Whips, Sticks, & Horses

Do you cringe when you see someone holding a whip while with their horse? Are you instantly turned off?  Do you split from that person, defending your “no whip” dogma?  Then read no further because this blog is not for you.  

First, let me say that I don’t see the whip in a negative light, only the people who use them negatively toward the horse. At the highest levels of training – in dressage for example – the whip is only used as an aid to help the horse understand what its human is asking it to do. It is never used to punish or inflict pain upon the horse. In the work I do with horses – where I use no tack or restraints of any kind --  the feather/reed/whip in different lengths are valuable tools in communicating with horses when they are in large open areas. My main use of the tool is for “declaring” my spatial boundary with a horse. When working with horses in my seven-acre pasture, they are in as natural a setting as I can provide for them. If they don’t want to school or even engage in play, they simply don’t come to me. 

But more often than not, they do come to me and then I try to be fully immersed in my herd, doing what horses do. The instances of not having a tool in my hand when something happens, have been wake-up calls for being caught “unprepared.” In the video below you will see chaos break out and my physical safety became an issue. I did not have anything in my hand at the time, and Shadow was approaching me at a speed and energy that signaled “danger.” Whips offer clear communication about spatial boundaries and if I’d had one in my hand I would have been able to let Shadow know that I was not going to let him invade my space. My safety and boundaries are not negotiable and horses are perfectly fine with my clarity. In fact, watch how horses on their own declare their space. A kick with one or two legs extends the influence of their body and signals very clearly “get out of my area!”

My horses are always free to leave my company. As I referenced earlier I don’t work with any tack, restraints, nor in round pens, and the horse is always able to escape my influence. The horse is fast enough to outrun any whip.  When I am asking my horse to move forward at a certain speed, the whip is a wonderful encourager and it can also be used to signal for a slowing down. I have yet to lose my connection with a horse because of the whip.  

The reason I was drawn to liberty work with horses was because it allowed for genuine communication without the use of force. The idea of no tack and no restraints was appealing to me as an Animal Communicator/ Horse Whisperer and certainly represented a change from the past where horses were routinely “broken.” There is no question that throughout man’s history with horses the whip has been used as a tool for punishment and to invoke fear. But it has also been used by some of the greatest horsemen and women in the world to enhance communication, never once being used as an instrument of pain. Anything good can also be used for bad, and rather than rail on about the evilness of whips, I suggest we a) educate ourselves about how they can be used to better our communication with our horses; and b) respectfully share that information with others who may not understand. 

It’s not what you hold in your hand that really is the question here, it’s what you hold in your heart. Whether you are holding the reins, the whip or a rope, your intention for using it comes from the heart.  

Linda & Her Herd ❤️