A discussion worth having. Let's reflect on why or why not we should use whips and spurs in horse training and sports to perform at home or high stake events like the Olympics.
Ultimately it's YOUR choice. What are your pro's and con's?
Since the latest happening, scandals, publications of videos and photos before and during a major equestrian event, the topic and disccusion about whether or not we should be allowed to use whips, sticks and spurs when interacting with horses has flamed up again.
You have the side of people saying a big fat no, as a principle, to using objects that have been designed to eventually inflict pain or at least fear in horses or are at least able to.
And their arguments are valid, like most horses have LEARNED that whips can hurt and therefore this memory which is similar to real pain being expereiencd is held alive and causing the horse to behave differently. Therefore, even as kind and well meant your aids are, if it’s connected to pain in the past it’s psychologically not that kind anymore.
And then you have the side of people saying “but I DO use the whip very kindly and intentionally never with pain only with awareness as an extension of my body after having extinguished the painful memory and replaced it with understanding and maybe even reward”.
Valid.
I am both of these sides. I understand both of these sides and I make use of these arguments from both sides. Depending on the situation.
Yes, an aid is only as harsh as it hands. And yes, sometimes that doesn’t matter if the horse has its own ideas about said aid.
As so often, things aren’t black and white.
And as so often this is the biggest pain point because without being black and white we can forbid such aids IF they are used in the wrong way.
Just because some people are kind and soft with whips and spurs doesn’t mean the top rider won’t continue to use them for enforcing performance even if that means pain and suffering. (And they do, check the news).
But also, just because some individual use these aids to inflict pain on purpose, doesn’t mean everyone who uses them does, too.
Ah yes, we’re going around in circles.
And that’s just one example topic of what’s going on in the equestrian world.
How do we get out of this and find an answer?
I’ll tell you.
By going within.
You can’t look for answer outside of yourself. You can’t look for truth through your perception of your senses because your senses are always limited and formed by what we believe is true. That’s a biological fact. Our senses are compromised.
The question whether or not we should use certain objects to train our horses is not found in facts about said object. Whether is black and silver, of iron, or pink and fluffy or a pool noodle.
The answer to if, how and why you WANT to use an objects to achieve WHAT is one for yourself.
I can use the whip with my horse without hitting him, without sending him into anxiety while riding - but the reason I would want to use it is because maybe I think he’s too slow. And he needs to be more forward. Maybe for good reason because he needs to lift his back. Maybe I can achieve that with the whip. And maybe I ask myself “hmm why is he going faster when I hold the whip?”
And guess what. I taught him not to be afraid of the whip and what happens when I hold it? Absolutely nothing.
So to achieve my goals to get him faster what would I need to do? Exactly.
And then, dear good people, we have forgotten about the most important question.
WHY isn’t he going faster on my voice commands alone?Maybe it’s because my voice commands aren’t as clear as I thought.
Maybe I interfere with the commands through my body language or own balance.Maybe hes not feeling that good today.
And if I get a whip to make him do what I want, I would probably miss all those signs that there is something wrong.
I can only ask.
And if I ask I get an answer and I have to deal with the answer I get, not force the answer to be different.
And I can ask with a whip the same things I can ask with my voice or pinky. It depends on how I teach it.
And I can choose to not use a whip and get creative to find other cues, not because a whip is inherently bad, but because the whip has a bad reputation and I don’t want to be a role model using something that others use to hurt horses with. If a kid sees me asking for a trick with nothing but my body language how cool is that - instead of seeing a stick like it sees it everywhere, not being able to make the distinction of when its used friendly and when it isn’t.
Okay folks, that enough about the whip. Spurs are a different topic for me because I can use a whip in groundwork and it has a total different intention then when you use it for ridingg. Spurs are for riding only, they make no sense in groundwork so this whole topic can be cut in half. Spurs are purely a tactile cue, while a whip holds a visual cue as well.
And a tactile cue is always to be used with great precision and awareness.
So if you’re a very confident rider and you teach cool trick with tactile cues in the saddle and spurs help you with that - cool. But I bet you could do it without them as well. For going faster, higher, more active, forward, engaging or whatever you can call it,… nah. I think they are simply not necessary.
So again.
Ask yourself WHY and for WHAT and if you haven’t missed the BECAUSE from your horse upfront.
If we all collectively choose to always want the best for the horses, becoming good FOR horses not with them, always stay on our path of fairness and kindness and granting them the same respect and understanding we ask from them, these discussions ultimately become obsolete because every single on of us makes the right choice in the eye of horse welfare without needing to ban or restrict anything.
And it’s a butterfly effect, always has always will. We decide what ‘trendy’ and ‘cool’ and what other strive after. The thing in the equestrian industry is just that so few dare to speak up to change the status quo because it’s an environment of gaslighting, blaming, patronising and rejecting. But if we realise we are a lot, this all can change. And it can change fast.
This is your time.
And that is what my platform is for.
It’s a holistic course - we start with learning about anatomy, physiology, conformation, body language and so on - and then there are no limits to where this will grow into. My aim is to include everything. Yes that’s a lot. Everything you need to know to be the best owner your horse can have.
The whole platform that is called “confident connection: mastering horse behavior” is becoming my life’s work. I want it to grow into such a beautiful place that elevates every equestrian towards their fulfilling relationship with horses. And coming with that, thousands of horses that see changes being made for more happiness and health. One by one.
The platform is open now, it’s still growing, that’s why you get a real good discount for now.If you want to join me and push this movement further, go for the early bird right now, before the price goes up. And be part of the content as well. I am open for any submission on topics or material you want to discuss until the places are filled.
Be the change you want to see in this world.
And I am excited to see you there.
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