PAC Meeting:
Agenda Item:
Policy
Excessive or incorrect use of a whip on any horse is not acceptable.
Background
The whip is used as a training aid by means of negative reinforcement. By applying an aversive stimulus to a horse, the horse is expected to respond and when the response is observed, the stimulus should cease.
The whip in thoroughbred racing must be padded and designed to be energy absorbing. It should only be used when the horse is able to respond and the horse should be given time to respond. The whip must not strike the head of the horse (ARB 137a and BHRA review).
The whip is said to be of use as a steering device in Thoroughbred racing to invoke a rapid direction change in cases where collision or danger to the horse or rider is to be avoided. This use is acceptable for the safety of horse and rider. There have been two conflicting published papers using observational data to link jockeys whip handedness to prove or disprove that the whip is used as a steering device.( McGreevy PD, Oddie C (2011) 4 , Knight, PK & Hamilton
NA (2014) 6 ) . Jockeys unequivocally state that the whip is used as a steering device in thoroughbred racing.
Australian Racing Board rule 137a clearly defines the whip use in racing and what constitutes illegality. In harness racing the whip is controlled under rule 156. Dressage Australia refers to whip use in rules 1.2 2f, 1.3, 2.6, 5 and 12.
McGreevy et al (2012) states that some whip rule breaches in Thoroughbred racing are not being detected 2 and another that states the backhand whip grip may generate more force than the forehand grip 3 . The aspect of the rules covering backhand use should be reviewed. All equestrian authorities are encouraged to clearly define acceptable whip use and any misuse, according to these rules, must be vigorously policed with severe penalties.
Appropriate use of whips in training as negative reinforcement is practiced when used subtly and appropriately. A more detailed discussion is presented in The International Society for
Equitation Science (ISES) position statement 5 . Whip use should not replace adequate training and the policy makes it clear that the excessive whipping of horses is not acceptable.
Further research

The use of whips to encourage greater speed is possibly ineffective and so their use for this purpose should be further investigated.

Pain perception in horses is poorly understood and there should be ongoing research into whether the padded whip causes pain to the horse in race conditions.

Backhand whip usage.
Definitions
The table below illustrates the adding and subtracting of stimuli (pleasant or aversive) in relation to reinforcement vs. punishment.
Proposed by:
SIG: EVA
Date Draft 1:
Amended by:
Date Amended:
Page 1

PAC Meeting:
Agenda Item:
Adding/Presenting
Pleasant Stimulus Aversive (unpleasant) Stimulus
Positive Reinforcement Positive Punishment
Removing/Taking Away Negative Punishment Negative Reinforcement
Information Papers
ARB rules of racing http://www.australianracingboard.com.au/racing_rules.aspx
Australian Harness Racing Rules http://www.harness.org.au/rules/DRIVERS.HTM#whips EA,
British racing Authority: A Review of the use of the whip in Horseracing, September 2011 www.
britishhorseracing .com/ whip review / WhipReview .pdf
Dressage Australia National Dressage Rules http://www.equestrian.org.au/site/equestrian/national/downloads/2005/dressage/rules_tests/20
12%20Rules%20and%20tests/2012%20Dressage%20Rules.pdf
References
1. Jones, B., McGreevy, P.D., 2010. Ethical equitation: applying a cost-benefit approach.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. 5, 196-202.
2. McGreevy, P.D., Corken, R.A., Salvin, H., Black, C. 2012. Whip use by jockeys in a sample of Australian Thoroughbred races
– an observational study. PLoS. 7 (3) e33398.
3. McGreevy, P., Hawson, L.A., Slavin, H. & McLean, A.N., 2013. A note on the force of whip impacts delivered by jockeys using forehand and backhand strikes. Journal of veterinary
Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. Vol. 8, Issues 5., p.p 395-399.
4. McGreevy PD, Oddie C (2011) Holding the whip hand
—a note on the distribution of jockeys’ whip hand preferences in Australian Thoroughbred racing.
Journal of Veterinary
Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Volume 6, Issue 5 , September –October 2011,
Pages 287 –289.
5. International Society for Equitation Science. Position statement on aversive stimuli in horse training. http://www.equitationscience.com/aversive-stimuli (accessed 21st Oct 2013)
6. Knight PK, Hamilton NA (2014) Handedness of whip use by Australian Jockeys.
•
Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 92, No 7, July 2014, Pages 231-234.
Other relevant policies and position statements
• 7.6 Equine competitive events
17.8 The provision of optimum veterinary services to the horse racing industry
Proposed by:
SIG: EVA
Date Draft 1:
Amended by:
Date Amended:
Page 2