How to Properly Use a Riding Crop

I explain how it is properly used. The whip is a backup for your leg, not a replacement for it.

Once you use the crop on your horse to get him to do whatever it is you want, you should go back to just using your leg and holding the whip still. It should be treated as a tool that we carry with us on our rides to make us more effective.

The Crop Does Not Replace Proper Leg Aids

I have been known to test my young riders by taking their crops away and seeing whether or not they can still get their horses to do what they are supposed to do.

You would be surprised how shocked they are when I take the whip away, and the horse goes back to being sluggish and not listening. They realize that they were using the whip instead of their leg for reinforcement.

The whip should always be used as an extension of our legs and never thought of as a way to punish a horse—even in a situation where your horse refuses a jump and you need to use your whip. You use your hands to steer the front end at the middle of the jump, and then, you use your whip to make your legs extra assertive. You tap the horse with the whip so he knows that you aren't asking him to go over the jump you are telling him.

If you think of it this way, you will be using the crop to the best of your ability and should be communicating very effectively with your horse!

A Rite of Passage

I believe that using a whip should be a rite of passage for a rider. It should be something you get to do once you have solid basics and understand how and why to use it properly! It is just another skill we learn to put in our toolbox as we continue on our horsemanship journey.