To Whip or Not to Whip…

"I don’t want to exasperate the issue", my client pronounced a few hours prior to her private lesson with me.  She expressed concern that the desensitizing lesson may be less than helpful to her at a time where she needed it most to progress to the next level dressage, involving a high-level movement called Piaffe.  For now she was at a standstill.  I assured her that our lesson would not harm, but only enhance her relationship with her Andalucian Stallion and that she would be present throughout the whole session.

A small group gathered just moments prior to what was supposed to be our private consultation as word had leaked out amongst the whole dressage barn.  My briefing included a small synopsis that "Madrid" was passionately concerned with the dressage whip and no-one could get near him with the whip without him freaking out and running backwards or spinning leaving the scene absolutely out of control.  It was believed that he had been chased with the whip by his former guardians outside of this Continent.

Madrid was led into the outside round pen where we introduced ourselves to one another.  I was confident that he was familiar with my methods of "reaching out" together with the halter work in preparation for him to release himself from pressure.  For all barn staff had been trained to my methods over the past 5 years. He appeared very calm and relaxed in an environment he was used to.  In order to assess the situation it was important for me to break each step down into bite size chunks.  This way I would be able to come to an educated conclusion as to Madrid’s cause of fear.

Hints & Tips:
We began simply with approaching Madrid stroking him with my hand on the shoulder, neck or head and subsequently walking away from him, thereby enforcing his appropriate behavior of standing quietly.  With each approach I changed my speed, mannerism, angle of approach and body language, but at all times remained calm. 

The next step included taking the whip with me, stroking him on the shoulder and praising him; through the release of walking away and a soothing voice.  During this particular training session I actually included the use of food as reward.  This decision was based on the deep rooted cause and extended period of time the barn had been experiencing the behavior pattern.  The bucket of carrots was left on the outside of the round pen so that Madrid would not associate me as the carrot dispenser.  It’s a safe way to ensure there would be no mugging.  Each time I walked away from him with the whip in hand I returned just moments later with a bucket of carrots for him to choose from.  He was allowed to dip his nose into the bucket and choose a mouthful of carrots, but just one.

I was sure to introduce the experience of the whip touching him from each side of his body and out of both eyes, thereby giving Madrid 2 separate visual experiences. Within a short time-frame Madrid realized that he was in full control of this whip and could direct it at all times by his stillness alone.  

As Madrid proved that he was able to process this portion of the lesson completely without any signs of fear, flight or fight it was time to tack him up to initiate a normal riding lesson.  We repeated the exercise of approach and retreat, praising each and every try Madrid made.  If at any time he thought he could not cope and needed to leave we saw this response through tension in his body and would take the lesson slower.  However, we "raised the bar" to include a mounting block and height for him to view the whip from above continuously reminding him that he would not be harmed, but instead would be able to exchange his past experiences with positive memories.

At the suggestion of my client we brought Madrid’s trainer into the round pen to mount for it was then that a whip could not be passed to the rider.  Now, fully tacked Madrid’s trainer was given the full use of her reins as we clipped on the pressure halter to keep everyone safe.  The audience went quiet and you could hear the drop of a pin.  As I approached Madrid with the whip he stood like a rock for me to pass the whip to his rider.  Immediately I took the whip back and walked away.  We gave him time and space to process the last request before we began to repeat the exercise on both sides of his body without any adverse reactions.   Instead of praising each increment step with food, we now offered the carrots for greater achievements.

Observing Madrid’s body language throughout this whole exchange allowed us to move forward and I asked his male trainer to join us, to see if this would trigger any past incidents from his previous life.  Believing that we had placed a good foundation on Madrid, it was time for him to graduate and stand by himself with his rider aboard in the round pen.  The attached line and grounds person were removed, for Madrid to process the upcoming movements by himself.  Imagine our delight when the trainer was able to just walk up to Madrid as though he had approached him 1,000 times before and hand the whip to the rider!

Part II:
Although I was taken aback by how much Madrid was able to absorb and be proud of his courage and progress, this was to be just the beginning.  My client was astounded and yet believed that maybe the arena was the cause to all the problems and we should in fact take the lesson inside.  It could be quite possible that Madrid would be associating the whip with the indoor arena and not the outside round pen.  Quite a lot of information had been gathered in the first ½ of the lesson for us to now move into a more "pressured" situation.

I was informed that one of the most complicated tasks was in fact to ride up to the side of the arena and reach for the whip.  Please know that the whip was only to be used as an aid in preparing Madrid for the finer queues needed to attain Piaffe and not as a form of punishment.  I suggested they show me how they approach the side for me to witness the manner of the approach and possible outcome.  Madrid was ridden straight up to the ledge where his rider reached for the whip and he stood calmly.  "He is going to make a liar out of me yet", she said with a broad smile on her face, as Madrid put no foot wrong.  We repeated this approach several times, from many different angles. 

I suggested my rider stay very focused and clear with her requests, not allowing for any pre-conceived ideas so that the messages and pictures she had in her mind would represent the outcome she desired.  We continued to praise all of Madrid’s efforts through petting his neck, soothing words, walking away from the ledge and the occasional mouthful of carrots to reinforce our message.  Within just moments Madrid began to aim for the ledge to touch the whip on his own accord.  He was totally aware that the whip represented a good feeling and that something positive would follow just shortly after.  It was truly magical to observe.

It was suggested we incorporate some training prior to reaching for the whip.  That Madrid be "worked" as though he was in a lesson to stimulate his body and mind.  That possibly the change in rhythm and focus would cause his concerns and yet, Madrid took this together with all the other lessons in his stride. He was clearly graduating from each one of his lessons.

There was just one incident, one spook, where I got to witness the fear in Madrid’s eye.  Our intention was for the rider to create small circles at the trot, slowing down and coming to a stop for our handler to pass the whip across to her.  When we reached this point Madrid ran side-ways while backing away from the whip, each step faster than the other.  Madrid’s rider just settled with his movements, allowing him the space to gather his thoughts before she asked him once again to approach our grounds-person.  This time he was able to absorb any kind of fear and we were able to reinforce our positive lessons.  It’s at times like these we can take a step backwards to go forwards.  We repeated some of the positive lessons he was able to perform to give him the confidence he needed to proceed.

It dawned on me at that moment that Madrid was not frightened of the whip, but was indeed frightened of when it appeared – the timing of the introduction to the whip.  Each time the whip had been introduced was when Madrid had tried to comprehend a request but was not processing it correctly.  Our rider intended to utilize the whip for clarity of an aid.  And yet Madrid thought it would be presented as punishment although he had tried hard to understand he knew he had not understood the request and believed the whip was on hand as it had been in his past – to tell him off, to show how bad he had been.  It all became clear.  I suggested to my client that she introduce the whip earlier in her future lessons while he was still in a relaxed state and before any signs of confusion.  That way he would learn that the whip was indeed an aid and not a form of punishment; he would come to understand the proper use of the whip.

We continued with our lesson for just a few moments longer finishing on a perfect note just under 1 ½ hours.  Madrid readily accepted the positioning our grounds-person took to begin to introduce him to the first movements of Piaffe.  She gently held his rein in her left hand guiding his nose and neck carriage, while carrying the whip in the right hand gently tapping him on his rear end.  It was a picture to be seen.  Horse and rider in harmony with one another.  In the whole time his person had known Madrid she had not been able to pick up a whip without an adverse reaction, let alone get the handler to come within 10 feet of Madrid.  Now he was accepting both the handler and the whip as he digested the information presented to him. I have no doubt Madrid will make it to the next dressage level and look forward to seeing him in the show ring upon my next trip!

by Anna Twinney