My Mom has recently gotten into driving, and is really really into it. I’d like to find a nice (and possibly custom or engraved) driving whip for Christmas. Anyone know of any place?
What you really want is one of these. They are considered the ne plus ultra for carriage driving.
If your mom is doing ADS-style driving, be cognizant of the rule that the lash of the whip needs to reach the far shoulder of the farthest horse. Driving Essentials (linked to above) can help you with that.
Awesome idea for a present!! :yes:
Harvey Lagasse of Journey’s End (http://www.journeysendcarriage.com) is carrying an awesome new, custom-made, ultra-light whip for under $100. It’s especially great for us more mature drivers with a touch of arthritis in our hands 
I forgot to mention that if holly is out of your price range, then bamboo is a perfectly acceptable alternative for a lot less money. I’ve got one myself and like it a lot.
I’ve ordered many many whips from here: http://www.horseunique.com/
They are very nice, well balanced and inexpensive.
Tiffany,
While these would LOOK very fancy I don’t think the handles would fit in a whip holder - a definite consideration for me in a driving whip.
WA,
Hubby has a lovely bamboo whip that our son gave him a couple of years ago - and he’s never used it! He thinks it’s too nice for everyday and he hasn’t started showing so the whip is just decorating our family room 
[QUOTE=Ashemont;3722098]
Hubby has a lovely bamboo whip that our son gave him a couple of years ago - and he’s never used it! He thinks it’s too nice for everyday and he hasn’t started showing so the whip is just decorating our family room :([/QUOTE]
Well, let’s face it, mine’s going to be decorating my living room for a good long while too… :rolleyes:
I will give you this feedback on the bamboos: your DH is absolutely right. GREAT for show, but used on a daily basis you’ve got 2 problems: one - here in the South, with the humidity, they can warp inside a day if not hung properly, and two - they’re not really strong enough if you had to give a misbehaving horsie a serious CTJ. They would break. I really would not want to take a horse out on a public roadway with one, where your whip could conceivably be your lifesaver.
Ah yes, the whip holder. That is true - it won’t fit. My old show cart didn’t have a whip holder so it didn’t matter, but my new one does so I had to buy a new whip. Nevermind! 
Very pretty handles Tiffany. We don’t have whip holders on many of our vehicles, so the handle shape doesn’t matter. Whip should be in the HAND of driver so it is ready to use on an outing.
We don’t leave whips in the vehicles when we are not driving either, too many things that could happen to them.
We use the light fiberglas or graphite whips for most everyday driving. Save the pretty or expensive whips for showing.
OK, those are nice but I can’t afford $400+ for one gift…I have many to buy this year!
Is this one a decent one? What length should it be? She has just recently gotten into it, and has a loverly Haffie she’s been training and it very proud of, but I know nothing about it. I just want to get her something she would like.
The Jenners
Nice gift :yes:. Where are you located? or rather where is your Mother located? If possible, you might want to make your gift a trip to the carriage ‘department store’ so she can try out whips herself and pick one she really likes. A well-balanced whip is a joy, a poorly balanced one is, quite literally, a pain.
You’ve already had recommended
Driving Essentials (PA)
Journey’s End (LaGasse) (Carolinas/Florida/Shows)
I’m pretty sure the following also have nice whips for sale
Carriage Driving Essentials (CA) www.carriagedrivingessentials.com
Coachman’s Delight (MA) www.coachmansdelight.com
Country Carriages USA (Carolinas) www.countrycarriagesusa.com
John Greenall (VT) http://www.vermontel.net/~greenall/
I notice that she is in Washington state. Being from Oregon I can assure you that there are NO “carriage department stores” within roughly a thousand miles well, that may be a slight, very slight, exaggeration… so to the internet it is.
My Mom’s in Alabama.
What sort of driving is your mum doing, or interested in doing?
The one you linked to is a horse driving trials whip. If that’s what she’s thinking of then might be o.k.
However for a Christmas present, I thought these looked very nice too when I had a glance round the web site that WA linked:
http://drivingessentials.com/essential_balance_whip.htm
That would be absolutely appropriate for pleasure driving or even for showing. I know I’d be very pleased to receive something like that as a present (and I’m a bit fussy about driving equipment) And as far as I can tell from the photo it looks like it has a good point of balance and will be neat and comfortable in the hand.
If she’s any interest in showing classes then a traditional whip would be what she would want for the future and I know that in the USA that the bamboo ones or other imitations are totally acceptable to the much more expensive holly whips. I think though that the one I linked to would be entirely acceptable as it looks quite traditional.
They either come in sizes or else they’re described as “single pony”, “single horse”, pairs etc. They don’t have to be a precise and accurate size either. Important thing is that it’s well balanced and sits nicely and comfortably in the hand and the thong reaches the horse’s side when it’s properly laid on.
Difference is the the lengths (obviously) but also the ratio difference between thong and stick length. e.g. Different proportions for pairs, teams, singles, tandems
For the one I linked to you’ll need cob size or 140 x 100 for a single pony.
Thanks Thomas! 
She’s doing pleasure right now while the pony comes along, but she has gone to some driving events and always talks about wanting to do that. I think she referred to them as CTs, so I’m guessing Combined Training? I didn’t know they did that with carts.
