The Science Is In: Whips Hurt Horses. | Animals Australia

Skip to content Skip to footer

• FAQs
• Contact us

• facebook
• instagram
• threads
• tiktok

MyAA account Return to the homepage Donate Search dialog visibility toggle. This will focus on the search field on click.

• Our work Ending cruelty
  • Live export
  • Farmed animals
  • Factory farming
  • Wildlife
  • Shooting and hunting
  • Horse racing
  • Greyhound racing
  • Marine animals
  • Rodeos
  • Companion animals
  • Animal testing
  • Zoos and aquariums
  • Animal circuses
  For a kinder world
  • Compassionate living
  • Protecting our planet
  • Inspiring stories
  Collaboration
  • Emergency grants program
  • Global work
  • Government and policy
  Factory farming Live export Shooting and hunting
• Take action Help create a kinder world
  • Donate now
  • Become a member
  • Support our campaigns and investigations
  • Petition, pledge and lobby
  • Explore plant-based living
  • Leave a gift in your Will
  Donate now Petition, pledge and lobby Explore plant based living Become a member Support our campaigns
• Latest news
• Our impact Recent highlights
  • Our Impact 2024/25
  Our history
  • Timeline of our historical impact
  Case studies
  • Ending Bali’s illegal dog meat trade
  Our impact timeline Case study: Bali Dog Meat
• About us Compassion in action
  • Our values
  • Our approach
  • Our people
  • Careers at Animals Australia
  • Our Annual Reports
  • Our supporter updates
  • Our collaborative network
  • Our business partners
  • Reconciliation
  Our approach Our values
• Shop
• Search dialog visibility toggle. This will focus on the search field on click. Search Animals Australia Search Search
• Donate

Search Animals Australia Search Search

• Our work + Toggle our work links Ending cruelty
  • Live export
  • Farmed animals
  • Factory farming
  • Wildlife
  • Shooting and hunting
  • Horse racing
  • Greyhound racing
  • Marine animals
  • Rodeos
  • Companion animals
  • Animal testing
  • Zoos and aquariums
  • Animal circuses
  For a kinder world
  • Compassionate living
  • Protecting our planet
  • Inspiring stories
  Collaboration
  • Emergency grants program
  • Global work
  • Government and policy
• Take action + Toggle take action links
  • Donate now
  • Become a member
  • Support our campaigns and investigations
  • Petition, pledge and lobby
  • Explore plant-based living
  • Leave a gift in your Will
• Latest news
• Our impact + Toggle our impact links Recent highlights
  • Our Impact 2024/25
  Our history
  • Timeline of our historical impact
  Case studies
  • Ending Bali’s illegal dog meat trade
• About us + Toggle about us links
  • Our values
  • Our approach
  • Our people
  • Careers at Animals Australia
  • Our Annual Reports
  • Our supporter updates
  • Our collaborative network
  • Our business partners
  • Reconciliation
• Shop

• FAQs
• Contact us

Donate MyAA account The science is in: whips hurt horses.

Yet the horse racing industry continues to defend the whipping of horses – while treating a dog, cat, or any other companion animal in such a way would be considered nothing but cruelty.

1. Home
2. Our Work
3. Previous page: Compassionate living
4. The science is in: whips hurt horses.

Animals Australia team

Last updated October 13, 2023

Share article

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Threads

Animals Australia team

Last updated October 13, 2023

Share article

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Threads

The use of whips in Australian horse racing has been proven by scientists to be not only ineffectual — but cruel.

For centuries, racehorses have been whipped by jockeys in the belief that horses need ‘encouragement’ to run faster, and ultimately to win races for their human owners. In more recent years, the outdated and cruel practice of beating exhausted horses across the finish line has angered many Australians.

After the cruelty of whips was exposed on ABC’s Catalyst, Racing Australia’s former chief executive, Peter McGauran, conceded that if there was evidence that horses were hurt by whips, then “of course, we would do away with the whip."

But when confronted with said evidence … he refused to ban the whip, claiming it would be “going too far" and wouldn’t be in the “interest of racing."

That’s right … not in the interest of racing.

Experts call into question the use of whips in horse racing on ABC's Catalyst.

Instead, Racing Australia updated its rules that limited the number of times a horse can be hit during a race from 10 to 5, but allowed horses to be flogged repeatedly in the last 100 metres of a race – when the horse is most tired – in a brutal effort to push the exhausted animal ‘over the line’.

Such a blatant disregard for suffering is not surprising from an industry that ignores the fact that at least one horse dies every 2.4 days on Australian racetracks – and one that continues ruthlessly breed thousands of horses each year, leading to thousands of discarded horses being killed in slaughterhouses.

The outcome of recent studies on whipping

Covered on ABC’s Catalyst, experts have called into question the use of whips in horse racing after studies have shown:

• Horses’ skin is not only thinner than that of a human, but may be more sensitive to pain
• Whipping horses is “likely to be painful"
• Despite the introduction of a modified padded whip in 2009, horses are still being struck in sensitive areas with the non-padded knot of the whip
• Even when the padded whip is being used according to new guidelines, it is still likely to cause the horse pain.

This image contains content which some may find confronting

Show image

University of Sydney veterinary pathologist and forensics researcher Dr Lydia Tong revealed that a horse’s flank skin is not only thinner, but potentially more sensitive to pain than a human’s.

Tragically, she also pointed out that, as prey animals, horses have evolved to hide their pain rather than react to it. So even if horses do not react, baulk, or ‘shift course’ when they are hit with a whip, this does not indicate that they are not in pain as horse racing participants often claim, but may rather indicate that they simply learned to tolerate it.

And after a life of being tested to push their bodies to the limits, many thousands of horses in the racing industry face an even more tragic death, sent to Australian knackeries at just a fraction of their natural lifespan.

Help shape a kinder world for horses

If you think it’s time that decisions were made that were in the interests of horses – not the ruthless gambling industry – help stop these sensitive animals from suffering by pledging never to bet on horse racing cruelty.

TAKE THE PLEDGE keep reading

Education ends cruelty.

• Compassionate living

  Orphaned baby bats find motherly love

  When these babies lost their mums, they nearly lost their lives. But thanks to wildlife carers, the 'mother's love' they so desperately needed wasn't far away...

  29 April 2015 | Article

• Compassionate living

  Everyone should see this side to cows

  Some call them 'cattle' -- we call them incredible individuals.

  14 May 2015 | Article

• Compassionate living

  These 12 children’s books are the perfect gift for compassionate kids

  Our top picks aren't just engaging – they're books that will also nurture kindness and inspire the leaders of tomorrow!

  1 June 2015 | Article

Hear from us when it matters.

Get the latest in news, issues, and things you can do to support a kinder world for all animals.

* Indicates required field. First name (Required) Last name (Required) Your email address (Required) I’ve read and accept the privacy policy Sign up

Processing...

Unsubscribe at any time. Your details are safe, refer to our privacy policy

Protected by Turnstile. Privacy - Terms

Thank you for supporting a kinder world , we'll be in touch soon!

Animals Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We support the pending Victorian Statewide Treaty to deliver better outcomes for First Peoples. View our Reconciliation Action Plan.

• facebook
• instagram
• threads
• tiktok

Freecall: 1800 888 584

• Our work Open Our work sub navigation
  • Live export
  • Farmed animals
  • Factory farming
  • Wildlife
  • Shooting and hunting
  • Greyhound racing
  • Horse racing
  • Marine animals
  • Rodeos
  • Animal circuses
  • Animal testing
  • Companion animals
  • Zoos and aquariums
  • Compassionate living
  • Inspiring stories
  • Protecting our planet
  • Emergency grants program
  • Global work
  • Government and policy
• Take action Open Take action sub navigation
  • Become a member
  • Support our campaigns and investigations
  • Petition, pledge and lobby
  • Explore plant-based living
  • Leave a gift in your Will
• About us Open About us sub navigation
  • Our values
  • Our approach
  • Our people
  • Careers
  • Our Annual Reports
  • Our supporter updates
  • Our business partners
  • Reconciliation
• Our impact Open Our impact sub navigation
  • Our impact timeline
  • Case studies
• Shop Open Shop sub navigation
  • Shipping and returns policy
• Latest news
• Contact us
• FAQs
• MyAA Account
• Donate

Animals Australia ACN 617 080 387 ABN 65 016 845 767

• Privacy policy
• Supported by August

Close banner

Help animals during the bushfire disaster

Donate to support our emergency fire response

GIVE NOW We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. To find out more, check out our privacy policy. Reject Accept I understand