Would you smack a pony for being naughty ?

mehefin

rachiee wrote: »

Ooch.. i once went into a jump on my 17.3hh and he took a extra stride and i came down a smacked my coxics (sp?) of the bone of the saddle, that hurt it dont reccomend it lol! :rotfl:

My SIL has just fractured her pubic bone landing on the pommel. Tore tendons as well. When they got to hospital they were ready to cut the top off a brand new car to get her out. All this on a perfectly behaved cob. You never can tell.

In my experience the little darlings will try you out and a well timed smack can save a lot of trouble later on. As a driver, the whip is one of the few aids you have.. but you are not using it to lamn hell out of the horse, just as a guide ( when necessary!) although a good carriage animal is trained to and responds to voice only.
I'm sure others will disagree whatever is said.

sarabe

Just about every training problem that you will see in horses and ponies is man made.

Any time a horse or pony 'acts up' getting heavy handed with him, forcing him to do what you want, instead of looking for what has caused the problem in the first place will only serve to intensify the problem.

brighthair

all depends. If the horse is usually ok, capable of jumping the height, saddle, back and teeth fine then yes - if the horse stopped, I would use the whip once as a reprimand

tandraig

well you could try putting him on the naughty step. my OH kept horses and ponies for years. one was an ex polo pony who was a right sod! we found out he had been abused and he expected to be hit. with kindness he became a lovely pony - eager to please but the sight of a whip and he became really bolshie! no dont hit - horses and ponies have better memories than elephants! and if you reward when they get it right - with patience they get it right more often! and we all make mistakes - want the whip taken to you?

Kimberley

brighthair wrote: »

all depends. If the horse is usually ok, capable of jumping the height, saddle, back and teeth fine then yes - if the horse stopped, I would use the whip once as a reprimand

It's not natural for any animal to be abused by people. People only hit animals so that it frightens them into doing what you want it to do. People domesticated animals, the animals didn't do it themselves.

MrsTinks

Hang on... so this is all based on a photo? Not a "witnessed" event? There is actually no evidence that the pony was even smacked with the whip???
I used to ride with a whip nearly all the time when I rode regularly. Be that race horses for my uncle, riding school nags or problem horses I was working on - never have I beaten a horse or "smacked" it for being naughty when it comes to jumping. I have hit a horse when it left a full set of teeth marks in my thigh - uppers and lowers and frankly I would again - vicious bleeding beast that mare was She was renowned for taking bites out of anyone getting within range...
Using whips when jumping - I've used them for encouraging horses over jumps by tapping their hind quarters, but never BEATEN them... and after all people hold whips differently...
Holding a whip like a jockey (having spent a summer training race horses at a racing stable) is fine if you're going in a straight line, it's not the easiest way to hold it if you're trying to get your horse to jump and you actually need control over it...

I guess the question really is DID they beat the pony? Or are people merely acting in outrage because of one misleading picture?

cally6008

MrsTine wrote: »

Hang on... so this is all based on a photo? Not a "witnessed" event? There is actually no evidence that the pony was even smacked with the whip???

I guess the question really is DID they beat the pony? Or are people merely acting in outrage because of one misleading picture?

:T :T :T :T :T

Got it in one, MrsTine. No evidence to say my ex pony (from 8 years ago) was smacked with the whip. It's just purely the way the person is holding the whip.

I know that he will have had a couple of firm smacks but hey I had him from 4/5 years to 9/10 years old and I know what a little cow bag he could be at times and I freely admit he got a belt from me at times because of it. He's a dartmoor x welsh b with attitude but a loving pony all the same.

WolfSong2000

I used to ride with a whip fairly regularly...never beat a horse, but it acted as a good "reminder" if a horse was playing up - yes, horses have moods, just like people. lol. It was literally just a tap, though...I would never dream of hitting a horse so hard it caused pain.

One welsh Section D I used to ride had been abused and beaten so hated the sight of whips...he could be very stubborn and "difficult", but at the same time was very intelligent and responded very well to voice commands.

Also used to know another, rather strange horse who was kept at a yard I worked at...when she arrived I was instructed to walk out of her stable backwards after placing her feed in there and not to turn my back on her under any circumstances as she would attack (and boy would she - it wasn't just threats with this mare). Also if you walked past her stall within biting range, you were free game. For the longest time I refused to go anywhere near her and left her feed outside her stall so the yard owner could feed her, then one day I guess I just got fed up (was also about 14 at the time and a "know it all" teenager) and decided I'd never in my life been scared of a horse and wasn't about to make a habit of it with this mare. I went up to her, patted her on the neck and then gave her a scratch. After the horse got over the initial shock, she totally relaxed and was really, really sweet. The owner actually asked me if we'd drugged her as she'd never seen anyone be able to stand beside her without the horse trying to bite. No idea what happened to that mare, but after that day I made a point of making a fuss of her every time I walked past.

Also had another mare who would regularly "threaten" to bite or kick you...I had her on loan for a while, and loved her to pieces. She could be an absolute cow, but was very smart, and when it counted you could trust her. Then there was another horse who I rode once and refused to ride again...a big, advanced dressage horse. My God the horse was a lunatic. You couldn't relax for a second while riding him in case he decided to explode over nothing. He was very messed up.

I've met a lot of horses over the years, but never one that deserved to be beaten. Yeah, I've occasionally smacked them (with a hand or a whip), but always on the shoulder or rump, never the head.

brighthair

Kimberley wrote: »

It's not natural for any animal to be abused by people. People only hit animals so that it frightens them into doing what you want it to do. People domesticated animals, the animals didn't do it themselves.

right so in that case we shouldn't be riding them at all
One smack is not abusing. Horses discipline each other by nipping, kicking etc, and a horse is a lot stronger than me - I could not force a horse into doing anything if it was truly frightened or in pain. However each horse is an individual. If I had ridden a well trained, well schooled horse with correct impulsion and rhythm to a small cross pole and it stopped, I would bring the horse round again. If it stopped again, I would use a slap with a stick (behind my leg) and probably drop it to a pole on the floor so the horse had to go forwards over it
I don't hit a horse to frighten it, I will slap a horse if I need to discipline it. If a horse bites me, I don't have the chance to converse with it, speak to it softly and ask what is wrong. The horse needs to know instantly, and a growl and a slap on the shoulder will do that

sarabe

I find it quite odd that it seems to be perfectly acceptable to 'smack' a horse, a dog or a child, yet if we were to smack another adult we would be guilty of assault.