Using a Crop/Whip

Hi, so I’m a beginner and I struggle to get get the horse moving and keeping them moving. Now, my trainer encourages me to use a crop or dressage whip most the time.

I’m always told to use it along with my leg, and only use it when I have tried using just my leg but the horse hasn’t listened.

Now here’s my thing, I keep getting told I’m not using it hard enough, and that I should tap it hard enough to be able to hear the impact (but not hard enough to actually harm the horse, my trainer), then immediately stop after I get them moving.

I am just wondering if it’s normal to use a whip to the point that you should hear the impact or not? She also told me that they only use crops/whips with horses that actually respond well to the whip