I suppose this will happen if/when you insist that the whip is necessary only for safety reasons.
I like the new whip rules some other jurisdictions have enacted. It will be interesting to see how this one works out.
I definitely think there is a need for some whip restrictions.
That being said, I absolutely know how my non-racehorse would react to this. Not that I beat him, but very occasionally he needs one sharp reminder. I know someone whose dressage horse knew he did not need to perform in the ring when she could not carry a whip. I wonder how soon it will take some racehorses to figure it out?
Yeeeears ago when I was just first getting back in the saddle as a re-rider, one of the lesson horses was a flashy QH named Peaches. Peaches would like to be lazy at all costs, so you had to carry a crop–BUT you had to follow her rules with it. You had to kick/squeeze her first, and if (when) she didn’t comply, you had to tap her outside shoulder with a crop while squeezing/kicking again. Once or twice, I forgot her rules and I tapped her during my first squeeze-and-ask. She’d pin her ears, drop her head, and angrily swish her tail–my instructor explained I hadn’t followed Peaches’ rules, and she was voicing her offense. She was definitely an early lesson for me about horses savvy to crops, even if not used, and even if not used harshly when used. (Ditto the paint mare we had who needed a stud chain on her halter–she had done a lot of halter/showmanship classes in her younger days, where a chain was required in the showring. She needed one for the rest of her life as she wouldn’t take you seriously in a plain halter–yet she never misbehaved when the chain was over her nose.)
The whip is completely banned in Norway and when horses go to race in Sweden or Denmark some trainers mention that the whip might make a horse a bit sharper. Jockeys in Norway are only allowed to carry a whip in 2yo and hurdle races. Whip rules are strict in Sweden and Denmark too, only 3 times and only alllowed to correct the horse in 2yos and jumps races. They used to be DQd before but now the jockey is fined and banned for a few days.
I think whipping should be restricted but they need to carry a whip at least. There have been some incidents where horses don’t run straight in Norway and the jockeys struggle to control them.
