Should whips be banned?

I plagiarized the title from the survey since this was the catalyst for this duo of posts. My answer to the question is no, whips are fine; it is the people who abuse horses with whips/bats/crops, or anything else for that matter, that should be banned.

My standpoint is (as many of the other people in that other group concurred with) that 99% of the equipment that is available to use on horses has some value in training/riding. Depending on what piece of equipment we are talking about, that value ranges from carrying/using the equipment/tool/aid all the time right down to almost never or as a "last resort". I don't do "last resorts".

Let's stick with just the whip- type tool, because a post about all training aids would probably crash the world wide web....just as Al Gore invented the internet, I would single-handedly be responsible for frying it.....LOL

So. My standpoint is that I carry a dressage whip (32-36" because longer is not allowed in the competition arena) on most of the horses I ride. The only time I don't carry one is on a horse that is over-reactive to the whip, and then it is just until I can show the horse (from the ground) that I will not hurt it with the whip (some call it de-sensitizing, but I think horses should be sensitive to the whip, so it is a question of semantics).

The reason I carry a whip is that I communicate with the horse, not through a spoken dialogue, but through a physical one. I communicate with every part of the horse's body by touching, pressing, brushing, tickling, etc. I teach the horse, not to move because he already knows how to do that, but to move in the way that I want--to create the coreography for the dance, as it were....because, think about it; every time we ride, we (the horse and the rider) move together in balance and harmony. The rider is the lead partner, and the horse "follows" in the definition of dance. In otherwords, the horse is submissive and supple to the riders aids, allowing the guidance to "come through" its body and be expressed as it moves over the ground.

Our primary aids (seat, leg, hand) direct this to a certain extent, but when we want to ask for more than the horse understands to give, we have choices....do we apply the leg harder? Do we kick? Do we yank on the reins and hope that the horse understands that we want him to step more under with the hind leg, not just go faster or quicker? Or do we touch the horse with the whip a little closer to the hind leg and encourage that quicker, more engaged step from behind without having to be abusive on the reins by kicking the bejeebies out of him and yanking on the reins to prevent him from going faster over the ground? The correctly-applied whip aid helps the horse to understand the degree of "try" that we want.

Now, there are plenty of people who do not use the whip correctly. This group includes the people who abuse the horse with the whip, as well as people who are learning to use the whip correctly. It takes time to learn how, when, how much, and most important--when to cease using the whip. I mean, come on...if we take this to an extreme, we can call tickling or brushing the horse with the whip inavertently or for too long, abuse....because after all, this may annoy the horse, and may even lead to an adverse reaction from the horse, such as ears pinned, scooting forward, kicking out at the whip, or giving you a buck (I am being facetious).

So what is the definition of abuse? To me, if you even touch a horse with a whip when you are angry, frustrated, confused or scared, that is abuse. If you don't know WHY you used the whip (no matter how soft), you are abusing the horse. If you use the whip more than twice without allowing the horse the chance to respond, no matter how soft, you are abusing the horse.

It comes down to, what is the intent of the person using the whip that is the issue.

If you know the reason, are not emotional, try to use the correct timing/intensity/placement, and fail in that moment, you are not abusing the horse. You are human, after all, and you just need more practice. And the horse will forgive you. If you do use the whip in all its infinite ways to communicate with the horse on a higher level, you are not only not abusing the horse, you are creating a powerful and lasting partnership with a creature by communicating with it on ITS terms rather than anthropomorphizing the horse. You are respecting it for being a horse.

And one more thing while I am at it. I do not know ANY valid reason to "hit" or "whip" a horse. Anything beyond a tap is counter-productive and just shows that you do not know how to properly use a whip...which falls into the abuse category.

And that supports my original reply to the question, should whips be banned....

Whips should not be banned, people should. ;-)