A “happy medium” is what jockeys and the Australian Racing Board should aim for when it comes to using whips, according to UQ veterinary academic Associate Professor Paul Mills.
Dr Mills, who is the only person in the world to have researched the potential of whips to injure horses, said a number of factors determined whether striking would damage the animal.
“The size of jockeys in different forms of competition can vary and that can influence the impact,” Dr Mills said.
“Some whips have greater potential than others to cause damage. Anything that has ‘additions’ – such as feathers or sharp edges – or is asymmetrical can cause injury.”
The Australian Jockeys’ Association and the Australian Racing Board recently agreed that jockeys be allowed to use the whip seven times consecutively in the last 100 metres of a race.
Dr Mills said while he was in favour of any move to improve animal welfare, it was a subjective topic.
“The research shows that some whips do have quite a potential to injure horses, depending on how they are used,” he said.
“On the other hand, if jockeys didn’t carry a whip some horses may be difficult to control or maintain in a straight line.
“If the threat of the whip was absent, it might make it difficult for a jockey to control the horse.”
In 2002, Dr Mills was invited by India’s then Welfare Minister Mrs Maneka Gandhi to give expert witness in India’s supreme court.
Partly as a result of his testimony, the use of cushioned whips was made mandatory in India.
He also provided information on the potential of various whips to injure horses to the Victoria Racing Club in the lead-up to the recent Australian decision.
This study was commissioned by the Jockey Club in the UK and was presented at the International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians conference in Brisbane in 1996.
Media: Dr Mills (07 3365 2964, p.mills@uq.edu.au) or Penny Robinson at UQ Communications (07 3365 9723, penny.robinson@uq.edu.au)
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