Whips

[Mighty_Atom]

This might sound like a silly question but how do u use a whip??. I think i no how but aint sure so i jst wanted 2 make sure by askin u lot. My instructor says i need 2 start using one jst 2 say no u are goin 2 do this.
So How do u use a whip(standard small size)??

[Wally]

I don't like to use a short stick, it has to be used with one hand on the reins in a sharp manner, I always associate short whips more with discipline than backing up an aid.

You have to put your reins into one hand, turn the whip round in your hand tennis raquet style and bring it down smartly behind your leg.....I woudn't allow this on any of my horses.

A long schooling whip is far kinder, you can keep both hands on the reins and it can be used to back up your leg in gentle tickles or a smart thwack on your boot to wake up a lazy horse. You keep proper control with both hands.

[*MiRi*]

you do what wally ses!
I just dont like calling it a whip that sounds like a beating insturment to me. I prefer using the word crop!! dont sak why!?!?!
speak later
xox

[LindaAd]

I think the ones called a crop are usually the short, one-handed ones, that people usually use for hacking out or showjumping. The other's a schooling whip --


But I agree, whip sounds a bit harsh so I just call them all sticks .. as in Oh, I'm late for my lesson again, have you seen my stick, no not that one, the long stick....

[Bertie]

Echo what Wally said, schooling whips are the best and allow you to maintain control.

An important thing to remember is that a whip or whatever you want to call it is not there to beat a horse with but it's there to back up and reinforce the leg command. You slap, tickle or tap depending on your terminology. You have to learn to ask correctly with your leg and not just use as a lazy aid (as some do:rolleyes: )

[katieB]

Or if you prefer to carry a short whip like me, you can smack your boot with it, the noise is normally effective enough. If I wiggle the whip to the side so my horse can see it thats enough sometimes, it just acts as a reminder. The schooling whip is better to give a little tickle with, it depends on what works best for you and the horse :)

[Em 1]

I was taught how to use a crop with a short jumping stick but not how Wally describes - I would have been told to get off sharpish if I'd done that! I didn't turn it round just used it to tap behind my leg in much the same way as a long whip. I think my instructor preferred this as a long whip can be difficult to handle at first. Also it is possible to give the horse a nasty jab in the mouth if you are not careful as you use the stick. If the reins are in the other hand obviously this won't be a problem.

[dancing-horse]

they take some getting used to using and they can also be the most annoying thing in the world. I mean, I sometimes have trouble not moving it around. My trainer has always taught me toi keep the whip on your thigh, so that when the need comes you can easily use it on the horse on the shoulder or flank. Of course, these don't hurt the horses. I only just relized this when i was riding a horse who was feeling particularly lazy. I used the whip on him ten times before he moved. It's more the sound that scared them. Practice using the whip in all gaits, but be careful. Like I said, you may have trouble preventing it moving around and this may spook the horse and make him speed up or buck. So, like you always are supposed to be, become prepared for stuff like this.

[*MiRi*]

hello
sometimes when a pony is being lazy my insturcotr tells us to hold it up right , so it i pointing straight up in the air and stick it out slightly. sounds funny but the horse can see it and thinks you are about to smack it so you kick him/her on and they should hopefuly spring into life!! :p She says its like a jockey way or something. Not sure if this will help but some infomation for you :p
speak later
xox

[shandy84]

I was always taught witha jockey stick (the short one) that you are only allowed to tap the horses shoulder with it.

Now however I do not use them and use a schooling whip, I never hit my horse with a whip I just use it to guide her bum around when we're on the roads etc

[*MiRi*]

lol
i hate riding with a tick and using it but it does help and the horse is more aware and doesnt play up with you if she knows you have a crop. She behaves better with me! might not be with you though
xox

[amylou_84]

at my riding school everyone uses a 'stick'. just a short crop, as i call them. i had never used them before i started at this riding school and was really reluctant to use it. now however i use it every lesson to encourage the horse. by encourage i mean i give the horse a light tap on the hind quarters if he doesnt go to trot or something. iv never used it going into canter as the horse is always willing to do that. iv always been told to be a bit stronger with the crop but it makes me feel bad. the horse is working as hard as he can, but it is used when necessary. knowing when to use it is the difficult bit!

amy :D

[Cobby]

I have always thought that the reason to carry a whip/stick, whatever you like to call it, is to back up a leg aid which is being ignored, and a long schooling whip is far more effective because you can use it while keeping both hands on the reins and carry on riding as usual. You can't use a short whip behind the girth without taking one hand off the reins, which in schooling is likely to have other consequences.

[Jamey]

I use a long stick when I'm schooling to encourage my horses to step underneath with their hind legs and use their backs properly. When I'm jumping or hacking I carry a short stick which I tap them lightly on the shoulder with if I lose their attention - which in Sasha's case is pre-Capriole!! It's never used as a reprimand just a sort of "hey, come on, listen up or we could both get into bother".

[*MiRi*]

i use it to engourge only. i dont like using otherwise

[notpoodle]

my whip is rather long as well, because ... aside from the taking reins in one hand sharply part ... i find it too much hassle to have to co-ordinate my hand, then get the whip and then do a 90 degree turn whilst riding ....

i dont use the whip much, anyways ... and when i do use it it's more of an encouraging tickle, usually to get ANgel to walk PAST the gate of the school without grinding to a halt because there's food/people/her pals walking past .... (she is SO obessed with food!! someone can walk 20 metres away with a handful of hay and she'll get all excited :rolleyes: she also seems to mistake every wheelbarrow for her own personal 'meals on wheels' service ....)

julia
x

[Jazz Girl]

I was also taught to use a short whip in much the same way as a schooling whip, that is behind the leg. I also do a lot of jumping, so use it on the shoulder to guide a horse into a fence if i feel they are going to run out.
I prefer to use a short whip to a long one as i'm more used to it and long whips arn't practical for jumping. Plus, they're much easier to change hands when you have to change rein.

[*MiRi*]

i use a short crop. sometimes i have a long one cos i sometimes find it easier but then sometimes i dont!! it depends really.....

[ridingstar]

Sometimes I carry a short whip in lessons and sometimes a long whip, depending on which horse I am riding. With a short whip, I take the reins in one hand and give a tap behind my leg to back up the leg. My fav short whip has a big flapper and it is the noise more than any sting that has the wake-up effect. My instructor has taught me to turn the whip upright, as described by Wally, if I need to use it as a reprimand, although I have an old Pony Club manual that says that the short whip should always be turned upright, even to back up the leg aid.

[katiee]

I much prefer to see novices ride with a shorter whip than a longer whip. pJust because of it's length it can be used unintentionally (sp?) if they're hands are quite still enough or etc.

With a more experienced rider, it doesn't matter and can often depend on the horse as to what whip is used.

[wildponies]

I used to carry a short stick, it was my comfort blanket on cross country courses, 'hey it's ok.. if i fall off and am left lying in a ditch.. i'll have my crop.. no problems..'. When we first caught Miss and Jinx and i was about to box them to their new home, some stupid bimbo came up behind jinx who was being held by 3 other people and tried to get him to walk on.. so the stupid mare smacked him.. yes i mean smacked.. on the bum with a short whip. I went absolutely balistic at her and threatened to do the same to her. Hope she thinks twice about doing that again. No wonder the animal was terrified of people, with idiots like that around, who can blame him? I haven't ever really had to use a whip properly. I've seen some poor horses take a real beating from them though. I've often used a whip to smack against my boots though. I've used short whips on a horses shoulder but been told that i'm 'merely tickling him' and once on the rump when i was trying to sit some massive bucks.

[$@R@H]

I ride Dustin with a short crop. I can't ride him with a schooling whip as if he feels anything near his bum or on his tummy he just bucks.
I hardly ever use the whip though, it's enough for him to know I've got it.

I also use a short whip when jumping. You can't jump with a schooling whip can you...?:confused: :)

[Big Ears]

With Molly horse I never carry a stick as she is forward going and a whip tends to wind her up.

With Rosie, we have reschooled her with a wop and this works very well with her as she respects it and we don't getinto a confrontation. She used to refuse to go, leave the yard etc, but now if you wop her, and stop the minute she puts a foot forward, she understands clearly what is required and we also used it for schooling, i.e. ask her with leg, if she didn;t respond, back up with wop, she soon got the idea that you want an immediate response. OK she is very black and white, very inexperienced, but it seems to be a kind way to teach her not to be a bargy illmannered cobette.

[Em 1]

I also use a short whip when jumping. You can't jump with a schooling whip can you...?

Well I had never heard of it until I started at a new riding school recently. There they have all of us jumping with dressage whips as a matter of course. It's not really a problem over small jumps as long as you keep the whip over your thigh where it should be. However, I did have a lesson recently where one girl was given a lunging whip to ride with (it must have been at least three foot long with a string tassle to about four/five foot). She was only on a 14hh ish pony...........................!

Personally I would rather carry a short stick for jumping and a dressage whip for schooling. Both can be used sensitively to back up aids, it just depends which is more suitable for the experience of both the horse and the rider (my old instructor used to carry two schooling whips at the same time but I never saw her hit him with them - just carrying them was enough).