Young riders and crops

Bettyboo222

Bettyboo222

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Just out of intrest what are people veiws on teaching riders to ride with crops. I personnally don't like them and have only ever held one during showing, but some people have to use them. I know some little girls who use crops too much, so is this the way most people are taught ?
 
you mean whips?

or proper hunting crops?

Personally I always ride with a whip. And have been taught to as well - you never know when you might need it - carrying one dosent mean you have to use it!

the little girls probably have legs that dont even reach the end of saddle flaps, so their legs are useless, so they use the whip instead - thats what i've found anyways :)
 
My opinion is sometimes, theyre almost a necessary evil. The horses at the riding school often need them, a mixture of them being bone idol and possibly being bored. Some horses, you will carry a whip and never use it, but as soon as you get rid of the whip, they don't move. They're handy for keeping cars away when out hacking, and for doing gates. Also handy should you need to speed up very quickly, and the horse isn't listening to leg aids. Depends a lot on horse a rider. I hate seeing people use the whip obsessively, and I personally don't use it by instinct, its mainly used when im prompted by the instructor. I have been known to speak to people who I feel are beating there horse and often a quiet word is enough. But I do remember seeing a girl hitting a pony so hard numerous times you could hear the swooshing, of the whip, and she was at least 15 meters from me :(
 
I always learnt to ride with a whip, from 8 years old, and most of the time still ride with one.

If they are taught to use them correctly from day 1 I believe this is far better than letting the child with a couple of years 'experience' at a RS use one on their new pony, having never been taught that they are a schooling aid rather than a beating stick.

I see many adults who shouldn't be allowed whips!
 
I think it dephends on horse and rider tbh.

One thing that really bugs me is when the rider doesnt kick to ask for example an upwards transition, but hits with the whip instead. I know some dont but its little things like that-surely a basic rider should be taught to learn how to ride a horse with natural aids first before using artificial-obviously this cant be done on a lazy pony.
I only take a whip out hacking because it comes in handy but in the school I dont need it because hes forward going enough, so why would I? :)
 
I was taught from the beginning to carry a whip, I was also taught when and how to use one. Trust me when I say they woman who taught me to ride would NOT let you get away with over using one. She also taught me to get on the 'wrong' side, how to use spurs properly and how to stop if you're ever out of control. We were also taught that everything was OUR fault 99% of the time. If your horse isn't doing what you asked if to (and it's not a baby) then you probably didn't ask it properly. And if it is a baby, be patient and praise everything.

I can't stand kids taught to rely on them or getting away with beating their pony but I do think they should be taught properly. I've always hacked with a schooling whip but never used it for anything other than removing flys, shooing off dogs etc etc.
 
If you have a perfectly schooled pony with a heart of gold then a whip would not be necessary..... not something I have seen very often :D.

Most ponies I know are little tinkers (especially wily old riding school ponies) and know that young riders often simply do not have the strength or the experience to make them comply without at least the threat of a whip even if it is not used. What is more important is that the child is taught to use all aids (natural and artificial) minimally and effectively which might include use of a whip when necessary. Unfortunately this is not always the case.
 
I was taught to always ride with a whip.

You may not need it to back up a leg aid for the sake of forward motion, but I find them invaluable if a horse is prone to swinging its quarters out into traffic etc. However I was taught when its use was appropriate, and once got belted with it myself for using it unneccesarily. Loving family. :D

I also use it for whacking the bonnets of cars if they pass too close ;)
 
Where i was taught most kids were given a whip before they rode, unless they were on a particularly forwards going pony. Most of those horses were bored to death so they did need an odd tap with the whip. However, i feel it was encouraged too much, and subsequently a lot of the kids on that yard who came to have their own ponies way over use them. A single tap is one thing, but i rarely see the need for a 'whack whack whack' or more. Especially since it is usually clearly rider error.

I always ride with a schooling whip. It is useful for telling the quarters what to do if they don't get it from the leg. This will be a bouncing motition, not a whacking motion, but a light bouncing behind my leg to back up my leg aid. Also i will use it in the same way if my leg aid is ignored from a squeeze as i will not kick. However this is very rare if ever. I think that is the most a whip should ever be used to be honest.

If i ever find myself getting angry i throw it on the floor so i am not tempted to use it in frustration or anger.

I think children should have their whips taken off them if they cannot use them properly. Unfortunately where i learnt 15 or more years ago, they were encouraged to get angry and so many monsters were born.
 
I always carry a whip, but very rarely use, I have always encouraged my son to carry a whip but also taught him that its not to replace his legs but use only when his "very crafty" pony was taking the p*ss out of him, although usually one fly swatt from him with the whip and she'd buck him off anyway !! - but yes i've seen lots of misuse of whips and i hate to see it - just so unnecessary.

My friend gave her daughter a slap around her legs with her whip once and then snapped it clean in half she was so angry at her daughter misusing it whilst at a show trying to get her pony over a jump, I thought she was going to explode standing at the side of the ring watching, anyway she did explode no sooner she got her back to the trailer, don't think i've ever seen that child (who is now 16) misuse a whip since LOL
 
It's good to learn to carry one, and change it over correctly - schooling whips seem to be a bit of an art. Most steady RS type ponies need you to be carrying it, using it is optional, although a few need you to use it once to show that you will... One craft RS pony in particular I used to ride needed you to use the whip at the start of the lesson to get his walk moving. If you did that, he would be off your leg for the entire lesson and you'd not need it again. If you didn't give him the feeling that you would tell him what to do, he would ignore you stubbornly. Occasionally he'd buck/kick out at the whip (and try and sidle round so his bum was pointing at another pony so you couldn't hit him in case he kicked them). If you ignored the buck completly he'd give in and be brilliant. Classic lazy pony evasion!

I tend to hit myself on the boot when I don't get a response to a leg aid, then if that doesn't work, move up to a gentle tap.
 
I have been thinking about whips this week, funny how this should come up.
We do not carry whips with any of ours. I suppose we are incredibly lucky.
I was taught to carry a whip whilst having lessons as was my daughter. She often got shouted at for not useing it.
I was thinking about it as some people rely on the whip more than anything. I have seen no encouragement from the leg just a whip to the horses shoulder which most of the horses have had an adverse reaction to.
I did have a question but i won't take this off track i will ask it now in another thread.
 
I learnt to ride as an adult, and was always told to carry a whip in my lessons, and frequently told off for not using it!

Quite often I knew that I hadn't given the horse a clear instruction, so was not prepared to hit him for "not listening" - especially true when I was learning to canter, as I was often unbalanced so my leg aids weren't quite right. I'd much rather learn the correct way to get a horse going off my leg than have to beat them into guessing what I want!

I haven't carried a whip while hacking, and haven't felt I needed to. Maybe when I start schooling Tara I may want one, as she can be quite strong-willed, but for now I'm just fine without!
 
I have always been taught to ride with a whip, even if you don't use it. Sometimes when my pony was being naughty I was told off for not using it!
I find them useful for out hacking if the horse swings his quarters out, helping with gates and overgrown hedges etc. I used to have a very nappy mare and I used to carry a long schooling whip with her, I never hit her with it, but I used it just to tickle her quarters...she is very sensitive and it used to annoy her so much that she went forward instead of backwards!

I think so long as children (and adults!) have been taught how to use them properly and do not use them simply to beat the horse, then I have no problem with them.
 
I have to carry a whip with my horse but only ever use it about once a week to give a slight tap at the most but if you dont carry it he knows and plays up. Its also very usefull in summer for removing horse flys.
 
I would rather see a young rider or any other ride carry a whip and have to give a light flick rather than have to boot, boot, boot.

Daisy could really take advantage if you didn't carry a whip. Especially out on hacks if you forgot to take a whip with you she had the manners of a shetland pony and would snack all the way round. One hefty smack with a whip and you were usually fine for the rest of the hack as she knew snacking wasn't going to be tolerated.

Now if as a capable adult I felt the need to use a whip when appropriate I wouldn't refuse a child the right to do so. Cheeky little ponies sometimes need one firm "No" to keep them on the straight and narrow.
 
Oh, another use for the whip is when you're in an indoor and the pony is ignoring your outside leg and you're basically right against the boards, you often have space to gently tap your whip while your leg really can't move.

I got told to use it down the shoulder, on the side they were lunging towards to reprimand a horse as it went to bite another one - I was told to hit down the shoulder for manners issues only (going to bite, refusal to bring head up when eating on a hack) and behind the leg for others. However, just pressing (no whip action, just a pressure) a whip against the horse's shoulder seems to help against cutting corners.
 
I think it would be nice if children were /taught/ to ride. I don't know how many I've seen that seem to think that arenas (or just about anywhere!) are simply racetracks, and the aim of riding is to go as fast as possible. I understand a lot of children will find it difficult to use their legs effectively due to leg length (I was ridiculously short even at 11/12yrs old so riding anything over 12hh was hard, frequently riding 14hh+ up!)
Not saying all kids are like that - before anyone jumps on me about it. But I have an opinion, and my opinion is that there are not enough instructors who teach children the aims of riding and what they should actually be doing, rather than letting them just 'ride' :/
 
arden said:
here's a nice example set for the kids, at the highest level of the sport:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cnX7klIicI

no one did anything to him at the time, now a month after the fact FEI claims he WAS Dqed

(because it's on utube)
Click to expand...

Eesh, just watched the video... I have some photos from an event last year that kind of reminds me of that - except the rider was an adult! Horse refused, so rider proceeded to hit the horse repeatedly, while hauling it on (on a pelham...) to stop it disappearing the wrong way down the XC course... *sigh* Having learned a little more I think that someone at the event should have been notified about the incident, but it's a little late now...
 
Sol, this was an adult too, mid twenties. it was a USA trial for the WEG, that's why I was saying nice example if someone at the top can go that far beyond the rule and have nothing happen.
 
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