Do you whip your horse?

Question

Is it for like, training or just to make it go faster?

Do you ever think its mean?

I went horseback riding and the owners there didnt seem to be caring. They gave me a branch and told me to spank it and whip it to make it go faster. And when I didnt, they would do it for me but with a rope. And when I looked at its behind it had like, bumps on it and small bald spots. I was thinking, they dont take care of their horses that well.

Answer 1

thats cruel i hate using whips as it is but the stable i go to have children 7 years old already smacking and kicking there horse if the horse lifts its head up as there taking it to the field so i always have ago at them you should to

Answer 2

I don't like to use whips or spurs because they only work in short term - instead I prefer to use my leg, voice and rein aids!

Whips should only be used if a horse REFUSES to go forward without having a medical condition.

All my teachers taught me horse riding without using any whips or spurs!

=]

Answer 3

i NEVER whip my horse even to make him go faster and it sounds like they were being cruel if they wanted you to use a branch

Answer 4

There is a huge difference between using a whip (crop) and whipping/beating your horse. That horse is abused, bumps and bald spots (assuming that they are solely the result of this behaviour is never ok!)

I am a hobby rider, taking weekly lessons and i do use a crop, but these are school lessons horses in a small school who can become 'dead to the leg' sometimes, the aim should never be to whip the horse but give them a little tap in a new spot that should get a more responsive.

Clicking to a horse will not always work, different horses respond to different aids, the horse i am currently riding is a big boy (16.2 hands) and has learnt that a lot of new riders or young child wont crop him, so if he ignores their kicking then he can stay slopping and heavy on the forehead. When i ride him if he doesn't come off my leg the first time i give him a little tap behind my leg and then he behaves all lesson. I used to ride a small horse who responded SO well to voice aids, clicking and giving very subtle/light aids worked the best and telling him he was a 'good boy' got him working more. Other horses just don't respond to it at all.

if you don't approve then don't go back there or you may be better of trying to use a crop yourself and using it in gentler ways if you can't go elsewhere. With the current information you have given, i don't approve of his training methods.  

Answer 5

in my opinion, whips/crops are basicly an extension of you-they just reinforce your aids. using them without a good reason and when the horse is already doing what you want it to is basicly abuse.  

Answer 6

no.. I would never  hurt my sister....  oh you meant horse like the animal ;P

but ya you prbly shouldnt hurt a horse ...the reason why it goes fast it cuz its scared...sorta like how you hit a dog so it wont bark or attack.. the horse might go faster after being hit but it wont like you...

Answer 7

the only time i use a crop with my horse is when he decides he is going to do his own thing and ignore my leg, and even then i dont whack him, i only tap him hard enough for him to realise, 'i have a crop, and that if he doesnt start listening i will use it'. but most of the time i dont have to use it because he will then start listening to me

Answer 8

You shoulden't really need to whip your horse that much to get it to go faster all you need is a gental kick on its side and it should go faster my riding instructed tells me to kick 2 times and if my horse is still not going then you have to tap him behind the leg and he should obey :D Ashlie x

Answer 9

I use my whip as a training aid. I carry it when I ride my horse but rarely need to use it, however if he doesn't listen to my leg he gets a tap on the shoulder. It's never enough to hurt him and the next time I ask him to do something he responds quicker. Hopefully one day I won't need to carry one.

If you care about those horses don't ride there again but find a different place. You could write to the owners and say how upsetting you find it. They should listen to you as a customer.

Answer 10

Do I use my whip without a purpose?  Nope...

I use it as a cue, as an aid.  I would love to see your clicker buddies teach a horse to pivot without tapping their shoulders..

I would love to see your clicker friends move their hips..

There are reasons for whips, and training is it.  

It isn't a my friend flicka world.. no matter how many times you watch it.

Answer 11

I dont use a whip to make them go faster per say.  I use a whip with my Clydesdale to use to wake him up and get his attention becuase since he is so big he will sometimes choose to ignore my leg.

Answer 12

occasionally I'll use a whip. But only as a last resort. I never use it to make it go faster. I use my legs, voice, and seat. NOT the whip. I only use the whip say if a horse wont jump a jump. I try and take it over like 12 times. then I finally give it a little tap on the bum just before the jump to make it jump. People who use a whip on horses don't know that they could be ruining the horse. Making it scared of whips even branches.

I think those men were cruel. Just stand in the saddle and tell the horse to go. is my method!

Answer 13

That's not normal.  A horse shouldn't NEED to be whipped in order to go faster.  With proper training, a horse will obey its rider and go faster when asked (using leg pressure).  Riding crops can be useful when used sparingly and the correct way, but a horse shouldn't need to be whipped in order to go faster during normal riding.

Answer 14

The situation you've described is exactly why people immediately associate the word whip with someone beating the poo out of a horse. Those people are an embarassment to true horse-people everywhere. I do use a long dressage whip as an aid on the ground. Point, tap, look here, go that direction, lift this, move shoulder out, up, give me more energy...that sort of thing, especially when schooling on the ground. It is very helpful to reach an area to brush lightly with a long whip (rather than stepping in to completely disrupt the movement), as a reminder or cue or to simply direct the horse. I also use it to praise, a gentle rub behind the withers a stroke along the neck. Horses are tough skinned, so for any kind of marks to be showing up, that in itself is an indication of misuse/poor horsemanship.

Now if a horse is being aggressive, that is an entirely different situation. It's usually one good smack, a serious low-voiced "NO" and we should be done with that issue, unless the horse has some big behavioral problem. If that's the case, that's not my cup of tea. Let a trainer handle that. And a good one definitely does not use a whip.

You're right. These people don't set any kind of good example, quite the opposite. Smart of you to pick up on that!

Oh, and I did know a WP lady who once beat the snot out of her horse for some invisible reason; some time long after the supposed 'crime' she claimed, like 15 minutes after her horse rushed a gate. C'mon! (You have 3 seconds to reprimand something legitimate. After that, it means nothing. The horse just thinks you're attacking it.) She was kicked out then and there after a very explanatory and direct intervention of how and why her behavior was totally unacceptable and amounted to abuse. It was all we could do, poor horse.

Answer 15

The whip is NOT to make the horse go faster in my opinion...Its to back up your leg and reinforce your aides! I mostly stick to crops, but it's the same principle, except you don't have to reach back with a dressage whip. Anyway, if the horse doesn't respond to your leg, then you use a firm tap with the whip/crop WHILE continuing to squeeze the horse's sides with your calf so that the horse responds more effectively.

The problem with whips and crops is that people don't understand that there is a correct, and strategic way to using them. You don't just close your eyes and whack the horse if it's not moving. You go through the steps: 1)lighten your seat and squeeze with your calf, 2)if squeezing gets no reaction, give a hard kick(s), 3)Squeeze and crop at the same time.

In my program, we're very careful about giving out crops and whips and spurs...If you can't squeeze or kick, you're not allowed to use a crop. You have to earn it. If you can't keep your heel out of the horse's sides, you can't use spurs (I've seen people make their horse's sides bleed because they didn't even realize that their heel was in their horse's side while wearing a spur).

The crop/whip/spur itself is not a mean thing, but it can be abused. If the people you rode with didn't first teach you to effectively squeeze/kick the horse, then they were wrong to give you a whip (oh, I mean branch).

I hope this kinda helps explain!!

PS: I hope that I don't sound too curt or abrupt about it...I use artificial aides such as whips all the time, but it's a bit of a sensitive subject, because one of my favorite ponies was badly abused by a whip, and as a result is very shy and easily spooked...there's nothing wrong with them, but it all depends on the person using/providing them.

Answer 16

It's not normal to use a crop all the time. I mean horses are pretty tough but still. If the crops are being used occasionally for training purposes or something realistic then I believe they are ok but there is no need to spank the whoopsies out of the poor horse. Clicking noises, leg work and seat are all just as effective.

Answer 17

no, i don't, i think its, mean what if we were smacked I'm the butt with leather(its leather right?), i barely kick him with my heals,

Answer 18

Where you in a dude ranch setting? or at a pay for trail ride type setting?

Horses will react VERY differently for a experienced horseperson, to a person who is not a experienced rider.

I worked at a dude ranch and I could get on any of the dude horses and have them moving out at a trot or a canter without a problem. When a inexperienced rider got on them they would frequently just walk, despite kicking and clucking.

Each horse is different, and how they interact with their riders is different. Except in racing, use of the whip should not be thought of to make the horse go faster. Rather it is a reminder to behave.

I ride my personal horse with a whip, I do not beat her with it, but if she is acting up I will give her a reminder of who is in charge. If she thinks that the reminder is not deserved she tells me all about it! (usually with several nice bucks) She doesn't put up with c**p from me anymore than I do from her.

Horses who work at dude ranchs and pay for trail rides are not your average pet horse. They are working horses and are frequently not in as good of shape as someones personal horse is. The horse could also have been older, it is not uncommon for them to have grey spots and spots where the fur is not in "perfect"shape.

Answer 19

you should only whip your horse when it misbehaves..

and even then it doesn't hurt your horse !

Answer 20

I dont "whip" my horse but i do sometimes use a crop but I just tap i dont smack...

Answer 21

Do you whip your horse? Yes

Is it for like, training or just to make it go faster?  I have a young mare, who I use a crop to correct. If she acts up, I use it. If she refuses to go forward (not really not going fast enough, but like, a refusal to canter) I also use it when schooling showmanship not really to hit her, but if she drops a sholder out I use it to touch that shoulder, kind of like I would with my hand, so it's more of a reaching tool in that case. Or like, if I need her to arrange one foot, I touch it lightly with the end of the crop and say "set" so she learns the verbal command (we are just starting out). This is because this way I can actually reach her foot.

Do you ever think its mean? No I don't think I use a crop in a mean way. It is a fairly gentle tool and I don't think it's hurting my horse and I use it when necessary, because she's not being obedient. The fact is, if you're using a crop, a branch or a rope, you are not going to hurt it, to easily. And as for bumps and bald spots, I really doubt they came from a whip, but I don't know. I can't really judge, not having seen the horse or the way they were hitting it.

It's pretty hard to injure a horse with crops etc. Plus, if we don't have good control over these 1000lb+ animals we put ourselves at risk.

Answer 22

I don't use whips...I've found I don't need them. I did use them years ago, and thought they were necessary until I learned different ways to elicit the responses that I felt were better than the use of whips.

Add...I read other posts.  I used to believe that you couldn't train these moves without a tap from a whip here and there.  the reason I no longer believe it is because I have done it without using whips.

Answer 23

Sounds like those people are really cruel. The only way to hit a horse with a whip is to do it gently. So you just tap the horse's behind hard enough so the horse can feel it. And it does make it go faster just like when you tap the horse's side with your feet.

Answer 24

Horses are pretty tough animals. A branch or rope would not hurt a horses behind, but if they hit him in the face that would be unacceptable because you can seriously make a horse blind if you hit their eye. The bumps were probably rain rot which is from poor grooming. Or it could be scars form the horse playing with other horses.

When you think of how tough a horse is, a horse can kick another horse and it's play for them. If a horse kicks a person they are in the ICU.

I wasn't there to see how they hit the horse, because there is a line between encouraging a horse to move forward and hitting a horse just because you can.

Answer 25

I do use a whip but it is only used as an extension of my leg. When I'm teaching my horses lateral work and need to be able to better control their hind, I use the whip to reach where my leg cant. Although I rarely use a whip as punishment, I see nothing wrong with it as long as it is used correctly and fairly. For instance if a horse refuses a jump a small smack or two on the hind is enough to let the horse know that that disobedience was unacceptable. Or if a horse is weaving before the jump and looks like it might refuse, a smack on the shoulder is acceptable to straighten it out and encourage it on. What is not acceptable is using a whip out of anger or frustration, or as a cover up to bad training. Smacking your horse more than three times and hitting it anwhere but the hind and shoulder can and will get you eliminated on x-country. I've seen it done quite a few times.

Unfortunately, some people see horses more as machines and instead of training it correctly from the beginning, they have to rely on harsh aids to get the horse to do what they want. I know some horses are naturally lazy but thats no excuse for having to beat it the whole ride. I never have to use a whip on my horses to get them to go forward because I taught them from the beginning to respond to my legs, seat, and voice. It sounds to me like these people simply lacked the experience to properly train their horses and don't know and/or care what kind of problems this could create.

If you ever go back to this place, tell the owners that you would like to control the horse youself to see how well you can do on your own. Encourage the horse with your voice and legs and reward it whenever it moves forward at all. Probably this horse has become desensitized to all the whipping and just doesn't respond at all.

Answer 26

I would never whip a horse just to make it go faster. The horse probabl isnt trained proerly and neither are the trainers! you only whip a horse to get his attention make him listen. your wrip is your lat resort only use when necessary and only hard enought to get the point across. The horse probably wasnt moving because hes so sick of being he just gave up i feel bad for the horse:[

Answer 27

Yes I do whip a horse but only a light tap. If it was misbehaving in a dangerous manner then perhaps a stronger one. What they were doing however was very wrong. First of all they shouldn't use a branch, that is what riding crops are for. Second only the rider/lunger should ever whip the horse. You should never use it to inflict pain on the animal which they same to have done. Also if clicking worked then there was no need for the whip at all. I would be tempted to report them if it really was as bad as you say.