Good answers here... one other thing: flogging technique also depends on repetition. For example, the horse-hair flogger feels soft to the touch. If you swing it hard once it will still not really sting at all, but after 50 or so swats, the skin gets slowly irritated and warmed up. This is a unique feeling--very different from other toys. Also, if you then get hit with something else, the "warmed up" skin reacts very differently indeed! I have read that the horse hairs actually produce microscopic cuts in the outer layer of skin which is what gives this effect.

I have found that longer sessions with more repetitions can make receiving a flogging a very different experience--even with a leather or suede flogger. If the person wielding it modulates both intensity and interval the whole scene can be like a journey inside your feelings.

Not sure if that last sentence really said what I was thinking but I'm really tired today.