The answer to that question is never. Horses don't respond to whipping besides fearing the person that whips them. Horses have good memories and they remember people and objects that have hurt them long after the pain has passed.

Many trainers unfortunately use the belief that whipping a horse will make him or her respond better and respect the trainer, however what is being created in reality is a relationship based on fear and the horse may obey commands to be avoid being whipped but will never truly enjoy spending time with a human companion that hurts them.

A better way to train your horse is by gentle reinforcement that you are the dominant one in the relationship (this will be tested now and then by your horse), and that you will not harm your horse. Instead of whipping, practice the things you want to teach your horse. If you want to teach him good ground manners, you need to reinforce what you expect every day and praise and reward him when he obeys and give him a stern, "No" when he doesn't listen or perform what you expect.

Horses have an innate need to please their human companions when there is a bond established and your horse will work hard to show you just how smart he is. Always be lavish with your praise and your horse will seek out ways to get more and more. This will in turn give you a well trained horse that will make a wonderful and well trained companion that was trained through love and kindness, not whipping and fear.

A horse that has been beaten in a poor attempt at training and controlling a horse or worse just beaten out of cruelty; is a very sad animal indeed. Fortunately, nearly all horses are resilient and can come out bad situations with shining colors if they have a human companion willing to work with them and retrain them.

Horses that have been beaten will suffer physical and emotional scars from abuse. Broken bones and neurological damage can all be a part of the physical scars from beatings. Neurological damage can lead to seizures which fortunately can almost be entirely controlled through medications.

The emotional scars take a little longer to heal but they can be healed through patient and loving training. Depending on who did the abuse, some horses will mistrust all humans based on their previous treatment; others will dislike men or women exclusively - depending on the sex of their abuser. Start off with just a short period of time with your horse - about fifteen minutes. Offer praise and even treats if he is calm and then leave. Do this a few times a day in the beginning and gradually increase your time together and lessen the frequency of your visits. Soon you will be able to spend an hour or more with your horse and he will begin to look forward to your visits as he will have gained his trust and have the beginnings of a great companion animal-companion human relationship.

Don't discount a horse's previous hardships with owners that didn't care as a reason they won't make a great member of your family. All horses will respond to love and patience and you can find a fantastic equine friend just waiting to be a part of your life under that beaten horse's exterior.