USE of “the whip” in horse racing and other equine sports is a contentious issue.
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Does it hurt? Is it cruel? Should it be banned?
These are just some of the questions the industry faces.
However, new groundbreaking research undertaken in Wagga has found the padded whips adopted by the racing industry in 2009 have an almost negligible impact in terms of pain.
Charles Sturt University senior lecturer in equine science in the school of animal and veterinary sciences, Dr Glenys Noble said the study found that use of the padded whip with a forehand technique results in greater force than the backhand method.
The study also found forces generated by the padded whip were, on average, no greater than vigorous patting, brushing and girthing up.
A lot of the work was carried out in a laboratory setting using ballistic gel as a substitute for horse muscle.
The whips were fitted with a accelerometers to measure speed and force.
The study also involved jockeys at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse riding a moving mechanical racehorse simulator set at a gallop, again striking the ballistics gel to ensure realistic dissipation of energy from the striking whip with the accelerometer fitted.
Dr Noble said how the study results, collected over 12 months, translate to discomfort or pain for horses remains unknown.
"Does it hurt them? I can't tell you. No one can tell you, as pain is a perception which is unique to each individual," she said.
What the research did find was that the force generated by the jockeys and the padded whips was 20 to 26 newtons. Dr Noble said 46 newtons was considered “toxic” to the horse.
Wagga racehorse trainer, Trevor Sutherland said the findings confirmed what he already suspected.
“You can hit yourself on the leg with one of these (padded) whips and it doesn’t hurt,” he said.
“We are all taking steps to improve animal welfare and this study shows we are on the right track,” he said.