A whip is a whip used in South America to whip horses.
Rebenque is the name given to the whip that, in South America , is used to whip horses . It is a short whip, made of leather and with a wooden handle, which is used to force the horse to advance or move faster.
In ancient times, the whip was also used as a weapon in hand-to-hand fights. Gauchos could hold a knife with one hand and a whip with the other, increasing their chances of wounding their opponent.
Because they generally traveled on horseback through the Pampas region, the gauchos always carried a whip with them. In this way, the rebenque was part of the accessories and clothing for everyday use, like the facón or the poncho .
Types of whip
According to their characteristics, whips can be classified in different ways. The ring whip is one with a short handle, made with iron or very hard wood. Other types of rebenque are the arreador and the talero . Let's see its main features below:
- Hoop Rebenque : This is the most primitive type, although it continues to be preferred for working the fields on horseback, and also by trainers and herdsmen. From the ring at the upper end hangs a bracelet that allows the whip to be hung on the wrist .
- Rebenque arreador : it is the most important of the reinques and whips, and is used by bosses, which is why it symbolizes the role of command and, especially in the past, had the purpose of accentuating the hierarchy of the workers.
- Rebenque talero : It has a thick and long handle, with a much harder handle than that present in other types of rebenque. Among the activities for which it is used, dressage stands out.
It should be noted that the whip is often confused with the riding crop , another element used to encourage horses. There are, however, differences in size between the different elements that make up these instruments .
The whip resembles other accessories that fulfill the same function.
a symbol
For all that has been said, the rebenque is an element that is a symbol of South American rural life and the country man. This means that many businesses linked to these issues carry the name rebenque : restaurants that specialize in grills , saddleries , etc.
Unfortunately, as happens in other cases, just because the whip is a symbol of a certain group in society does not mean that we should accept it as something positive or enriching. Let us not forget that it is an instrument of abuse , both for what it causes directly to the horse and for the system it allows to sustain: an organization created by humans that relies on the abuse of other species, whom it enslaves and uses. to your liking.
It is very difficult to understand that we accept so naturally the image of a whip being used to hit a horse but that we are horrified at the mere idea that a person was found in the animal 's place. What is the difference between animals and us, that justifies that we can exploit them, enslave them, subject them to horrible lives , and that they cannot us?
The whip, the riding crop, the whip, the stable, the bullring... Should we accept the existence of these creations? If we seek equal rights , if we want to live in harmony with nature , with our environment, without trampling on the freedom of those around us, then no. The image of the atomic bomb causes us horror, because it served to kill many innocent people in a horrible and unjust way; The same should happen with any instrument that serves to deprive a living being, human or not, of their life, their family, their home.