Does a crop whip hurt the horse?

Question

What is better(for English riders): Using a crop whip or kicking him with your heel on his side to make him go? If you don't know what a crop whip is..DON'T ANSWER!!!!!

By the way, I actually don't use the crop whip, it is just an argument between my friend and I

Answer 1

The "go" aides should be used in succession. (This is assuming that the rider is competent)

First the rider asks the horse to move forward by gently squeezing. If the horse does not pick up on the cue, the rider asks again, this time the squeeze is followed by on, quick, sharp smack behind the girth. if the horse responds, then he should be praised.

To weather it hurts the horse, all I can say is that I have never seen any cuts or bruises on a horse from using a crop in this manner, and that my horse has had a crop used on her, and she still doesn't mind me rubbing it all over her. A rider should NEVER hit the horse as hard as she can

It isn't good to attempt to teach a horse to respond by kicking it harder and harder, because it CAN hurt the horse, and all it does is teach the horse to tolerate kicking, so the rider needs to kick harder and harder.

Answer 2

You should never need to "whip" a horse with your crop. A simple tap is all they need. You also never "kick" a horse when riding. A gentle nudge again, is all they need.

I have no problem with English riding spurs (the stud kind) as long as they are used correctly. A small nudge to a hardened horse or a non-responsive horse can make a world of difference.

So, if you are using these tools as 'nudgers' and 'tappers', no, they don't hurt the horse. But anytime someone starts to talk about whipping and kicking, I get worried. Sometimes the more you hurt the horse, the more he wants to hurt you. And yes, "whipping" and "kicking" *DO* hurt, that's why one should never do it.

Answer 3

A whip should never be used in anger. If you use the natural aids, i.e. body, seat, legs and do not get the desired response or a quick enough response, it is better to tap once with a crop rather than nag with the leg. Otherwise a horse can become dead to your leg. A crop should always be used sparingly. Praise should always be given when you get the desired response. A schooling whip is best for flatwork, a short crop for jumping.

Making clicking noises is for kids and will lose you marks in a dressage competition.

I am in favour of natural horsemanship methods, e.g. I ride bitless, however I also require that my horse responds when asked. A horse who thinks he/she is in charge of making decisions is a potentially dangerous creature.

Answer 4

of direction it hurts. walk up in the back of a horse and hit him with a whip, he's confident going to respond with a kick and flow faraway from you, you wont get a 2d risk to hit him returned. a predatory reaction to getting hit,bit,touched, whipped and so on is to run faraway from the source, some horses could prefer purely a faucet interior the butt and that they excellerate, some older, greater matured horses can purely be shown the whip ( a jock could properly be considered purely waving it via the attention of his mount) some horses will easily decelerate and a few provide up too. all in all it hurts, the welts are genuine and final days after a race and are sore to the touch and purely time can heal them. some horses that entrap gets a real low blow interior the gut (on the element of the sheath) to ward off this overall performance hinderance. jocks whips are consistently checked to ensure that there is not any broken end with sharp edging or protrusions

Answer 5

Even the short English spurs can hurt if you are not an experienced rider wearing spurs. The crop hurts but is more of a sting to get the horses attention. Spurs serve the same purpose.
If you are not a good rider with a nice quite leg you should not wear spurs. You should not need the crop to get trot or gallop from your horse.
I cluck to mine and he goes up one gait and if I want more I cluck again and he goes up one gait. I change my seat position slightly and tell him easy and he slows down.
Nothing better than good training.

Answer 6

depending on how you use it it can hurt or it wont hurt. if u use it as a tap just to remind the horse who is in charge it should not hurt. but if you use it harshly or on the shoulder blade (THIS HURTS! its a bone!) then it would definitely hurt. a crop should only be used as a reinforcement for really stubborn ponies but most of strength and driving force should be from your seat and legs. also kicking him with your heels should always be the last resort because constant kicking results in painful bruises and sometimes even numbing in the sides.

Answer 7

I never whip or kick my horse, I just make a clicking sound with my tongue and nudge him with my knees. A crop does hurt some but as long as you're not using all your strength it's not going to leave welts or anything.

Answer 8

BOTH of those methods CAN hurt a horse if use IMPROPERLY!!!

First, kicking a horse is just plain WRONG Equitation. Leg pressure is what is necessary. The horse should move away from the right leg to the left and vise-versa. Use BOTH legs to squeeze and push your seat forward to urge the horse on.

The riding crop is ONLY an extension of your finger or hand and should only be used as an aid to such.

Answer 9

some horses get used to people kicking them so they need a little extra something to get them going. i use my legs and my voice before i use my crop on my horse. if you can go without using a crop then do but some horses really need one.

Answer 10

whips and heels are to be used for advanced commands. a horse should respond to your body language, and your seat positions.
if you're using your heels to nudge a horse forward and not your body, a horse will have a tougher time responding to your heels when you need them for something advanced. same thing with whips.
in the end, crops and heels aren't to be used by inexperienced horse people, and it is a sign of a faultly relationship if you have to rely on them to get a response. and if used right, neither of them hurt the horse.

hope i helped some.