A polo mallet is made of cane, and the length varies according to the height of the horse and the player. Discover how polo mallets vary from 49 to 54 inches in length with help from the secretary of a polo club in this free video on polo mallets.
Hi, I'm Cyrus Confectioner, secretary of Calcutta Polo Club, I'm now going to show you the main instruments which this game is played with. This is a mallet, in a sport of Horse Polo, we use a mallet. It's made of cane and is made nowadays in many parts of the world, more so in places where cane is available. This is the lower end of the stick, the part used to strike the ball. The length varies according to the height of the horse and of course, the player, they can adjust it according to their requirements. Polo mallets range in size from around forty nine to fifty four inches in length. The specific mallet length is usually on the head of the Polo mallet, that is the part from where the ball is struck. Polo Mallet heads are available in a variety of weight and shapes, but their heads re usually made of Ash wood or Maple. The striking head is approximately eight and half to nine and a half inches long. Different Polo mallets have different shapes and enable a player to hit the ball in different ways. A Polo mallet that is too heavy can eventually lead to muscle fatigue, wrist strain or even an injury. The whippiness of a mallet refers to the flexibility of it's shaft. Various degrees of shaft flexibility provide increased control. Polo players have individual preferences for the amount whippiness that their stick may require. The stalks, that is the length, the part where the length of the stick is made from, comes from cane called Manau, a member of the Palm family. Searching for sunlight, this cane reaches a height of almost six hundred feet in about fifteen years. The cane itself is cut close to the root where it is the strongest and it is from this that the stick is made. The canes are heated and cured over fires and there are various processes for making these thing. But the Polo players have individual preferences regarding the flexibility and weight of their mallets. Some prefer also, to select their own canes before they're attached to the mallet head. It is important that the finished cane and the head be compatible in terms of weight. Finally the cane is attached to the mallet head, a cigar shaped piece of wood cut from a Tipa tree, which is found only in Northern Argentina, parts of Brazil and Paraguay, basically in South America. So this is the instrument with which Polo is played, it's called a mallet, thank you.
