Pondering things while I’m stuck in self isolation at home…
I like my horses HOT off the leg. In the past I’ve done the qsk with my leg, back up with the whip to get my horses responding very lightly to my aids. However, I can’t hold a whip when I ride anymore (EDS - the twisting pressure of holding it pops out my radius at my elbow… also, my horses can not be heavy in my hands or the same will happen.)
Since that was a development this year, and I’ve been stuck at home 8 weeks or so. I haven’t ridden without a whip as backup much. I suspect my young mare will be lazier in the heat, if she’s like her siblings who get tired more easily in the heat. So I figured why not ask about and think about various techniques for the days she isn’t as sharp as I want. Also, my trainer has been riding while I’m at home, and he actually doesn’t make horses as quick off the aids as I do, so I predict a need for some refreshers.
Just a couple of ideas, no experience. Maybe hold your whip upright rather than across your leg, 18th century style, so it is still in your horse’s eye. Carry a small something - box with some beads, paper that crackles - that makes a sound. If the mare is already trained and is just lethargic in heat, something that startles her a bit might send her on.
If you are holding your whip correctly, there should not be a problem.
Dressage whips have a mushroom cap, that is so when held between the circle of your thumb an forefinger, it will not slide through. It does not need to be gripped by the palm. It should lie loosely across your curled palm and fingers.
To engage it needs nothing more than a quick rotation of the wrist. The hand and arm need not move from your normal thumbs up, hands in front of you position. This is why we favor very flexible whips.
What I find that works with my lazy guy is transitions within the gait and throwing in some leg yielding or other lateral work to keep him guessing.
So I will get him going in an lengthening at the trot back to working trot or collected trot then leg yield if he starts to anticipate the lengthening. He gets really into it and really reactive to my leg and seat.
Try the escalation just with the leg: ask with a light squeeze of the calf, and if you don’t get the desired response a quick tap with the spurs in lieu of the whip.
Technically, the whip shouldn’t be held near the mushroom cap but at it’s center of balance. You can find that by balancing the whip on your outstretched finger. Could holding the whip parallel to your elbow and the horse’s body help? Then, you’d be influencing the horse’s croup and you could still do your back-up and spring forward exercises. Can you get someone to occasionally help in your ride by standing near the rail, you trot by, stop back up and when you give your aids to go forward this person sees and gives a tap to your horse’s butt? This person can then walk to the other side of the arena and you can repeat.
The whole point of holding the whip as it was designed is that it avoids the rider gripping the whip which allows it to lie lightly across the palm. It avoids the rider using their whole hand and arm to engage the whip, allowing the fingers of both hands to remain soft and responsive to the mouth.
A rider has the most leverage holding the whip at its center of gravity. A small wrist motion causes the most action. Holding it “out” from the center of gravity means the wrist has to affect more of the weight of the whip close to the hand to have the distal end “do work”. It’s physics and leverage.
It’s possible that the OP knows how to hold and use a whip correctly but because of her Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, is unable to use it correctly or at all because of the hyper mobility of the joints.
OP, you might try just riding without the whip and see what you’ve got. You may not need to change anything. You may need to be strict with yourself about using very light leg aids and back them up with a quick bump with the spur.
What about doing some groundwork to warm up with a focus on getting her hind legs moving? I have found it to be really helpful for lazy horses. Stuff like leg yield, shoulder in and turn on forehand to get hind legs moving and crossing under her body. Then when you get on, horse is mentally prepared to be forward. You’ll still need whip to do that but hopefully that is more doable for you from that position.
I second doing tons of transitions within and between gaits. It not only helps get your horse responsive to leg, but also gets them thinking on that hind end. If a horse is a bit lazy moving off, I often shorten the interval into a downward transition: like if I were to ask for a walk, then I would have them thinking walk and then immediately move them forward into a “big” trot before they actually have the chance to settle into the walk. Also, there is nothing that gets my horses off the leg like canter-walk-canter transitions.
In alternative to a whip, I’d also suggest may spurs or even a rope (like some western riders will use).
J-Lu and Merrygoround, you are both correct. However the whip should be designed so that the weight of the handle and top counter balances the length of the whip i.e. the point of balance (or CoG) should be where the handle ends. The handle should therefore be no longer than the palm so that the PoB is just below the hand and the top fits snuggly in the crook of the thumb and finger. Trying to find a whip that fulfils that criteria is difficult, Flecks are generally the best I’ve come across.
Back to the OP, if you’re not going to use a whip then you need to sequence your aids as follows: drop your heels, apply calf pressure, legs away, kick - normally I would follow this with the whip if there was no reaction. As soon as you do get a reaction, praise, transition down, rinse and repeat.
OP, I’ve been in a situation where holding a whip was just not gonna happen. So, I agree with the above about split reins, or an extra length ‘popper’ attached that you can use as needed (altho that might pop your elbow out too).
Aside from that, I would be working on my seat/legs. As in - they need to be EXACT. No mistaking in what you’re asking horse for. Legs need to be steady and ‘there’. When you ask for something, be precise, clear, instant. Discipline should be clear and instant also. I’d be reviewing just how steady I am in the seat/legs and go from there.
I kind of think about it like this: once you get past a certain level you can’t show with a whip, so learn to school without it anyway.
Is there any way you could wear an elbow brace of some sort? Would that help? I don’t know anything about your condition.
I can’t use a regular mouse anymore, either, as just flattening my hand pops put my arm pretty quickly. Flicking the whip once is enough to feel my arm coming out, and causes my fingers to open so I can’t hold the reins either. It’s that bad. I hope the advice on how to use a whip comments help someone else though!
And of course I have exercises to help strengthen the muscles which support to try to keep my arm in. This being a new development, I understand even more my strong desire for only super sensitive and responsive horses. I didn’t know it, but I was literally helping keep my body together.
Lots of good advice here! The strong attention to legs was where we were before lockdown. My trainer made me ride in paddock boots and half chaps so I could REALLY feel what my legs were doing… in hand work to wake the horse up was what I used for my older mare to loosen her up during her heat cycles especially, but also got her in front of my legs.
The fact the youngster is not overreactive goes with the amazing brain she has, so thinking about this is not a negative to have to consider. A couple weeks ago my trainer had someone who had been riding pass out leading her pony to the barn (thankfully only dehydration and she’s doing well) but my mare stood by her for shade and since my trainer couldn’t leave his client while waiting for the ambulance, and there was not even a flinch from my mare as the ambulance roared up in front of her, sirens going. This is the same horse who caught (and pulled loose) a shoe in canter last summer, and when I felt her falling and tried to bail, used her face to help her crawl on her knees to stay under me. She had a mouth full of dirt and blood, but was happy because when she stood I was still on her. You just can’t buy that!
OP do you have access to any ‘para’ instructors/barns/riders? Not sure why this crept into my thoughts yesterday but you might try somebody like that for ideas on this. They are used to working ‘around’ uncommon issues and they might have some very simple solutions for you.
How about a vocal. Something like that creepy Ceasar millan does with dogs…“BZzzzZPFT!!” just a tiny little molecule of a second after you give your standard leg cue. You don’t have to change position, use your hands …just your mouth. Well…in practicing just now right here, i feel that my diaphragm does indeed constrict when i do that bvvzzzpft noise emphatically…but that probably is a good thing in this case. A little added physical reinforcement to your leg.
