©spillwayextrazeropracing/Racing Victoria

Today the Herald Sun has reported on a new study by forensic veterinary pathologist Dr Lydia Tong that reveals misconceptions over the thickness of horses’ skin and their sensitivity to pain.

These new studies will likely put further pressure on the Australian racing community to ban the use of the whip; a device that many jockeys and trainers have previously argued was not a tool of pain but encouragement.

Dr Tong has reported that in her initial studies, when comparing human and horse skin and the sensitivity of a horse’s nerves, that the use of the whip is “likely to be painful”, with a horse’s skin being less that a millimetre thicker than our own. The study has revealed that not only is the difference in thickness minimal, but the upper layer of the skin that contains nerve sensors is actually thinner in horses than in humans.

The study could “therefore argue when it comes to pain the horse’s skin is thinner” says Dr Tong.

Whip use has been restricted in recent times in the racing industry as it has come under much criticism and is likely to be restricted further, with Peter McGauran - Australian Racing Board chief - reporting that it is likely the ARB will “further restrict or abolish” whip use in racing if further studies prove that the whip causes pain to the horse.

Whipping of the forehand is restricted in Australian racing but the whipping of the backhand with padded whips, which some jockeys see as a much needed tool of encouragement, has no restriction. Sydney University’s Professor Paul McGreevy, an animal behaviour and welfare scientist, has described whipping as “arguably the most visible form of violence against animals”.

This article first appeared in the Herald Sun and is reprinted here with their kind permission. For further articles go to http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport