The Emporors new clothes

fr wishy washy

Lads,don't know whether I'm imagining or not but since the advent of showing of head-on shots in close ups etc but it appears that some Jockeys don't actuallly hit their Horses every time they swing their whips at the business end of races,anybody else ever think they thought similar?.

Hobart

It's quite common actually. Normally the whoosh past the ear and the sight of it in the corner of the horse's eye is good enough for most. Some do still require a *tap*.

fr wishy washy

I didn't mean when they swing it (whip) by the horses head, what I meant was going through the motions of giving the horse one behind the saddle but not actually hitting the horse.

Morgans

I think a lot of it is to keep in the rhythm of riding the finish. Many trainers wont want their 2yos being hit for example, but it is teaching the 2yo what is expected in the end of a race. Of course, airshots was one of the elements that got Jamie Moore/Martin Pipe/and Celtic Son got banned for 40 days the year before last and that can be one element in cheating the punter. I tend to believe that the effect of a whip is overrated and proper jockeys/riders only use it on stubborn horses, not on horses tired in a finish.

fade2black

I've always believed that the whip was only necessary for certain horses, i.e. horses like Misternando who would be virtually off the bridle in the paddock and half asleep moving around the track. Some jockeys definitely use it more than others though.