C HOOSIN g A WHIP

At the Spanish Riding School the riders continue in the tradition that stretches back 450 years, they use a piece of birch as a schooling aid. each winter, the riders from the school go out and select a number of new pieces of birch, while the birch has no leaves. Most modern whips are made of fibreglass, and vary enormously in quality. High quality whips are rarely cheap.

Ideally, a whip should be light and very balanced in the rider’s hand, so that it does not interfere with the way the rider carries their hand, or uses the rein. It should taper from the handle, and should be sufficiently fine in diameter that it is balanced in the rider’s hand with minimal effort from the muscles in the rider’s hand.

A well-crafted whip flexes to an extent when applied, but is stable unless the rider wishes it to move. Some over flexible whips ‘swish around’ when the rider intends the whip to be still and steady, this can be very unsettling for a sensitive horse.

A whip that is made of thick fibreglass will often be heavy. Heavy whips can slow down the speed at which a rider can apply the whip, and can also cause the whip to be applied more firmly than the rider intended, through the weight and the momentum this causes once the whip moves. A thick whip can act more like a ‘bat’ than like a whip.

Like many aspects of whips, handles are very much a matter of personal preference. For riders who have a relaxed grip on the reins, a handle with a knob on the end and a grip handle covered with rubber or similar material along the handle can be essential, so the whip does not slip out of their hand. Those who have a very firm grip on the reins, may prefer a leather handle without a knob on the end.

While diamentes and colourful whips have their attractions, some horses, and many judges, can be distracted by a sparkly or bright coloured whip. For competition, a black whip with a black tassle is most discreet in the dressage arena, rather than a whip which advertises that a training tool is required in a competition. Some horses are more likely to over-react to a white tassel or white shaft on a whip, if they see it move out of the corner of their eye, so choose the colour carefully.

Whips come in a variety of lengths and designs. Smaller riders with small hands may find a shorter whip easier to manage. Whips with a flap on the end - some horses accept a tickle or a tap with a flap better than they accept the same aid from a whip with a tassel. A large, heavy flap, often upsets the balance of the whip, so choose a whip that has a small light flap on it.

A good whip will last a long time if it is stored properly. It should be stored standing on the handle end, rather than on the tassel end, to preserve the join where the tassel meets the fibreglass.

Whips should be stored out of the sun as far as possible, sun makes fibreglass brittle, and capable of splintering and breaking. When packed in a vehicle for a competition, whips are best stored on a flat surface where they cannot be broken if gear is dropped on them after activities like tacking up and untacking a horse.

We’re thrilled to introduce our latest creation.

Exclusive to Geoff Taylor Jewellers and The Cambridge Collection, our ‘Unisex’ satin finished cuff bangle now available for purchase.

Crafted from solid sterling silver, this unique design is exclusive to our range. Gold and silver combinations will also be offered. Our skilled artisans use sturdy rolled metal for durability and cast interchangeable pieces. Please specify your size when placing an order on our website. Our fittings range from small, medium and large to fit any wrist – NZD $575 www.gtjewellers.co.nz.

Whips can be used in graduated degrees of strength. The strength of the whip aid can be measured in increments as small as a decimal fraction out of 10. The lightest aid could be described as starting at .05 out of 10 (a gentle rub or caress), and perhaps occasionally the aid might go up to a high number out of 10. Experienced trainers always start with a subtle ‘caress’ with the whip before going to a stronger application. Correct training with a whip has the goal of training the horse to respond so well to the light application of the seat or leg that there will ultimately gently ticking or tapping just behind the rider’s leg should improve its response.

Most trainers probably use the whip behind the leg to back up the reaction to a forward driving aid near the girth, or to a sideways driving aid where the leg aid is a hand’s width further back from the girth. Once the horse has more education and strength, many trainers like to tap the whip on the horse’s croup to encourage it to lower its haunches and carry more weight behind to improve its uphill balance by flexing the joints of the hind legs, (stifle, hock, fetlock, pastern) to a greater degree.

Horses have a high concentration of sub-cutaneous nerve-endings close to the girth. Further back from the girth area, the number of nerve-endings under the skin becomes fewer and fewer, so using the whip immediately behind the rider’s leg to improve the ‘go forward response’ makes sense. Using the whip much further back, near the flank can ‘offend’ many horses, particularly if the whip is not used in a subtle way. It may in fact have the opposite effect, and may make the horse stall and kick, rather than respond by going forward.

Because a horse’s eyes are situated on each side of its head, it can see in all directions apart from the yellow areas– its blind spots. Horses that are ‘whip-shy’ generally become anxious only when they see the tail of the whip moving in their field of vision.

If a horse reacts badly to the sight of the whip, the rider must keep the whip fairly still, and pointing almost vertically towards the ground, rather than pointing ‘out’ from the rider’s leg. This way the whip stays in the horse’s blind spot, out of its line of vision.

When the horse does not respond well enough to a forward driving or sideways driving leg aid, the whip is best applied quickly and directly behind the leg to reinforce the leg aid. Inexperienced riders often inadvertently take the whip hand backwards to apply the whip. This means the horse receives an unintended ’bend’ or ‘stop’ cue from the backwards action on the rein, just as the whip is applied to ask it to ‘Go forward’. These two opposite cues must be avoided at all costs, since they confuse, upset or densensitise

Instead, when riders apply the whip, they should take their hand a little wider, with the handle of the whip well away from the horse, but keeping the whip tassel close to the horse. The tap of the whip comes from the wrist. This will allow the rider to use the whip discreetly, rather than unintentionally hitting the horse. Depending on the size of the rider’s legs, the whip may have to be at an angle of up to 45 degrees to the horse to keep the tick or tap with the whip behind the calf subtle.

The best whip training is to apply the lightest whip aid that achieves the result. The result is an appropriate response. Often it is enough to tap the middle of the whip on the horse’s shoulder, in preference to using the tassel end, which can ‘sting’ the horse more.

Either the middle of the whip or the tassel end can be used as follows:gently laid against the horse, touches, rubs, vibrates or taps the horse before any stronger degree with the tassel end of the whip is applied.

Depending on the training issue, the whip can be used on many parts of the horse to encourage the horse to yield to momentary pressure. When riding, it can be applied behind the rider’s lower leg, on the shoulder, on the croup, on the chest (if the horse is trained to rein back and refuses), or on the hock. When working the horse in hand, the whip can be applied on all of these places, and many more - on the horse’s knee, forearm, fetlock, pastern, abdomen, chest etc. There are times when a horse does not yield or move away from pressure well, eg Early in training leg yield, if the horse is not willing to yield its shoulders and its hips to the natural aids, it can be useful to gently tap the whip alternatively on the shoulder then behind the rider’s leg, then on the shoulder then behind the rider’s leg, in the rhythm of the steps. This will encourage it to step away from the whip in a forward and sideways fashion.

Wendy Barker

(BA, M. Commerce, Dip Ed, Grad Dip HRM)

Wendy is an EA Level 2 Coach, EA Coach Educator and has trained and competed five horses to success to FEI level Dressage. She is also an FEI

4*PE Dressage Judge, A Level Dressage Judge and Judge Educator. A full time coach, she coaches across several Australian states, as well as internationally. Wendy judges online tests for British Dressage and holds regular evening sessions for riders, coaches and judges on equestrian topics.