A crop, sometimes called a riding crop or hunting crop, is a rather short type of whip witrhout a crack, used in horseback riding, hence also known as a horsewhip. A whip is a cord or strap, usually with a stiff handle, used for delivering blows to human beings or animals as a means of control or punishment or torture. ... horse, see Horse (disambiguation). ...

A crop usually consist of a long rod of fiberglass or cane or which is covered in leather, fabric, or similar material. The rod of a crop thickens at one end to form a handle, and terminates in a thin, flexible tress such as wound cord or a leather tongue. The thin end is intended to make contact with the horse. The handle may have a loop of leather to help secure the grip. Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ...

The length of a crop is designed to allow enough leverage for it to be accelerated rapidly with a controlled flick of the wrist without causing the rider balancing problems.

Crops are designed to back up the natural aids (leg, seat and voice) aids of a rider.

Hunting whips are not for use on the horse, but have a "hook" at the end to use in opening and shutting gates without dismounting, as well as a long leather strip to keep the hounds from coming near the horse's legs, and possibly getting kicked.

• While it is considered proof of bad horsemanship and abusive to whip a horse painfully (Britain actually had laws against animal abuse sooner then against child abuse), the crop was used thus to lash human victims, such as grooms, other servants and children (possibly as an agonizing spanking), and even judicially, as a severe form of corporal punishment, known as horsewhipping and more likely to leave bloody stripes than a (broader) strap. Such was still in use into the 20th century alongside the cat o' nine tails in Delaware (county) prisons, applied to the bare back at whipping posts nick-named Red Hannah.
• The riding crop is still widely seen as the traditional symbol of dominance in BDSM activities, for actual use (rather symbolical or really lashing) or at least threatening. It is a logical choice because it is not only painful but also has the humiliating connotation of reducing the 'slave' to an animal. Its material is the only obvious link with the common leather fetish in that scene.

A crop, sometimes called a riding crop or hunting crop, is a type of whip used in horseback riding,hence also known as a horsewhip. ... A strap is a thin strip, usually of fabric or leather, used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. ... The Cat O Nine Tails is a type of multi-tailed whipping device that originated as a tool of corporal punishment from the British navy. ... A collar is a common symbol of BDSM. BDSM is a term which describes a number of related patterns of human sexual behaviour. ...

See also

• Whip
• Quirt