When learning to ride a horse, a rider must learn the correct usage and implementation of the auxiliary aids. These aids are the voice, whip and spurs and are used to both communicate the rider’s intentions to the horse and to back up the basic aids of the legs and reins.

The Voice     

Whist training the young horse the voice is an indispensible asset but is used sparingly with older horses. In some disciplines such as Dressage, the use of verbal cues to a horse is not permitted.

When using a verbal cue the most important factor in communication with a horse is the tone. Horses are very astute animals and will easily pick up on and react to the attitude and actions of the rider. Talking in a calm and relaxed manner will have a soothing effect on a horse where as short, sharp commands will cause the horse to become more alert and react quicker.

When teaching a horse a new exercise or trying to settle it down after being startled, it is best to use a calm and reassuring voice. If you want your horse to become more responsive and concentrate on what you are doing, or to reinforce a command it is better to use your voice in a more stimulating manner. A horse has very good hearing and will react to the tone and inflection of your voice and as such raising your voice or yelling is not only unnecessary but can often have a detrimental effect. Remember that the primary aim of a voice command is to give a horse confidence.  

The Whip

The primary aim of a whip is to make a horse more alert but it can also be used in such areas as flatwork to increase the engagement of the hind quarters. It is held in such a way that it will allow an easy application without disturbing the position of the hands or the application of the reins. The whip should sit across the rider’s thigh and point to the rear of the horse.

The use of the whip is beneficial on green (young) horses to help encourage the forward driving of the weight and legs. It can also be used to help re-enforce a movement in older horses that are not giving the correct response to the leg aids.

Good judgment and skill are required to correctly use a whip. The whip must be used with a short, sharp tap at the correct moment so that the horse is able to learn the lesson that the whip is communicating. The misuse of a whip will either cause the horse to become unresponsive to the commands or to become tense and scared.

The Spurs

The main function of a spur is to assist the rider in the application of the leg aids in a more refined and skillful manner, another secondary use is to reinforce a leg aid if the horse is not giving the desired response. It is important for correct use that the wearer of the spurs is able to apply his legs in a controlled manner independent of the seat.

The general rule with spurs is that the shorter the legs of the rider and therefore closer to the horse, the shorter the neck of the spurs should be. The use of spurs, as with all aids should be kept short and to the point. The overuse of the spur will only serve to make the horse either dull to their application or fizzy and nervous.