Norway is hardly a relevant example. Are you at all familiar with riding TB horses in competition or even out hacking?
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Edit to put my original comment back because it had been replied to: Yes, I am. Touched a nerve, did I?
How is another place where TBās are encouraged to run as fast as possible in a group on a track not relevant?
I got my OTTB at 4 a couple months off the track, and brought him from there to regional championships at Training and First, and a day championship at Second with zero pro rides before having kids stopped me. That doesnāt make me a racing authority but it does answer your rather snide question.
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You are , what?
No, you didnāt ātouch a nerveā. I was just wondering if you have ever raced or even trained TB horses? (I have raised and trained them, not for racing though.)
The jockeys that do race horses do not think that riding under these rules is safe for them, and they arenāt a bunch of whiners.
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Nawā¦ you just come across like every other common place, peta loving extremist.
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Iām pretty sure PETA wants horse ownership in all forms banned completely. Thatās a long way from wanting whip use restricted to emergency use only.
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The problem is that observers cannot feel what the rider feels so cannot make the call on what is āemergency useā . As you know, if you ride, the correction often has to be made *before the horse * makes the error and that is very important when galloping at speed.
Jockeys are riding in a very dangerous sport. There are new whip rules that they agree with and to which they are willing to adapt. This rule is not one of them. It is taking away an aid that they need.
I understand why they are not willing to risk their lives further, in what is already a very dangerous sport.
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A more stringent version of this rule has been put in place in another jurisdiction, without an increase in accidents as far as I know.
A lot of people donāt like to change the way they do things. They will rationalize like crazy to justify that feeling.
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Thatās a very vague statement. What jurisdiction? No accidents āas far as you knowā?
Please be specific.
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Iām talking about Norway, as mentioned in the linked article. Why is it you feel it is irrelevant? The trainer quoted in the article has ridden there and in the States, seems well positioned to have an opinion on the issue.
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Sorry, I rethought my earlier post and edited while you were replying. You probably didnāt see the edit.
I donāt think you read the entire article.
My question was not āsnideā. Did you never use a stick as an aid in riding your āOTTBā? Well done then.
Donāt you understand that your experience does not make you competent to judge what jockeys need to race safely? I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Since neither of us have raced āshortā on a racetrack I tend to believe that the professionals who have done, and whose companions die and are paralyzed regularly, know whereof they speak.
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What do you feel I missed in the article?
Of course Iāve used a stick on my horse. What I havenāt done is overhand him repeatedly while heās going flat out already. That would get me thrown out of any showground, anywhere.
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In the article; ādespite his experience in Norway Schistl is not a fan of the New Jersey ruleā.
The issue is that someone could question your use of the stick for safety reasons.
The rule in New Jersey is not about the overhand use of the stick. It is the use of the stick at all.
Did you use spurs as well? Jockeys donāt have that option.
Canāt you see that the judgement of someone who is not on the horse is problematic when deciding that the use of the stick is for safety?
Jockeys can prevent a safety issue from happening by their judicious use of the stick before it happens and before a spectator, no matter how educated, can see it.
The rider can feel it.
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True, he did say heād rather see a 5-6 strike limit. He didnāt seem to think it was about safety, as he also said:
āThey are making too big a thing out of this,ā Schistl said of the Monmouth jockeys. āThey need to just deal with it.ā
He also said he had the same concerns as the NJ riders when he first started riding in Norway, and it ended up not being a problem.
I donāt consider it unsafe to ride without spurs, that really isnāt relevant. I mention overhand use of the whip because Iām betting it is the optics of whips flying in the stretch that the rule is meant to address. Since the sport is concerned about the way the betting and spectating public perceives it.
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The UK is therefore a reasonable comparison. There is constant pressure to ban whips and there is constant debate as to whether it is a good or bad thing. The 7 strike maximum in a flat race was a compromise between the extremes of āBan 'emā and āLeave us alone, we know what weāre doingā. Jockeys are professionals but racing is possibly the only pro sport where an ambulance follows along beside the participants (at least in UK and Ireland). Safety is a significant issue. The whip is carried as a safety device. When a jockey is in front of the Stewards for interferring with the run of another horse, evidence will include failing to swap the hand holding the whip to stop their mount drifting into the other. Different from the USA, all our racecources are each unique, running both left and right handed, with undulations which alter the balance of the horse, and mainly on turf where the ground conditions are variable, even over the length of the track. The races also differ in length, from short sprints to long staying races on the same card for the day, so race riding tends to be very tactical. āNot tryingā or āNot racing to winā is another offence and that can be very hard to explain or justify to Stewards during an enquiry. Being seen to use a whip (a strike can be a light tap) can support the jockey in their explanation of āItās a donkey, Sirā. Jockeys are allowed to fan the whip, which can still give the wrong impression to the TV public. Every race is filmed because they are broadcast to the off-course betting shops and jocks are therefore under close observation. I donāt know if US Stewards are horsemen or have ridden in raced themselves?
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I thought one of the more relevant statements from a jockey was needing one when you are down on the rail and the horse does not want to go up- in between horse (a hole) and if the hole closes you have a good chance of clipping heels, -sorta like being able to step on the gas to get out of trouble, But I do not know that Iāve seen a rider take one hand off the rein, un-cock the whip to hit a horse to get a horse up in a hole? So is the ban on uncocking the whip/flipping up the whip and hitting one handed or does it include even slapping them on the shoulder with an un-cocked whip? Is the waiving at the horse therefore banned because the whip is flipped up (and ready to use)?
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The NJ whip ban covers every kind of use. The only time it is permitted for a jockey to use his whip is after a dangerous situation has occurred. They cannot use it before something goes wrong because the stewards must be able to see and agree that the situation was dangerous. Thinking ahead and acting to prevent a problem is not allowed.
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I dont think a lot of riders understand the situation. Go out and tack up your horse and jack up your stirrups until the leathers are 6 inches long and get on and start riding. How much control do you have of your horse? You cant use any leg pressure because you are standing on your horse, literally. The only aid you have is your bridle and a stick. And now you dont have a stick. Horses will listen to a stick. If a horse is wanting to drift, or not go thru a hole, or try and make a gap, or any number of things horses will doā¦they will listen to a stick. One thing that really concerns me with this rule, is that jocks will start carrying electric devices again. They are impossible to detect. Once you take away the legal equipment, people will get creative. That concerns me.
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Andā¦I can tell you that if I sent my horses up there, they would think they were on vacation. They know to run from a stick, they know when its time to get down to business. A tap or two tells themā¦its game on. Im not sure how happy Id be with my horse back in mid pack just galloping along.
