont use a whip, never needed to expect when i was a tiny 8 yo then it was just a piece of stick from a tree with leaves on, made the pony think i had a big whip with me, lol

 

[Copperpot]

I carry mine in my left hand anyway so useless on the roads!

 

[kassieg]

Sometimes I ride with a whip sometimes I dont I usually take it out with me & see how she feels if shes feeling a bit backward il use it to get her off my leg warming up then put it down to do our main work
If shes having a forward day it will spend the session on the fence it just depends
I use the whip to back up my leg so if she doesn't spring instantly off my leg for a transition I will give 1 smack behind the leg then repeat the transition & can guarantee the 2nd transition will be perfect
I don't use my whip when in a pace just during upward transition to get her sharp & that should be enough

I don't think you should have to keep smacking if you do your doing something wrong with your schooling

 

[SuperH]

I carry one out hacking use it purely to ensure cars pass a little wider than they might otherwise (and in the summer flick horse flies off!) I was taught to hold one when I learnt to ride and somehow it doesn't feel right without one a bit like driving without a seat belt.

This is what we do. I hit a lot more cars with it than I do ponies. I rarely touch the pony with it when I think about it, only if she ignores a leg aid which isn't often. Brilliant for getting pesky flies too, wouldn't like to ride without one.

 

[sandy3924]

Why sadly?

Mine respect the whip, I bred them, and the whip has only been used a couple of times when instructions to move forward have been ignored! I certainly haven't beaten them with it.

The whip is part of a horses education just as bitting, learning to stop, move over and forward. Far better a smart tap with the whip than endless thumps with heels!

'Sadly' because it is pure fear that makes them 'respect' the whip - the fear of pain. I don't feel the need to hit a horse as much as I wouldn't hit my dogs with a stick. Now I shall get a cup of tea, sit back and wait for all the posts justifying using a whip, on a horse.

 

[amandap]

'Sadly' because it is pure fear that makes them 'respect' the whip - the fear of pain. I don't feel the need to hit a horse as much as I wouldn't hit my dogs with a stick. Now I shall get a cup of tea, sit back and wait for all the posts justifying using a whip, on a horse.

Want a whiskey in it?

 

[weebarney]

I've got a padded whip that I very rarely use anyway, I'm more of a boot smacker!

 

[weebarney]

I do think that we should follow raceings lead and all use padded whips in competitions .