What is the whip for?
Firstly, it is NOT used Ben Hur style to force the donkey to go faster! When you ride an animal, you can communicate with it and ask it to steer with the your legs, indicating refinement such as flexion, with your hands. When driving, you only have your voice and reins. The whip replaces the leg. It is there to touch the donkey, for instance on the shoulder, to give it more precise directions on where you want it to go. When steering left in riding, you use the right leg behind the girth. When steering left in driving, you use the whip, flipping the lash over with a turn of the wrist, so it lands gently on the right shoulder.
