Equestrian Clothing | Equestrian Clothes

Horse riding whips are used in tandem with the riders leg to encourage the horse onwards. You should hold the whip in the inside hand and use it just behind your leg to tell the horse to carry on. The main types of equestrian whips are the short whip, the dressage whip, the hunting whip, the lunge whip, the polo whip, and the show cane, all of which are available to buy from Countrywide.

Short Whip

This type of whip is used in show jumping, cross-country riding, hacking and general riding. It should be carried in the inside hand and positioned half way across the riders thigh. When using, both reins should be moved to the outside hand and the whip used just behind the lower leg. Short whips vary in length from 16 inches to 29 inches.

Dressage Whip

This type of whip is much longer than a short whip and is used in both schooling and dressage. The rider simply has to turn their wrist to flick the whip to the side of the horse. This allows for much more subtle, yet quicker use of the whip, giving the rider much more control when using it because both hands will remain on the reins. Dressage whips vary from between 39 inches to 42 inches in length.

Hunting Whip

This type of whip is short in design and is not to be used on the horse - it is simply for carrying. It has a curved handle top for opening and closing gates and a lash at the other end.

Polo Whip

Used exclusively for Polo, this has a thin handle and wrist strap and the whip itself gets thinner towards the end.

Short Cane

This has no handle and is approximately 24 inches long.

Lunge Whip

The longest of all whips, the lunge whip is approximately 66 inches long. It is used when lunging the horse. When the horse is going in a circle on the left rein, the trainer would hold the whip their right hand and aim the whip at the horse. Lunge whips have much longer handles than dressage and short whips.