Hung a new whip reel in the tack room and the whips keep falling out of it. What’s the trick to keeping the bow of the whip in the reel so it doesn’t slide right out. I keep walking into a tack room that looks like a giant game of pick up sticks?
You should not try to place the bow on the reel. The bow should rest an inch or so below the reel. Your whip reel should have a series of channels on it for the thong to rest. Simply wrap the thong around the reel twice, and then let the remaining thong length drop on the far side. It should stay in place then.
Thanks gothedistance. You’re right, I’m not wrapping the bow in the reel. I did have a mental pause there. I am laying the lash but I tried wrapping it twice but it just keeps zinging out!? Couple questions -
Is there a break in period where the lash of a new whip isn’t so stiff and will wrap better in the reel?
Are you wrapping the lash over itself in the same groove or crossing over into a second groove on the second wrap?
A three groove reel can hold how many whips?
Would some bees wax in the grooves give some grip and not ruin the whip?
Besides a reel, how does one store a whip without warping the shaft?
And once these questions are answered, should we add this to the FAQ for the whip reel challenged like myself?
What we ACTUALLY use to store whips at the barn where we board is an old milk can - tall metal canistar with a narrower top
We probably have about a dozen various whips stuck in there upright
They dont spread out wide because the top of the can is narrow
At the barn where we winter (indoor) there are abour 2-3 foot sections of PVC attached to the wall that you can sip a driving whip or lunge whip into to keep them upright
To travel with a whip you can get threaded PVC and a matching threaded cap - cut to just beyound the length of the whip - the other end you can glue on a PVC cap
They are safe and protected in the PVC pipe - We have used the 2 inch pipe but you could go bigger if you are carrying more whips
It might be that your whip is not happy in the whip reel if the lash is too thick for the reel slots - something to look at??
Hmmm - lash too thick for the slots. What can you do to change that?
I found at a garage sale once an old fishing rod tube. It’s made of very thick paperboard. It has two halves that fit one inside the other and there is a great pipe clamp type closure around where the two tube halves meet. It’s about 6 inches in diameter so the whip bow doesn’t get crushed over. The only caveat is making sure not to put the two halves together too far or you will break a whip shaft. My mother did that to me once and she felt terrible! But it is a great sturdy case for traveling to shows. Once open, the tube is tucked in the tack room and acts like a whip can for the weekend.
Now, here’s a question. Sterling Graburn gave a turnout clinic at a local farm schooling ADT last month. He said white whip lashes are a no-no, that you should dirty up your whip so its not white anymore. Anyone agree? Personally, this goes against all I think of when I spit and polish for turnout!
The problem with white is that there are some whites that are like glow in the dark bright !! ! !!
They can attract the eye TO them so you dont really see the horse - just the whip AND anything you do wrong with it
ALSO in the old days whip lashes were made from plaited fine leather strips and were not the true white that we see today in synthetic materials
Much more subtle and understated
But its like so many things - what one person dislikes another doesnt notice
I think that over time, most lashes will become less bright white
But its hard to make the synthetics dirty in an even and understated fashion
mostly you just make them look, well, dirty
I would not go washing my lash to make it clean and shiny, but -me, I wouldnt deliberately dirty it
But you have to look at your own whip and how much that lash glaringly catches the eye, and make your own decision
[QUOTE=winfieldfarm;5430134]
Thanks gothedistance. You’re right, I’m not wrapping the bow in the reel. I did have a mental pause there. I am laying the lash but I tried wrapping it twice but it just keeps zinging out!? Couple questions -
Is there a break in period where the lash of a new whip isn’t so stiff and will wrap better in the reel?
Are you wrapping the lash over itself in the same groove or crossing over into a second groove on the second wrap?
A three groove reel can hold how many whips?
Would some bees wax in the grooves give some grip and not ruin the whip?
Besides a reel, how does one store a whip without warping the shaft?
And once these questions are answered, should we add this to the FAQ for the whip reel challenged like myself?[/QUOTE]
You can cross over your thong to help hold it in place on the reel, but it prevents you from easily removing the whip without having to handle the thong all the time. Here is a better suggestion:
[INDENT]Take a piece of black carpet thread (it is thicker and stronger than regular sewing thread - but still virtually invisible from a few steps away) and tie it at the top of your whip shaft so that it has a little loop. If your whip reel isn’t mounted on a board (stained to match the reel), do so first. Hang your whip on the reel as you naturally would, and where the top of the whip shaft with thread loop rests against the board, put a tiny finishing nail in the board. Now, when you hang the whip you can slip the thread loop onto the nail and it will ensure that your whip stays where it should, that your thong stays on the reel and won’t slip, and that the whip thong is not having to hold the whip in place all on it’s own.[/INDENT]
You should never have more than two whips on a reel. Each whip should hang on the opposite side from the other. That center third groove is to accommodate the extremely long thong from a 4-in-hand whip. Otherwise, it isn’t used.
DNJ had some great suggestions for storing a whip when not in use. We use carriage whip holders tacked in a nice line-up on the carriage house (inside) wall for the everyday carbon fiber whips. The holly whips, however, are kept in the house (of course!!) on a full board whip reel.
Hope this helps! 
[QUOTE=winfieldfarm;5430917]
Now, here’s a question. Sterling Graburn gave a turnout clinic at a local farm schooling ADT last month. He said white whip lashes are a no-no, that you should dirty up your whip so its not white anymore. Anyone agree? Personally, this goes against all I think of when I spit and polish for turnout![/QUOTE]
Hmmmm. Never heard that one before. 
Maybe this is something aimed at the ADS show crowd?
Our holly whips all have white thongs, and they are venerable (delicate, expensive) old things that we only use at CAA events. And if anyone knows the proper way to do things, it is the CAA crowd!
All of our carbon fiber whips also have white thongs, too.
Frankly, if it was me, I would take his comment with a grain of salt. (read as: “ignore”) Second, I would never deliberately “dirty up” a whip thong. Come on. Really? :no:
Black carpet thread, that’s genius!! And I didn’t know that about the middle groove. Thank you soo much for the new tidbits of knowledge.
and I agree, I don’t see myself dragging my whips down the driveway just to dull the white. I thought his directive was a tad odd but I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to the be the only nerd with a clean whip!
Win - as per your most excellent suggestion, the info here was posted on the FAQ (at the top of the forum) for any other “whip challenged” individuals.
[QUOTE=gothedistance;5431916]
Hmmmm. Never heard that one before. Maybe this is something aimed at the ADS show crowd?
Our holly whips all have white thongs, and they are venerable (delicate, expensive) old things that we only use at CAA events. And if anyone knows the proper way to do things, it is the CAA crowd!
All of our carbon fiber whips also have white thongs, too.
Frankly, if it was me, I would take his comment with a grain of salt. (read as: “ignore”) Second, I would never deliberately “dirty up” a whip thong. Come on. Really? :no:[/QUOTE]
I cannot seem to stop laughing (at myself) over this…
I had a new harness in brass, and my cheap whip just did not work with the new turnout, so I ordered a much nicer one with a lovely braided leather lash…When it arrived, it was SO much heavier than I was used to, so I figured I had better school with it a few times. The mare was lovely in the arena, so we headed out into the pasture, where I PROMPTLY drove next to a tree, hung the lash, and RIPPED it right off!!! I tried and tried to find a crafts-person to fix it properly, but needed it for the show, so I super-glued that baby together!! Nobody but me can tell…
Nancy
Quote:
Originally Posted by winfieldfarm
Now, here’s a question. Sterling Graburn gave a turnout clinic at a local farm schooling ADT last month. He said white whip lashes are a no-no, that you should dirty up your whip so its not white anymore. Anyone agree? Personally, this goes against all I think of when I spit and polish for turnout!
Hmmmm. Never heard that one before. Maybe this is something aimed at the ADS show crowd?
Our holly whips all have white thongs, and they are venerable (delicate, expensive) old things that we only use at CAA events. And if anyone knows the proper way to do things, it is the CAA crowd!
All of our carbon fiber whips also have white thongs, too.
Frankly, if it was me, I would take his comment with a grain of salt. (read as: “ignore”) Second, I would never deliberately “dirty up” a whip thong. Come on. Really?
the reason you want to darken the white lash is so the judges dont see you USE the whip. It is obvious when a white lash goes down to touch a horse over and over again. Its a fairly common practice to upper level drivers.
Oh, good heavens. If this is the “practice” with upper level drivers as you say - to try and render their whips “invisible” by dirtying them up - they need their heads examined. The Judges aren’t blind - they can spot the flick of a whip in a heartbeat, regardless of whether the lash is pristine-as-a-bride white or dragged-through-the-mud-then-stomped-into-the-dirt brown.
Whip use in shows is seen if the show ring judge has their head turned in your direction. It isn’t seen if their back is turned…and that is when you make your correction, and you make it count! Now if you are speaking of CDE and driven dressage, the judge has their eye on you 100% of the time. Are these “upper level” drivers trying to suggest that lash won’t be seen if it is less than clean?
<snort!!> Really?
I’m sorry, but this “dirty your lash” suggestion was very poor advice from someone who should know better…but obviously doesn’t.
This makes me think of wearing dark gloves in dressage so any unsteadiness in your hands doesn’t show. It only works if you have a dark horse. You won’t notice a white lash against a sparkling clean grey!
