Back in college, there was a guy at our local hockey games, that would yell, like a jackass, "Hey buddy....red ice is nice!" every five minutes. Apparently he liked to see the fights, to the exclusion of the game.
Hockey had an image problem with the fighting and banned it a few years ago. Do fights still happen? Yes. Is it as prevalent as it was? No.
Why? Because the league demonstrated that it wasn't kidding around when it came to enforcement and penalties/fines.
Racing cannot hope to engender the same adherence to its so called rules because it is dysfunctional and inconsistent in their enforcement.
There is genuine disgust at the use of the whip. Many people are turned off by this one act and will never give horse racing a chance. The outcry, on the international stage, is gaining ground...except of course, here at home.
I don't pretend to know the severity of the abuse or the effectiveness of the whip. I have received my share of belt spankings and I know that I did not enjoy them, so I would assume that the horse feels less than adoration for the tiny person wailing away at them.
I imagine that beating a horse 10+ times in the straight, in order to get it to run, is probably not the best image for the game. Does anyone think Shaq would improve his free throw percentage or Romo could win a game that matters if someone were pounding the shit out of them?
The racing overlords are not going to make any sweeping changes to the game. The system is broken.
Maybe they can wrap their atrophied, provincial minds around the smaller things. Limit the whip to five strikes (maybe that is still too much) in the straight, exceed that and suspend and fine the jockey a ridiculous amount.
This is a small thing that would go a long way. It's not like I'm asking them to eliminate the drugs and the cheating.
What would the jackasses come out and root for if they did that?
02 January 2009
I went to an animal abuse convention and a horse race broke out.
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The Bid
Greatest horse ever to look through a bridle
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Hey Winston, in case you don't catch it at Chalk Eating Weasel, be sure to let me know when you come to lovely S. Fla. As far as using the whip, I've never discussed this with a jockey, or a horse for that matter, but I don't think judicious use of the whip is truly abusing the horse. I think the main purpose of using the whip is simply to help the horse keep his mind on the business at hand. I'm no PETA member, but I do dislike it very much when I see a jockey pounding on a horse that has nothing left to give. That, indeed, is abuse.
Sometimes you'll see a horse that is fractious in the paddock and the groom will yank sharply on the lead as if this is going to calm the horse and intimidate him into behaving properly. Horses typically behave improperly because they are nervous or scared about being in a strange situation. If such is the case in the paddock, is that not the fault of the trainer for not properly schooling the horse?
This year I have witnessed a trainer actually raise his fist to a fractious horse. Fortunately for the trainer, he did not actually strike the animal or I would've felt compelled to do something about it.
Also this year, I have seen, for the first time although others may have seen this elsewhere, trainers bring their entries to the paddock in the company of a stable pony which seems to have a calming effect for the more high-strung horses. A far more creative solution than shanking or stiking the animal to be sure.
Again, let me know when you're in South Florida.
Jeff
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