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Sunday March 21, 2010

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Ban the whip from horse racing?

Posted by: By Peter Maher | 7 September, 2009 - 3:58 PM
Craig Newitt

There is a very interesting debate happening at the moment in the horse racing world that highlights the gap between the racing industry and mainstream society.

The Australian Racing Board has implemented new rules in the manner in which a jockey can whip a horse during a race.

In the last two-hundred meters of a race a jockey can hit the horse no more than five times and cannot lift his arm over shoulder height to hit the horse.

Industry participants including jockeys, trainers including the first lady of the turf Gai Waterhouse and other industry luminaries like leviathan owner John Singleton say the new rule is bunkum and should be thrown out.

Let the horses be hit, Australians love their racing and there is nothing wrong in encouraging a horse to try its best by whipping it as many times as the jockey thinks it should be whipped to win the race, say these industry experts.

What other sport or recreation do you know of that uses defenseless animals like horses, actively promotes the use of cruelty to have the animal perform to the human's expectation. Not the horse's expectation mind you but the expectation of the humans who are running the sport of horse racing.

It is a pity Mr Ed is not about any more because it would be interesting to hear from the old bloke on what he thought of him and his peers being whipped to perform to the expectation of the punters.

The punters it seems who congregate in front of countless TAB screens around the country are to blame for the use of the whip. These punters will not be happy unless the horse it being whipped because it will not be seen to be performing at its best unless it is being flogged with the whip by the jockey riding it.

Stop whipping and the punters will stop betting say industry heavyweights and that cannot be tolerated. Better that a few thousand horses suffer so many punters can prosper.  

It makes you wonder if those people with these views also promote the same use of cruelty on other defenceless animals like household pets.

Probably not because there is no betting on making the household cat perform to the punter's expectation. Not as yet anyway.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Hi AJ,

    I think you are missing the point that both myself and Justine (and many others) are trying to make.
    Our society has decided that smacking kids and beating up animals is wrong. So that argument should apply to all living things, shouldn't it?
    Because there is money at stake, many otherwise kind people are prepared to make exceptions to the "it's wrong to bully or strike things" rule. We all understand that positive reinforcement and kindness is the best method of teaching kids and animals (last time I checked horses were animals, not monsters).
    So, now it's been decided that it is ok to hit them, but only in the last hundred metres. Can we now, by the same rationale smack our kids just a little bit, just in the 'home straight' of the day?
    These horses did not ask to be racehorses, and as an owner of ex-racehorses, I can tell you that the racing industry is bad for them, physically and psychologically (not to mention behaviourally - wind-sucking and weaving are stress related behaviours which I have only ever seen in racehorses).
    So, Justine's very brief reference to a human specific situation (wife beating), was merely a way to draw a direct analogy.
    After all we are talking about justifying a kind of violence here.
    Horses are only dangerous when they feel threatened or anxious. Hyping them up on a racehorse diet during their development years certainly doesn't help either.

    Danielle Seymour Wednesday 16 September, 2009 - 9:30 PM

  • AJ - just out of interest - how does whipping a hard to control horse help? Have you ever ridden a difficult horse and if so, how did using the whip help overcome the difficulty?
    I wonder if you are misunderstanding the nature of the horse and what is in fact going on when the horse is being difficult. There is some eye-opening literature available about looking at things from the horse's, instead of the human's point of view. Forget the notion of being "disobedient" and of needing to be "brought into line". Humans might work that way, but horses don't. This is a huge misconception.
    But back to the whip - how does it help when riding a hard to control horse?

    Justine Wednesday 16 September, 2009 - 3:54 AM

  • AJ - I have no interest either in getting off topic, it was the tone of your words I was reacting to and the idea that it is okay to "get tough" in order to get the horse to fulfill your wishes (win races).
    Yes, I have ridden many horses (thoroughbreds) in Australia, England and Germany, both event horses and racehorses. I even rode a thoroughbred stallion that spent a good deal of his time on two legs only! No, I did not use the whip on those horses. Thoroughbreds are extremely sensitive and most of my time was spend winning their trust and confidence, which was much more effective in getting them to do as I wished. Racehorses and ex-racehorses are difficult to ride because they are used to being "chased" and "got after" in order to run and run fast. It can be VERY difficult to retrain them after they have been on the track. Most of the problems arise from the amount of pressure they have been under. They lack trust and confidence their riders due to they way they have been treated. Have YOU ever had to win back a horse's trust and confidence after it has been shot to pieces? Some horses never recover, they end up as dog-meat.
    You can most definitely can a animal be intimidated and beaten into submisson, indeed that is why many still do exactly that, but why would you want to? In my eyes, its just not fair. Regards, Justine.

    Justine Wednesday 16 September, 2009 - 3:41 AM

  • Justine, I see that pragmatic compromise has been reached and the ruling has now been made to allow racing to continue with whipping in the last 100 metres of the race at the jockeys discretion.
    What this has to do with some judges ruling on a mans treatment of his wife I have no idea! Stick to the agenda please, I have no desire to debate issues with anyone thats starting sound at a minimum off topic and to be honest a little over-emotional and nonsensical.
    I realise you probably dont think whipping should occur at all, just out of interest have you ever ridden a hard to control horse?

    AJ Tuesday 15 September, 2009 - 5:34 PM

  • AJ - read Danielle's comments below. Horses can be intimidated and bullied into doing what people want because of their prey animal nature. I mean, did anybody explain to the horse the terms of its work contract? That it had to do as you wanted or be whipped into shape? Race horses react to the feel and noise of the whip because of the FEAR FACTOR. Since when is okay to use fear and intimidation to get another living being to do as YOU wish? Simply put - IT IS NOT. Come on! Go back and read your comments! What you wrote reminds me of that judge, many years ago, who stated during a rape case that it was okay for a husband to use a "measure of rougher than usual handling" when "encourging" his wife to have sex with him!
    Please put yourself in the animals shoes! Star-gazing and lack of focus? Good grief - you got her focussed alright, focussed on running away from the predator! Well done!

    Justine Tuesday 15 September, 2009 - 2:25 AM

  • I just want to add that as the owner of a very gentle sweet natured filly who finally won a race before retirement to become a mum, I had no qualms at all at her getting ridden vigourously to get her win. She was prone to star gazing and wandering all over the place and I was advised less kid glove treatment might get her a little more focussed at the track, and it worked. She was finally a racehorse and not just there for a nice canter around the track. She suffered no ill effects, was mostly ridden hands and hells but with a tap at the turn accelerated when needed for a change.

    AJ Monday 14 September, 2009 - 6:22 PM

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