Whip Basics. The Forum

Short clip of giving a new 8ft Bull Gator a few test crack

http://youtu.be/ulsRo7af2Y4

Magic!

It clearly handles rather differently to a bullwhip....

Still haven't handled a bullwhip yet but that should soon change. I'm guessing there will be a night and day difference

Nice video. I like the red and black too!

Great video!

Enoch

very nice demo. I have some work to do on my cracking.

Thank y'all. I need to learn how to do some of this fancy cracking I've been watching on these YouTube videos. They make my cowboy cracking seem rather boring

I dunno Roy, you're a step or three beyond me in your cracking! I enjoyed the video. Matter of fact, last night while I was at the theater, I was out back with my whip going through the three cracks I know. Turns out, same as what you posted in your video! Once your hand improves, I'll bet you find time to learn and practice more cracks...

~T.

.

You're on the right way, Roy. Two things... Easier. To still have too much power in your cracks. If you're too fast, the whip has no chance to do it's job. Slow down a bit. You'll see how elegant the whip will roll out. It's like driving on a bike. As soon as you're pushed by a car, things will speed up and you're no more able to control anything.

And your horizontal crack (or overhead cattleman's crack) - try to hold a pure horizontal plane. At the moment it's some in between crack. Not horizontal, not straight down... Try to work on holding the whip on a horizontal plane, and everything will be much more elegant.

Like I said on the review on Bobbi's show whip:

"The whip needs your patience. Not your power"

On youtube you'll see a lot of people completey overpowering their cracks.
Please don't do that.

Robby

I feel for you Roy, I have terrible coordination and have difficulty managing the fancier cracks and routines. Love the video though, its cool to see different types of whips in action and how they flow and handle. Can you target crack easily with a cow whip?

Thanks y'all. Robby, I really appreciate the advice. That's why I don't play golf, always tried to kill the ball instead of letting the club do its work.
I guess it's quite a bit different than cracking horseback. On a horse I'm moving and the target is moving so speed and power are often needed especially if there is a stiff wind. I will keep studying your tutorials as you make it look too easy. Devin I'm with you all the way, no coordination or grace here. Cow whips work fine for targets. My grandfather used to crack cigarettes out of people's mouth with a 12 ft cow whip.

Sounds like my kind of guy. a longer whip poses its own challenges to crack accurately with. I can do alright with my two nine footers, but have not as yet made any longer.
The Horseback thing makes sense, cracking on the ground you don't necessarily have as much wind to contend with so the cracking is much less powered.

Devin I think you would actually like a long whip, maybe not for target work but they are so easy to crack. You just get them moving and let their weight do all the work. Another thing about cracking horseback is that you usually are operating at odd angles. I know Robby talked about swinging horizontally and it makes sense, but horseback your target is usually angled differently. What they call the cattlemen's crack I find too slow for actual work and a lot of times you have obstacles around such as trees, fences and other cowboys, that won't allow you to make a big open swing. While horseback and driving cattle we mainly use an overhand swing like I was doing on the video, I don't know if there is a particular name for it. You just shoot it out there real fast to steer cattle. Crack out to their side to move them the opposite direction or crack in front of their face to turn them around. Flick it out and tap them on the rear to get them moving, as you seldom have to strike them unless they are attacking you and your horse. I don't condone cracking animals unless its in self defense.

Thanks for the video Roy, and for the story of actual work with the whip. Both are much appreciated.

Okay, that's a different thing, Roy. Now I understand. I'm talking just from the "standing on safe ground with a lot of space around" point of view. If you alter the crack's plane to the needed angle - perfect! Then I didn't say anything Thanks for the explanation!

Robby

Ha Roy: I find the same working with the hounds. Seldom if ever use the cattlemans crack. Overhead crack ormaybe at a 45 for as loud as you can get. Some variation of the foreward throw for everything else that requires accuracy.

Yes sir same here, use it to make a lot of noise to get the whole herd moving. When cowboys are split up they sometimes use it to signal to each other of their whereabouts or if they find cattle. I also use a whip to work my dogs, mainly to call them off cattle. Robby if I can get my wife to video me then I will post some horseback whip work, but I am still intrigued at how good you are in your tutorials. I shall have to practice what you preach.

Roy, the insight on the practical and daily use of a whip via horseback during actual working conditions is much appreciated. I suppose there is a world of difference between "standing on safe ground with a lot of space around" to quote Robby, and in the work environment. Thanks so much for sharing that with us.

~T.

Not a problem y'all, glad I could provide some insight on the subject. I just got to thinking about it and I do use the cattlemen's crack more than I let on. Say you are swinging a long 10 or 12 footer but the cow is really close like right next to your horses head. The only way to hit the target is to swing straight up really high and bring it straight down. I don't need to do it very often but it is a useful technique when needed