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Use of Whip in Horseracing


VladimirIlyich
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I like a bet on the gee gees from time to time and im interested in this use of the whip rule in the sport.

Jockeys are being asked to use it less by the ruling authorities but they and trainers and owners seem very much against it.

There is a growing movement for a removal of the whip completely but the current regulations seem to be a compromise for the time.

I think the use of the whip should be banned completely and believe this would lead to better horsemanship.

Thoughts.

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Dreadful idea to have a complete ban, racing would be a much more dangerous sport without the whip.

I'm very much in favour of restricting the use of the whip to encourage a horse to go faster, but if you want to control the horse in a tight bunch field and it is not paying attention to the hands and heels commands then a whip is a quick reminder to the horse that it needs respond to the jockeys bidding. If the whip was removed then jockeys would struggle to stop horses drifting and when you've got 2 tonnes of horseflesh belting along at 30mph you really dont want it running into another horse.

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Dreadful idea to have a complete ban, racing would be a much more dangerous sport without the whip.

I'm very much in favour of restricting the use of the whip to encourage a horse to go faster, but if you want to control the horse in a tight bunch field and it is not paying attention to the hands and heels commands then a whip is a quick reminder to the horse that it needs respond to the jockeys bidding. If the whip was removed then jockeys would struggle to stop horses drifting and when you've got 2 tonnes of horseflesh belting along at 30mph you really dont want it running into another horse.

 

That conflicts with the usual defence of 'they can hardly feel it' though.

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That conflicts with the usual defence of 'they can hardly feel it' though.

 

I dont make that argument as I do think the horse feels something although the modern race whips are much less likely to cause an animal pain that the ones in use by novices at every stables up and down the land on a Saturday morning. If you are really concerned about horses being whipped then it cant stop at the racecourse.

 

Jockeys really do need the whip for safety and that should be a separate issue from encouraging the horse to run faster.

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Whilst I'm a complete hypocrite when it comes to the gee gees I'd prefer a complete ban.

 

However, my understanding is that the BHA want to limit the use of the whip to seven times in a race, with only 5 whips allowed in the final furlong.

 

The jockeys want the limit to simply be 7 times in the race.

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I like a bet on the gee gees from time to time and im interested in this use of the whip rule in the sport.

Jockeys are being asked to use it less by the ruling authorities but they and trainers and owners seem very much against it.

There is a growing movement for a removal of the whip completely but the current regulations seem to be a compromise for the time.

I think the use of the whip should be banned completely and believe this would lead to better horsemanship.

Thoughts.

 

Whilst overall I probably agree with you mate this is a very emotive subject and comments such as the one I've picked out do not help the argument either way.

 

The bird has 2 horses I've seen plenty of occasions where the horses has needed to be whipped for it's own safety.

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Whilst overall I probably agree with you mate this is a very emotive subject and comments such as the one I've picked out do not help the argument either way.

 

The bird has 2 horses I've seen plenty of occasions where the horses has needed to be whipped for it's own safety.

 

But what about professional horse handlers in places like Australia or Argentina where they have to handle horse in among herds of wild animals?

 

I stand by my original statement.

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But what about professional horse handlers in places like Australia or Argentina where they have to handle horse in among herds of wild animals?

 

I stand by my original statement.

 

I'll give you an example I've seen with my own eye's.

 

An 'established' horse, ex thoroughbread, freaks on a motorway bridge thanks to some twat bin man driver and tries to jump off.

 

Horse and rider is brown bread without a whip.

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But what about professional horse handlers in places like Australia or Argentina where they have to handle horse in among herds of wild animals?

 

I stand by my original statement.

 

Sorry mate I probably missed the emphasis of this point in my previous post.

 

An easy argument would be, look at the number of ex jokeys in wheelchairs.

 

I've already said I'm a hypocrite and would probably prefer an outright ban, but over simplyfinging the debate doesn't help.

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Whip is needed to steer some horses, some will veer all over the shop and a dwarf on top wont stop them especially when you consider how short they ride. The problem is overuse by some jockeys.

 

Personally never liked national hunt and only ever bet on the flat.

 

Wouldn't blinkers achieve the same aim?

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I dont make that argument as I do think the horse feels something although the modern race whips are much less likely to cause an animal pain that the ones in use by novices at every stables up and down the land on a Saturday morning. If you are really concerned about horses being whipped then it cant stop at the racecourse.

 

Jockeys really do need the whip for safety and that should be a separate issue from encouraging the horse to run faster.

 

I'm not bothered whether they use the whip or not but the argument from the pro racing lobby has to be consistent with previous arguments and at the moment it's not.

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Dreadful idea to have a complete ban, racing would be a much more dangerous sport without the whip.

I'm very much in favour of restricting the use of the whip to encourage a horse to go faster, but if you want to control the horse in a tight bunch field and it is not paying attention to the hands and heels commands then a whip is a quick reminder to the horse that it needs respond to the jockeys bidding. If the whip was removed then jockeys would struggle to stop horses drifting and when you've got 2 tonnes of horseflesh belting along at 30mph you really dont want it running into another horse.

 

This seems like a well thought out post. I'd go along with this sort of reasoning.

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Wouldn't blinkers achieve the same aim?

 

No, they stop horses that get distracted by the crowd. Even 'the flat' isn't flat and horses will veer off with natural undulations. It's fine if you're on the rails but a 16 horse 6 furlong sprint might be dangerous. I'm not sure what a ridden-out no-whip race would be like. Certainly some difficult horses would never get to race.

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No, they stop horses that get distracted by the crowd. Even 'the flat' isn't flat and horses will veer off with natural undulations. It's fine if you're on the rails but a 16 horse 6 furlong sprint might be dangerous. I'm not sure what a ridden-out no-whip race would be like. Certainly some difficult horses would never get to race.

 

It would be interesting to see a race or two under those conditions before developing a definitive opinion.

I'd like to see it and wouldn't be averse to changing my opinion if it was more dangerous.

 

I suspect another reason is that the fix might become a lot more difficult.

I do believe its a crooked sport as well but thats for another debate.

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Using a whip on a sentient creature that can feel pain? Would you run down the side of the running track at the school sports day, whipping your kid repeatedly to make him/her run faster?*

 

Small men raging against their lack of height.

 

*Melons and SKI are not allowed to answer that question.

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