Letters to the Editor
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the whip as a tool
"They WANT to run, and in a race, they will run. The jockey uses his whip more for encouragement and communication with the animal than to punish it. The whip is a tool, not a weapon."
Rubbish. I adopted 7 OTT (Off the Track) Thoroughbreds, and if I show them this "tool,", they go ballistic. They are SCARED of it, because it caused them pain. Just think, Eight Belles last "gift" from her rider was the fact that she was beaten as she headed down the home stretch, her lungs on fire from the effort, her bones failing her.
But wait, the stories tell you, the jockey used this "tool" to keep her off the rail. This is a piece of crap excuse for trying to wring the last remaining speed out of her. Why didn't he beat her during the earlier part of the race to keep her off the rail if she didn't know how to stay off it?
I'd outlaw the whip immediately if I had any control over things. Hey, somebody would get around the track first-- there would always be a winner. That would change the sport, wouldn't it? Lets see the horses run without the incentive of pain from the whip as they head for the finish line.(Boy, I can hear the jockeys whining already.)
But ultimately, it will be the public who decides whether anything will change. Regardless of what anybody tells you, it's ultimately about the money. And, regardless of what you think of PETA, for them, it's about the welfare of the animal.
As a final note, my four guys and three gals who are now retired have a home for life. They are now well adjusted, and as healthy as they possibly can be after the tough early years. They all have some degree of arthritis, but the fractured knees and bowed tendons have healed. But most of all, when they run, it is on their own terms. Do they love running? Unquestionably. But this time, they are happy, their tails are flagging, and their ulcers have finally healed.