From: "Susan Price"
Hi Jessica,
I want to start by telling you how much I enjoy horse-sense. I don't have my own horse yet, but I'm storing all your good advice away for later use!
I try to use natural aids in riding as I'm very much against being unkind to horses in any way, but I know it's sometimes necessary to use a crop to reinforce these aids. I've seen conflicting use of the crop/whip/bat on horses, and wonder if it's just a matter of different styles of usage in the different disciplines of riding. Is it true that all artificial aids should only be used to reinforce the natural aids?
When I first began to ride I took lessons in a small arena and mostly rode out on park trails. My instructor always had me hit the horses on the shoulder with the crop. What message does being hit on the shoulder convey to the horse?
Now I'm riding hunter/jumpers, and we use a bat behind the leg to reinforce the leg on most of the school horses. However, there are some particularly stubborn horses on which we have to use a long dressage whip (on their rumps) as tapping them behind the leg makes no impression. As this doesn't reinforce a natural aid, is it really teaching the horse anything other than pain means to move?
I'd appreciate your comments!
Susan Price
Whips can be very useful when you're training a horse to listen to the leg. The use of the whip can teach a horse to respond to very light, subtle leg pressure -- and once the horse has learned, the whip is something you will use only occasionally, if the horse seems to be forgetting its lesson. The point of using a whip to reinforce the leg is that it (a) allows you to use a lighter leg aid, instead of resorting to constant pressure or even kicking the horse!, and (b) it allows you to teach the horse to respond to that aid WITHOUT your having to put your leg out of position to make your point.
Your aim is always to use the least amount of pressure and get the most response from the horse, and a sharp, quick smack with the whip behind the leg is an excellent alternative to constant kicking, pushing, and pumping.
The artificial aids do exist only to reinforce the natural aids, and that's how they must be used. If you ONLY use a whip, not to reinforce your leg but as an alternative to your leg, you'd better have a very good reason -- paralysis or amputation, for instance! Some riders with polio or missing/damaged limbs have taught their horses to respond to whip signals, because for these riders, giving leg signals is simply not an option. In this case, the artificial aid REPLACES the natural aid. But if both of your legs are present and in good working order, your whip should ONLY be used to reinforce the leg (natural) aid.
The sequence would be like this:
1) apply the aid that you WANT the horse to respond to -- a slight squeeze
2) wait a moment, to give the horse a chance to respond
3) if he does NOT respond, repeat the SAME squeeze and follow it instantly with a single sharp smack (not a soft, annoying tap) of the whip behind your leg
4) repeat the entire sequence until the horse moves forward energetically from your light aid (the slight squeeze).
This doesn't take very long -- most horses can learn this lesson in one brief session, although they may need to be reminded regularly, so that they can repeat the desired response until it becomes a HABIT. Once that happens, you will rarely need the whip.
If the whip is being used to reinforce the leg, it should be applied behind the leg, where it will actually encourage the horse to move forward. Hitting the horse on the shoulder will NOT send it forward, nor does it enforce any aid that you would ever give with your leg or seat...
Having said that, though, I CAN think of ONE way that you could use a whip on a horse's shoulder! When you're riding a cross-country course, a light tap (not a stinging smack) of a short whip on the shoulder can be a useful "wake up, be alert, fence coming up" SIGNAL to a horse that's cantering or galloping along with no idea that there's a big jump around the next turn...
Jessica
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