 | This article may lend undue weight to the Australian version of the livestock whip.(August 2024) |
A stockwhip is a type of whip made of a long, tapered length of flexible, plaited leather or nylon with a stiff handle and thong able to pivot along the handle easily. Stock whips are used when rounding up cattle.
The Australian stockwhip is said to have originated from the English hunting whip, but has evolved into an entirely new type of whip. It was designed to move mobs of cattle by making it crack, which would encourage the mob to keep moving. It is not usually used for sheep. Throughout Australia stockmen and drovers have used the stockwhip since the early 19th century and it is still the preferred whip used by Australian cattlemen and women today.
The stockwhip is part of most mounted stockmen's equipment and may be used to keep in contact with other riders, as a weapon against a snake, to lead a horse or dog, or as a counter - by tying one knot for every one hundred head of livestock counted. A stockwhip is part of the regulation equipment in stockman challenges and some Australian Stock Horse events. Competitions known as a "stockman’s chop" are held in which a rider must canter down a row of pegs with paper pieces attached and "chop" these pieces off with the whip. Whipcracking events are a popular form of competition for juniors through to the older family members.
Unlike the American equivalent (Florida Cow Whip which is made of inexpensive nylon) an Australian stockwhip is usually made of redhide or sometimes greenhide leather but can also be made of kangaroo hide. Because a kangaroo is a native animal, and cattle are a lot cheaper and abundant, kangaroo hide stockwhips are more expensive. Only the most expensive whips are made from kangaroo hide and they often have a fully plaited handle. Kangaroo hide allows the whip maker to produce the fine plaits for which the kangaroo leather stockwhip is renowned.
The size of Australian stockwhips are measured by the length of the thong (length doesn't include stock, keeper, fall or cracker). Australian stockwhips can be as short as 3 feet (child's whip) or as long as 10 feet (3 metres). The standard Australian stockwhip is 6 feet (1.8 metres) long. Stronger people generally prefer a larger and heavier whip to be used on horseback. [1] Small and light whips that are designed for crowded environments such as cattle yards are called yard whips. Yard whips are swift and easy to use.
The five parts of the Australian Stockwhip are the stock (the handle), the keeper, the thong, the fall and the cracker.
The stock is usually made of cane and usually has a part plaited leather grip. The stock of an Australian stockwhip is usually longer than the bullwhip. The most noticeable difference between a bullwhip and an Australian stockwhip is that the handle of a stockwhip is not integrated into the thong. Instead the handle is attached to the thong by a keeper, to stop the thong from slipping off. The advantages of this design are many but is mainly that the stock can be easily replaced if it falls off. However it may be difficult to put on if it falls off.
The keeper is the part of the whip that connects the stock to the thong. The keeper is made of a wide strip of leather passing over the end of the whip handle. It loops through end of the thong and is then joined to the stock.
The thong is the long, plaited section of whip. Redhide whips are usually made of four plaits due to ease and speed of construction but some people prefer 6 plait. A kangaroo hide whip is made, usually, with 8 or 12 plaits, but can be made even finer by cutting the strands narrower prior to construction. This doesn't make a better whip, just a finer and more costly one. The thong is the part of a stockwhip that is measured.
The fall is a single piece of tapered rawhide or redhide leather which is about 60 centimetres (24 inches) long and attached to the end of the thong. The fall suffers the most wear and tear of the whip because the movement of a whip is faster towards the end due to the whip's tapered design. The fall is weaker than the thong because it is only a single strand (not plaited). It is essential for a whip owner to have a decent, high quality fall attached to their whip.
The cracker (in the US called a popper), is a twisted piece of short rope (approx 10 cm) with a frayed end. The cracker is essential and keeps the whip in good condition, and also aids in producing the crack. A cracker is frequently replaced, according to need and the discretion of the whip user, and may be made of cord or horsehair. [2] Crackers are often made from hay band (also known as baling twine) which is easy to find and make into a cracker, and is also a cheap alternative to buying a pre-made cracker.
The main techniques used when whipcracking are the cattleman's crack and round yard. The sound is created when the velocity of the cracker breaks the sound barrier and creates a sonic boom. The cracker at top speed can achieve more than three times the speed of sound.
The whip is swung backwards over the shoulder and then forward.
The whip cracker spins the whip anti-clockwise (if right-handed) over his or her head. When the whip is approximately 90 degrees to the right of the whip cracker, he or she swings the whip in the opposite direction. It is one of the simplest techniques, yet it can be one of the loudest used in whip cracking.
A knout is a Russian whip, that consists of rawhide thong or a rope attached to a long wooden handle; construction varies. Commonly used for prodding horses or cattle, flagellation by a knout has become notorious as a means of corporal punishment in Russian history. The English word stems from a spelling-pronunciation of a French transliteration of the Russian word кнут (knut), which simply means "whip".
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. Cattle drives ensure the herds health in finding pasture and bring them to market. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less well-documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly in South America and stockmen and jackaroos in Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-stranded structure. More complex patterns can be constructed from an arbitrary number of strands to create a wider range of structures. The structure is usually long and narrow with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others. It can be compared with the process of weaving, which usually involves two separate perpendicular groups of strands.
The sjambok or litupa is a heavy leather whip. It is traditionally made from an adult hippopotamus or rhinoceros hide, but is also commonly made out of plastic.
A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue through the distinct whipcrack effect. The portion used for striking is generally either a firm rod designed for direct contact, or a flexible line requiring a specialized swing. The former is easier and more precise, the latter offers longer reach and greater force. Some varieties, such as a hunting whip or lunge whip, have an extended stock section in addition to the line.
A hide or skin is an animal skin treated for human use. The word "hide" is related to the German word Haut, which means skin. The industry defines hides as "skins" of large animals e.g. cow, buffalo; while skins refer to "skins" of smaller animals: goat, sheep, deer, pig, fish, alligator, snake, etc. Common commercial hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, buckskin, alligator skin and snake skin. All are used for shoes, clothes, leather bags, belts, or other fashion accessories. Leather is also used in cars, upholstery, interior decorating, horse tack and harnesses. Skins are sometimes still gathered from hunting and processed at a domestic or artisanal level but most leather making is now industrialized and large-scale. Various tannins are used for this purpose. Hides are also used as processed chews for dogs or other pets.
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or competition.
Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to hot branding large stock with a branding iron, though the term now includes alternative techniques. Other forms of livestock identification include freeze branding, inner lip or ear tattoos, earmarking, ear tagging, and radio-frequency identification (RFID), which is tagging with a microchip implant. The semi-permanent paint markings used to identify sheep are called a paint or color brand. In the American West, branding evolved into a complex marking system still in use today.
A quirt is a short whip associated with the Southwestern United States. It often has a braided leather lash.
A crop, sometimes called a riding crop or hunting crop, is a short type of whip without a lash, used in horse riding, part of the family of tools known as Riding aids.
In Australia, a stockman is a person who looks after the livestock on a station, traditionally on horse. It has a similar meaning to "cowboy". A stockman may also be employed at an abattoir, feedlot, on a livestock export ship, or with a stock and station agency.
A hobble, or spancel, is a device which prevents or limits the locomotion of an animal, by tethering one or more legs. Although hobbles are most commonly used on horses, they are also sometimes used on other animals. On dogs, they are used especially during force-fetch training to limit the movement of a dog's front paws when training it to stay still. They are made from leather, rope, or synthetic materials such as nylon or neoprene. There are various designs for breeding, casting, and mounting horses.
A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep, cattle, and horses "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in search of better feed and/or water or in search of a yard to work on the livestock. The drovers who covered very long distances to open up new country were known as "overlanders".
Rebenque is the shared name in South American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for a type of whip used by gauchos in South America.
A muster (Au/NZ) or a roundup (US/Ca) is the process of gathering livestock. Musters usually involve cattle, sheep or horses, but may also include goats, camels, buffalo or other animals. Mustering may be conducted for a variety of reasons including routine livestock health checks and treatments, branding, shearing, lamb marking, sale, feeding and transport or droving to another location. Mustering is a long, difficult and sometimes dangerous job, especially on the vast Australian cattle stations of the Top End, 'The Falls' (gorge) country of the Great Dividing Range and the ranches of the western United States. The group of animals gathered in a muster is referred to as a "mob" in Australia and a "herd" in North America.
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers.
Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Used during livestock driving and horse riding, it has also become an art. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples of Bavaria, various Alpine areas, Austria, and Hungary (Ostorozás). Today it is a performing art, a part of rodeo show in United States, a competitive sport in Australia and increasingly popular in the United Kingdom, where it crosses boundaries of sport, hobby and performance.
Kangaroo leather is a strong, lightweight leather derived from the hide of the kangaroo.
Fiona Smith is an Australian whip maker and competitive whipcracker. She is best known as the 12-time Australian ladies whipcracking champion, but has also won more than thirty other titles in local and national competition. Internationally, she won all three disciplines in an open competition organised by the Wild West Arts Club and held in Las Vegas, Nevada. She did so each time she entered.
Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: