 A
HIDING TO NOTHING
Major report shows that whipping horses reduces their chances of winning
The more horses are whipped during a race the less chance
they stand of winning. This is the startling finding of what is probably the
most comprehensive-ever investigation of whip use in British racing.
Published this week by Animal Aid to mark the national campaign group's Horse
Racing Awareness Week, A Hiding To Nothing
is based on a meticulous analysis of 161 races that were run between October
and November 2003. They involved 1500 horses and 285 jockeys. Nearly 200
tables describe how often and when in a race a whip was used. The whip rate
of individual jockeys is tabulated and the report shows which branch of racing
(All Weather, the Flat, National Hunt) resorts most often to the whip.
Whip advocates argue that it assists horses to perform better and run more
safely. It is also said to provide helpful chastisement for when they behave
'badly'. However, the Animal Aid report shows that whipping is more likely to
drive horses off a true line and place them and other horses in danger. The
same evidence shows that whipping is less likely to produce an 'improvement'
in behaviour. Rather, horses become fearful, hesitant and less likely to perform
to their potential.
More devastating for the industry itself is the finding that, the more often
horses are whipped the less chance they stand of winning. Horses whipped at
the start of a race almost never win, and that pattern holds until the finish
line. In the final part of a race - where the whip is most often used - jockeys
who use it least win more frequently.
Forty of the 161 races featured in the survey (around 25%) were won by horses
who were not subjected to any whipping. And more than 70% of winning horses
would still have won had the whip been entirely absent. Many of the remaining
winners may also have triumphed had they been spared the whip.
A Hiding To Nothing details the whip being used on young horses during
their first ever race. Horses in a state of total exhaustion and out of contention
were also beaten. The whip was used on the neck and shoulders, as well as the
hind quarters. Horses being whipped 20, even 30 times during a race was observed.
The survey also found that the current race-fix panic has led to jockeys
who refrain from excessive whip use coming under suspicion of throwing races.
Said Animal Aid Director, Andrew Tyler:
"Animal Aid embarked upon this survey assuming we would find evidence
that the welfare of horses was being compromised. The welfare problems turned
out to be worse than we feared. What we did not anticipate was that our analysis
would produce such clear, statistically-rooted evidence that use of the whip
is counter-productive in terms of producing winners. We have demonstrated
that whipping race horses is pointless, as well as cruel. We have written
to the Jockey Club, which is responsible for regulating and enforcing the
Rules of Racing, calling for it to implement a total and permanent ban on
the use of the whip."
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Background
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March 27 to April 3 is Animal Aid's Horse
Racing Awareness Week. It is timed to coincide with the running
of the Grand National - a deliberately punishing and hazardous race.
The aim is to alert the public to this hidden suffering and dispel the myth
of a 'harmless flutter'. People are asked to boycott the Grand National.
Free horse racing information packs are available by calling 01732 354032.
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Every year, around 300 horses are raced to death around the country,
having suffered broken legs, necks, backs and other serious injuries. They
die on the courses themselves or during training. A much larger number of
animals are disposed of at the end of their careers, or because they fail
to make the grade. Some end up as pet food, are fed to hunting hounds, or
sold from owner to owner in a downward spiral of neglect. Of equal concern
are the endemic levels of stress-related illness, such as bleeding lungs
and gastric ulcers.
Notes to Editors
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A video compilation of whipping and its consequences can
be ordered from our office.
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Full background on the racing industry can be seen at
www.animalaid.org.uk/racing.
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For more information contact Andrew Tyler on 01732 364546
ext 25.
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We have an ISDN line for broadcast-quality interviews.
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