Do you think that horse race jockey should be banned from using whips?

Question

and be made to rely on riding skill alone?

I don't know about you but I can't bear to watch the slaughter to the line

I'm amazed at the response from people who think I'm some sort of bleeding-heart whinger who needs to get a life...I've had horses for 20 years and I know how sensitive and stressed they are - I've also picked up the pieces of thoroughbred that are nervous wrecks by the age of four.
Yes the owners pay a lot for them, but that critter had better pay them back big time otherwise they have no interest... come on people lets get real about this

Given a lot of your answers I should have asked about banning racing altogether..

Going to the vote

Answer 1

I totally agree, it also seems cruel to me that Rodeos and chuckwagon races still exist in this day and age. Way to many poor animals get hurt or die!

Answer 2

Note to Cindy L - it is not cruel to ride Thoroughbreds at 2 years of age. They have been bred over the last 300 years to grow much faster than other breeds of horse. Have you ever stood a two year old Thoroughbred up against a 2 year old of another breed? You will notice a big difference in the maturity of their frame.

Also the horses are NOT pumped full of drugs - that happens to be illegal! There are strict drug testing rules in place, and I think you'll find that the USA is the only place that horses are allowed to run on drugs such as Lasix/Salix. Perhaps you should be bringing up this point with the US Jockey Club.

On the whip front, it is not cruel. Again there are strict rules in place about how many times a horse can be hit during a race and any jockey that is found to have left a mark on a horse is instantly banned. They are also forced to take remedial lessons at the British Racing School if they break the rules once too often.

A lot of the time the jockey is not actually hitting the horse, he is merely waving the whip within the horses sight line to encourage it to run faster.

Thoroughbreds are amongst the most pampered animals on this planet, trust me they have a very good, comfortable life.

Anyone that has ever ridden a horse knows that it is impossible to get a horse to do something that it doesn't want to. They do have a mind of their own you know!

Answer 3

No I do not believe the whip should be banned. In my opinion, a whip shows a horse guidance; the best jockeys don't need to rely soley on a whip for their horse to ride. However, there should be some stricter rules on how much a whip is used. My family (great grandfather, great aunt, grandparents, Mom and brother) have been training thoroughbred race horses for over 60 years throughout various tracks in the U.S. I've personally seen some ignorant, inexperienced jockeys beat the heck out of a horse without due reason. It is not fair to the horse. However as I mentioned, a good jockey will not use the whip in this way. Some horses need a kick start to get them focused, just the same as the use of blinkers. A slight tap will get them to perk up and hand riding the rest of the way will do the job.

Answer 4

I just wanted to say that the whip is an aid, no more. It helps to get the point across to the horse. As far as I know, Jockeys can get into serious trouble if they abuse the horse- a scared horse is not half as responsive as a confident one. What about dressage? They use whips and spurs- it's not the whip that is the problem, people just need to know how to introduce it to the horse so that it isn't afraid of the whip, but responds to it, and it's the same with spurs.

Trust me- the only way that a jockeys whip is going to hurt the horse is mentally, and any horse that is expected to perform in the racing industry needs to be trained well, and if it's trained well, it won't be afraid of the whip, but understand that it is an aid to tell it to pick up pace or move off the side that the whip is on.

Whipping a horse is not the greatest tragedy to horses, but ignorance and laziness, not having an owner that cares about what's best for it, not being supplied with the basic things in order to survive. Being beaten or starved by the people who are supposed to love and care for them, and most importantly - not being understood.

Answer 5

No. Most of it is to get the horse's attention. If the whip was seriously hurting the horse you'd see reports from the SPCA showing scars and blood. All the top jockeys do it - especially the greats like Russell Baze and others. By the way, someone here thinks horseracing is cruel to the horse. I have seen many a race where it is absolutely crystal clear the winning horse is enjoying him/herself very much in the victory. Just go online to The Daily Racing Form (www.drf.com) and input the name of a superior jockey and see their comments on the intelligence and rapport they have with certain horses. Yes, sometimes things like the Barbaro accident do happen - but how many of you have been injured driving in a car - so should they ban that too? Come on!

Answer 6

You people who think these horses are treated cruel know absolutely nothing about horse racing or how these horses are pampered throughout their lives.....even in retirement. Look at the money spent on Barbaro getting him better. The owners could have had him euthanized....after all, he'll never race again and may not even be able to go to stud, but they love this horse and would spend any amount of money to save him. The person who commented that horses are not fully developed until they are 4 years old is an IDIOT and is making this crap up. That is the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard. Go somewhere else and discuss something you know about because you know absolutely nothing about this subject!! Scobby d3 said it best of anyone. If these horses were being injured, the owners, trainers, racing associations would not allow the whips. I can't speak for how horses are treated at these little county fair tracks but when you look at the major tracks in the world such as Dubai (UAE), Ascot (UK) Saratoga, Santa Anita, Churchill Downs (USA), etc., there are rules that are enforced. Look at the jockey who head butted the horse. Stupid move on his part but the horse wasn't injured even remotely. He was still suspended for several days just for doing it. You people who know nothing about horse racing or how these horses are treated need to either shut up or do some research before coming on here and sounding like a bunch of idiots. I don't pretend to be an expert, but I have been around horses, owners, trainers, etc. for many years and I can tell you that most of these negative comments on this site are based on uninformed opinions....that is all!!!!

Answer 7

Sure, & while you're at it, why not bring cocaine back & let everyone have a free 4 all (horses included)! NO WAY. Without the whip, you'll be seeing a lot more DEAD & INJURED Jockeys & Horses. That whip wakes the horse up & allows the rider to manuever the animal into a life-saving position that can & does saves lives on the track. Sorry, but of all the things that should be banned, the stick ain't one of 'em!

Answer 8

If you ban the jockeys from carrying whips, the horses just take the piss and do what they like. I know this is true beacuse I am a jockey. If you look at racing whips you wil see they are very fat at the end and are covered with felt or soft leather. If you think this hurts a big horse you are mistaken.

Answer 9

Why don't you just ban horse racing altogether? The use of a crop (whip) is the least of abuse these horses go through. A horse isn't fully mature until it is 4. These TB's are ridden when they are 2. It's like making a 12 year old do an Iron Man triathalon.

And not to mention the drugs they pump these horses full of.

Besides, they really don't hit the horses as much as they SHOW the crop to the horses.

Racing is cruel.

Answer 10

To start with I worked as an exercise rider at the track and on a breeding training racing farm so I have been on the backside of the track many times and spent much time riding race horses.
I own one now he is retired but used to race. So I am familiar with the situations on racing.
Jockeys do not always hit the horse with the whip. Many times all you have to do is lay it on the horses shoulder or wave it by his shoulder in his line of sight and he will move faster.
It is used as encouragement to the horse not to punish him.
If he is not paying attention to the rider or getting crooked on the track they are used to re position the horse.
They are not whipped until they bleed and they do not break skin.
At least not that I have ever seen. They have a flat flap of leather on the end called a popper. When you smack it against something it makes a big noise.
When I am trail riding and my horse is not paying attention I will flip the reins ends on to his butt and give him a light swat to get his attention. He focuses back to me right now and does not object or get upset.
If you are worried about how abused horses are take a close look at rodeo. They ride with spurs. And they use them to hold on to bulls and broncs.
How about dressage have you ever seen how much the rider uses the spurs on the horse. It is made to look effortless but the riders feet are just moving all over the place and spuring like there is no tomorrow. Fox hunting they use a crop. Barrel racing they use a quirt same as a crop but it hangs on the saddle horn.
These horses are prized athletes and get great care most of the time there are a few loosers who take poor care of thier horses but all the ones you see on TV are big time high dollar horses and are getting the best of care.
If you do not like racing do not watch or support it.
Put your effort to work and try supporting the end of horse slaughter for food for Europe. In this country many horses are sent to slaughter and the meat is exported to Europe. Try supporting that. Or sotp the PMU market. Mares are kept pregnant all the time and their urine is collected and it is made inot Premarin a hormone suppliment for menopausal women. They make thousands of baby horses each year that are killed because no one wants them.

Answer 11

As long as it doesn't hurt the horse. I don't think it really does, it just urges them on. You can see cases where horses don't like it when they swish their tails in response, or they shift out. In those cases, you shouldn't allow it, once they have shown an aversion for the whip. Also, you should not be allowed to use the whip more than a set number of times, for example, 5 times in the stretch at most. If a horse isn't good enough to win with 5 taps, then thats fair. I think in England they limit the number of taps a rider can use per race, I think we should adopt something similar.