Assume based on what? That’s not the norm anywhere I’ve ever been.
My OTTB has competed through the big FEI Grand Prixes. My favorite “thing” over the years is when I do a clinic and inevitably the clinician gets to the point where they nod at me and say “tell them how you always carry a crop.” My answer always starts with, “well, actually, funny story…” and then on to tell how absolutely nothing positive comes from carrying a whip with my guy (though I’ve always carried a whip with every other horse I’ve owned). We’ve been in the 1.40-1.50 classes for 11 years and he has stopped one time across dozens and dozens of grand prixes. And in that case I don’t think he saw the top rail until the very last second and undoubtedly thought he was saving our asses.
But I do like to ride all horses with a whip in my hand. So at home I carry a dressage whip. With him it took 10 years of riding with a regular crop (and literally never using it beyond maybe a tap on the shoulder here or there) before I could transition to a dressage whip. And now 15 years into our relationship I can use the dressage whip like I can with any other horse. But I still drop everything when we jump. Tapping him in front of a jump would likely lead to a very similar situation.
Had you never tried tapping him behind the leg prior to the jumps? For future reference, I never let jumping be the first time I try anything with any horse. Much safer to test out the tap as you walk off and then know what to expect when you’re going through the jumps.
On a positive note, as many have commented, my guy never harbored resentment beyond any single event. So hopefully the next time you get on him (sans whip) he will be back to his normal lovely self.
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Don’t sweat it OP, a few of these posts come across as very judgy/know-it-all whether that’s how they were meant or not.
The reality is that most of us would have had a very similar ride. Hindsight is 20/20.
At least know trainer knows what the issue is and hopefully has a plan in place.
I know one horse who is a total weirdo if anyone hands something to the rider, doesn’t matter if it’s a whip or a water bottle. But he isn’t scared of crops/whips.
I know another who will stop and dump any rider who uses the crop on his shoulder, but he’s fine if you use it behind the leg.
Some are quirky, some are scared. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to figure it out.
I also have no issue with your situation as far as riding/lessons on sales/training horses. There are a number of reasons why it can benefit everyone.
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I agree with this!
And I do not see why anyone else should care, honestly, as along as you, the trainer, and the horse owner are fine with it, that is all that matters.
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It was a learning experience for you and for trainer not only for the moment but also in how to guide this horse to his next home. Sure, ideally, you would have scrapped the crop idea and done something else, but it’s too late for that now. I have a feeling that if he’s as nice as you thought initially, he will get over it if you keep the whip away for now. It’s not that uncommon for OTTBs to have issues with the whip. And even my WB needed some re-education in that the whip can be a soft communication tool not just for beating.
I have done some catch exercise riding from time to time, and one day I was riding my horse when another boarder had their two out. One was an OTTB but had been OTT for many years at this point and was very quiet. They asked if I could help exercise the horses while they traveled for work (which was a lot), and I said sure, so I hopped on for a little get to know you moment with owners there. I always carried a crop or dressage whip with my horse, so I just kept whatever it was that day in my hand when I got on OTTB. He was NOT OK with that from the second my leg swung over, so I asked his owner to please hold it for me (passing it, not throwing it). And then he was fine. He never did get over fear of crops (or longe whips). Hope is not all lost.
Yes - consider this a lesson learned! In all honesty, the reason I didn’t try it out was because I really dislike giving unsolicited taps. In fact, I rarely ride with a crop anyways - a holdover from my AQHA beginnings. In hindsight (with that precious 20/20 vision), I realize now that giving a single unsolicited tap, while it would have been unfair to the horse in that moment, probably would have yielded a better overall situation. It’ll definitely be added to my “bag of tricks” for next time.
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It doesn’t even need to be unfair.
A little tap behind the leg at the same time as a little squeeze with the legs to reinforce the connection between the crop and going forward, then a relaxing of the aids and praise when the horse goes forward from the tap. Just connecting the aids together and providing feedback to the horse rather than anything resembling a beating.
Good on you for taking it as a learning opportunity!
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The tap doesn’t have to be an aid or punishment. I tap along each side of the horse before I move off from the mounting block. About 4 taps from neck to rump.
YMMV.
cheers
The moment you mentioned “crop” on a OTTB I knew what happened.
First, I don’t know your experience with OTTBs, nor do I know this horse’s history. But, based on my experience with OTTBs here goes.
Any OTTB just starting out green to poles on the ground, I would simply let them suss out the situation. A bounce was TOO much, no mater how small. You had a win with the trot rails and cross pole. It should have ended there. This is a case where the trainer asked too much and got you both into trouble. Adding a crop when you are on a horse who automatically has been trained what a whip means was throwing gasoline on a fire.
I would have immediately dumped the whip and gone back to simple walk trot around the ring until the horse settled again. Then back to the poles.
What you may have perceived as “intimidation” may have been the horse simply wanting to SLOW DOWN and THINK things through. TBs are bred to think and to have a willingness to own the ride either than us telling them what to do. Pressing a TB for more forward (adding the whip) without establishing the confidence will blow them apart. The forward is so NATURAL in them that most times you want to let them be slow until they have the confidence. Once that is there the forward will show up just by letting them out the front door with a bit of leg.
The good thing is that a smart TB will take the joke and come back better next time and you can skip the whip.
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My horse Cool came to me with whip phobia. Initially I assumed that it was a track thing since he’d been trained for the track, but never raced, and given that his name included the surname of his somewhat vainglorious breeder, maybe they had pushed a bit too hard. Later I learned that he’d been briefly sent from the dressage barn, from which I purchased him, to a jumper trainer who had used way too much whip for the situation.
I got him over the whip problem by carrying a short jumping bat every ride until he got used to it, and then a longer whip, and so on. In his case, that worked. It’s not going to in every situation. But it turned out he really wasn’t mentally comfortable jumping and I never truly got him over that. Was it the whip? The fact that his eyes were pretty wide on his head and he had a larger blind spot? Who knows. A pity because the horse was seriously athletic. He made a pretty nice dressage horse though.
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This is such a great thing to keep in mind. I currently have a baby horse (not a TB) who is not especially forward and I think this is going to be crucial for his development - that the forward will come once the confidence is there. And pushing him before he’s confident won’t have the result I want.
Thanks for starting the thread @Mander - the internet can be a tough crowd 
20-20 hindsight is always perfect, right?
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+2.
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