Lee Freedman: why new whip rules are overkill
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Jockeys walked off the job yesterday in response to the Australian Racing Board’s controversial new whipping rules which restrict the number of times a jockey can whip a horse in the final leg of a race. Champion trainer Lee Freedman says the public needs a more informed understanding of what whipping involves and what opponents to these new rules are actually proposing.
Q: What do the new rules propose? A: The new rule that’s come in to replace the old involves changing the type of whip that’s used and restricting the amount of times that the new whip is used. Q: What’s the difference between the whips? A: We’ve gone from a conventional whip to a padded whip which, according to all their expert advice — the Australian Racing Board — doesn’t hurt the horse in any way. So, the question then was — if it didn’t hurt the horse, why then is there the need to restrict its use as well? It was a pretty legitimate question, I would’ve thought. Q: What do opponents to the whipping rule want? A: The majority of industry participants — most jockeys, trainers, owners — have all accepted that the rule has changed and what we’re actually only looking for is a minor adjustment to the rule concerning the last 100m of a race. This is when jockeys are now getting suspended and fined for not being able to count exactly how many times they can hit the horse. It’s hard enough at a finish for a jockey to concentrate on his balance and getting the horse home — now he has to be counting the number of times he hits the horse. Q: Do all horses need whipping at that stage of the race? A: Not at all. And in their discretion at times quite a lot of jockeys don’t touch the horse over the last hundred. I think the public perception is that the jockeys just flail away and belt the horse senseless at that point. Nothing could be further from the truth. That would be about a quarter of one percent of the jockey population and they’re pulled into line by the rules. Q: Do you train horses to respond to the whip or is it more of a natural instinct that they have? A: We hardly ever use the whip in training. Hardly ever. They carry it but just to tap the horse — literally just tap the horse — down the shoulder with a back-handed slap just to get it to pick a bit up and run to the line a bit stronger. I don’t think I’ve ever used the whip flat-out in training. Q: Would these new rules bring in new training techniques? A: Most trainers don’t use the whip in training. The riders would carry it as a steering mechanism — you know, if a horse bailed up and didn’t want to go you might give it a smack around the backside just to get it to go forward. But that’s the only reason riders carry it at training. Q: Are there other things a jockey can do to encourage the horse to go faster, apart from whipping it? A: Absolutely. And they do every day of the week in racing. Pushing it forward with their hands, kicking with their heels, urging, you know all those other sorts of things. It’s just that this law has absolutely nailed them down to where it’s almost unworkable. Q: Do these rules feature internationally or are they unique to Australia? A: These are a set of rules that have been modelled on some European rules where the whip use is restricted — that’s true. But, to my knowledge anyway, the padded whip isn’t compulsory over there, where it is here. So we’re using a far softer whip with these rigid rules than they do in Europe. I think the people who are having all their say from the RSPCA and from the Australian Racing Board are trying to make us all out like, “Look what we’ve done — we’ve stopped these animals from being beaten senseless.” That’s a load of rubbish. And the other thing is no one’s asking for the rules to be scrapped per se. They want a minor amendment to the rule to make it more workable. That’s all. |
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11 Comments
Devo “Whip It”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw
Soorrry, just had to post this, LOL.
Lee cares about nothing more than his own pockets in putting forward this argument.
The bottom line is that WHENEVER animals are being used to generate profit, they will suffer and be abused. The racing industry is inherently cruel - everyone focuses on the pampered Makybe Divas but the reality for most of the horses is far different. Kept penned in stables almost all the time, lung injuries from being run too hard, too young … and a trip to the knackers’ yard once they’ve outlived their usefulness or failed to show promise.
If anyone had any lingering doubt that the horseracing industry has any underlying interest in the welfare of the horses must have just had these doubts destroyed. (trampled into the ground?)
Just having this debate is bordering on incomprehensible.
This is worse than the debate that occurs about the amount of damage that a boxer can reasonably be expected to endure in the course of a bout. At least there can be an assumption that the boxer a) has a chance to fight back (not a great counter-argument I know) and b) is there by choice.
One question not asked of Lee. “Does any other country allow the kind of whipping you’re now advocating?” Answer - No.
Lee you’ve got a vested interest to end all vested interests. The only way this article could be balanced is if you run a rebuttal by Hugh Wirth who recently pointed out that if you went out on the street and whipped your horse like this you’d be prosecuted.
Focusing on whips as a welfare issue is missing the point.
Not all horses need the encouragement of the whip in a race. Some are naturally competitive, and will always put in their all. I owned a Standardbred (pacer) who would run the other horses into the fence if they looked like beating him in the paddock. But the fact is that some horses will not win without being encouraged, and if whip use is restricted, those horses are off to the knacker.
The real animal welfare issue is the number of racehorses that are destroyed each year because they were injured or unsuccessful and could not be rehomed. Too many racehorses are bred in Australia, very few of them are successful, and the sheer volume of horses means that only a small percentage are successfully retrained in another equestrian field. Racehorses are viewed as disposable; they are tried, broken and thrown away.
To complain about whips is a very shallow action for racehorse welfare. Whips neither hurt nor traumatize, they do not rate compared to the physical stress of racing at such a young age. A more effective measure would be to allow artificial insemination in the racing industry, reducing the number of studs and the number of horses produced and wasted.
What a bunch of clueless comments, but I suppose you have to justify your existence in this debate somehow.
I need to preface that by saying I actually appreciate the intentions of your arguments, just not the absence of substance.
Indeed, anyone who has ever owned a horse, racehorse or otherwise, know how protective the owners are of them. Most do not stand for any mistreatment of animals what so ever.
The whips that are used in races do not harm the horses in any way but do provide a great signal to the horse to speed up or move acrosss etc. Indeed, I have never seen a horse sore after a race from where the whip was used on it. There are no blemishes, no marks, and no tenderness. And trust me, a horse does not possess super healing powers.
Limiting the use of the whip is ridiculous and outlawing it is as well. The reason is: say the use of the whip is limited to 18 flays in the last 200 metres. The jockey on the favourite only has to strike 19 or 20 times to be disqualified, thereby providing the bookies with a windfall. Having no whips makes it harder to see who is trying to win and who is pretending to try.
This whole cruelty argument being promoted is absolute bull.
PEDRO: Only you could sail into this argument about the use of whips with so little knowledge. I wrote a considered opinion on the subject on Friday. One which Crikey seems to have edited out. Usually they print my comments on racing. So I don’t know what happened.
I think I fit your criteria sufficiently to comment. Being a rider, a breeder, a racehorse owner, and a member of the VRC I consider myself to be qualified on this point.
It’s not that I totally disagree with what you say. But as with your political comments, you shoot your mouth off and support the status quo without even beginning to perceive that all things aren’t always either black or white-without tones of grey.
So you “appreciate the intentions of your arguments” do you? How bloody patronizing of you”.
FACT: Most owners are protective of their horses. Yes! However, many owners aren’t always sure of what’s going on until they look at the replay. By then some iron fisted lout with his nuts caught in an iron jock-strap, will either have slaughtered your horse, or encouraged it to win. Then the patient trainer will explain to you how, where, and when things went wrong.
FACT: All jockeys should carry whips. I agree. However, you say “Having no whips makes it harder to see who is trying to win and who is pretending to try”.
THIS IS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF BULLSHIT I’ve ever heard. The real reason for carrying a whip is when something unexpected happens and the horse needs to avoid an impending accident.
FACT: I’ve seen more races lost by jockeys apparently flailing their horse into the ground, when in fact the whip has been nowhere close to the horse. that round body-line whipping not only makes the jockeys look like a miniature wind-mill, it unbalances the horse and is wide open to abuse of the public. Who will either think the horse has been slaughtered, or the horse has been encouraged.
FACT: I’m glad you’ve never seen marks on a horse brought on my the use of the whip. Stick around until the horse is hosed down, you’ll see the welts then.
FACT: I’m not saying horses are habitually mistreated, but when it does happen it is not a pretty sight.
FACT: If you are a keen racer-goer, which I doubt, because you seem to have noticed so little, you will notice how jumps horses are mistreated. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH: “Some horses love to jump” comes the chorus line from the bloody minded supporters of the jumps.
FACT: No horse loves to jump under pressure. Has your knowledge of horses ever impelled you to look at eventing? It should. Because this is what a keen jumper, totally in sync with his rider loves to do. Racing over jumps is like chariot racing in the Roman colosseum. It breaks legs, bones, lungs and all sorts of unpleasant things. A really spine-tingling love of a losing horse comes when the unfortunate animal is getting back into the float. Not the big trainers. But individual owner/trainers can be very callous.
FACT: In the olden days great jockeys such as England’s Lester Piggott and our own Harry White didn’t resort to the whip the way today’s cretinous jockeys do. But hey, didn’t they win some superb races. Roy Higgins was an okay hoop as well.
FACT: the whole essence of good horsemanship comes with horse and rider being balanced. HTF can a jockey be properly balanced by hanging onto the the horse’s head, preventing the creature from breathing properly, with one hand and doing a continuous windmill action with his other hand?
FACT: An unbalanced jockey equals an unbalanced horse. An unbalanced horse is an unhappy horse.
FACT: Great jockeys need the use of the whip 3-4 times only. 1) In case of an emergency. 2) One swift clout with the whip will re-concentrate an erring mount.
3) When a horse is drifting out and threatening to impede other horses. To use it continually in the straight is an offense to an animal whose instinct is to win.
FACT: where is the proof that two equal WFA horses, with the same amount of talent, proof that the flogged animal will win?
FACT: Hands and heels riding is far more productive than just flogging the poor bloody animal. But hey, that takes real skill to ride with very short stirrups and using hands and heels only. The average kid-runt of the litter- from Warracknabeal has all the sensitivity of an anvil and should never be let anywhere near a horse.
FACT: There’s such a thing as mental dialogue between the rider and the horse. But hey, that takes real skill to cultivate. Like being born, or growing up with horses, AND WANTING TO LISTEN TO HORSES.
FACT: There should be courses for jockeys. Yes they do exist but they aren’t good enough. They will never be good enough because all the unfeeling betting public cares about is how much money can be made on a bet.
FACT: I am not anti-betting. It’s just there are so many things which can go wrong in racing, that I get my kicks out of winning, not betting.
FACT: Your appalling attitude towards horses re-confirms my feeling that the average Ocker knows nothing and cares even less about horses.
FACT: I would love to see you copping 18 flays period. You would scream rape. But hey, it’s only a horse.
FACT: the life of a racehorse can be a dream run. Wonderful care and attention and devoted owners-usually. Trainers? Well I wouldn’t be too keen for some of them to look after my granny.
FACT: I wouldn’t let a horse of mine anywhere near a someone like you.
Oh Venise Alstergren, you are full of it. Did your mother not hug you enough??? Or are you feeling touch insignificant. Or is it that you are carrying residual anger from previous blogs lol.
Once again, you look for the personnel attack and…oooh, you got me, dam, I’ve learnt my lesson from the ultimate expert on everything.
Please do tell everyone who disagrees with you just how 100% wrong they are and how 100%right you are.
For someone who is a rider, a breeder, a racehorse owner, member of the VRC, and no doubt the saviour of the world mark two, you are a twit (I mean that in the nicest possible way)- but you are fun, so please, don’t stop interjecting with your new age (and most say short age) opinion.
And, for the sake of indulging your love of the dramatics, I will use your “fact” style of writing, which has now become the new moniker around the office, seriously, fact!
Fact: Your argument has no credibility: “The real reason for carrying a whip is when something unexpected happens and the horse needs to avoid an impending accident” - okay… of course a majority of jockeys disagree with you. It is used for that purpose but it is also used to spur the horse on. But what would jockeys know, they only ride the horse and have not yet attended your school of ‘Horse Excellence’.
Fact: “Great jockeys need the use of the whip 3-4 times only” - see above.
Fact: I wouldn’t ride your horses, because they certainly would not be winning many group 1’s
Fact: Your disrespect for the average punter and jockeys is astounding. Your winnings (no doubt minimal) come largely from punters willing to spend money on betting in the first place, and jockeys willing to risk their life on a large, fast animal. So suck it up and say thank you.
Fact: Generally (notice I said generally) what you listed as ‘Fact’ is mostly opinion with you trying to pass it off as fact - oooh, sneaky.
Fact: Horses can be mistreated whether they are racing or not
Fact: I think I heard of one or two other people who grew up in Australia around horses - yet they don’t share your opinion. In fact few of us share your opinion.
Fact: I am sure when you are shoving your opinion down peoples throat, people politely stand there and nod until you leave. But here’s a tip, there are more than likely whispering about you behind your back, in fact, I guarantee it - fact!
Believe me, your opinion is not the norm, not the common thought within the racing industry - so don’t pass it off as if it is.
Fact: While not a member of the VRC, I was a member of the QTC, big deal. Doesn’t mean my opinion is more or less valuable than anybody else’s.
Fact: Anyone involved in racing has a basic understand of pulling and rigging in races, dishonest jockeys and dodgy owners. It is around if there is a whip used or not.
Fact: If you don’t like racing, then why are you involved - it can’t be for the friendships.
Fact: I bet you’re not Bart Cummings, even though you have put yourself up as his equal lol
Thanks for the racing lessons and history, I am sure someone was not aware of it.
Before you nail yourself to the cross and demand everyone worship you as the next coming in racing circles, just consider the possibility that maybe you are not always right. We have.
Apologies to CRIKEY, I found my other comment under Sport: Leigh Josey.
PEDRO: Too long. I’m too busy. And I believe you to be all piss, wind and arrogance.
Goodbye.