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Last week, the peak body for equestrian sport in Australia after footage allegedly depicted Australian Olympic dressage rider Heath Ryan whipping a horse .

Ryan in the footage, which was reportedly taken about two years ago.

He explained the horse, Nico, had belonged to a friend who had been hospitalized for serious injuries inflicted by the animal.

Ryan wrote Nico had "always been a problem child" and was about to be sent to slaughter.

However, Ryan, an experienced trainer and instructor, intervened to "salvage" the horse.

But horses, just like humans, feel pain, which is why more needs to be done to minimize the use of whips on horses.

What happened next?

depicts Ryan mounted on Nico, forcefully whipping him.

Both the whoosh of the whip traveling at speed and the sound of it contacting Nico's flesh are audible.

Nico kicks out several times in response, yet the whipping continues.

Nico seems to ""—a term used to describe a horse when they appear to have no understanding of what they need to do to make an adverse experience stop.

Whipping causes horses pain. The skin in the gluteal area of the horse, which Ryan repeatedly struck with the whip, is sensitive to pain just .

This is not the first time whipping has been in the spotlight. In July 2024, footage emerged of three-time Olympic dressage gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin repeatedly whipping a horse on the hind legs.

This led to the International Equestrian Federation fining her CHF 10,000 (A$18,867) and .

More recently in Australia, in May 2025, the RSPCA prosecuted a case against trainer Liandra Gray, who was recorded striking a horse with a padded racing whip more than 40 times. Gray had caused unreasonable and unjustifiable pain and the whip use constituted cruelty.

Equestrian Australia's forbid excessive use of whips.

Despite stating he "hated" whipping Nico, Ryan argued he was acting in the horse's interests.

After an undisclosed period, Nico was re-homed, and according to Ryan "is now thriving in a loving and competitive home with an exciting future."

Does the end justify the means?

Ryan's justification of his treatment of Nico is based on the positive consequences for the horse (avoiding slaughter) and the current owners (Nico can continue to be ridden).

This justification is a type of , where an outcome is judged to be good or not based on the consequences it brings about. This raises an important question: what counts as a "good" outcome and by whose standard are we judging?

Ryan's justification points to a culture where horses' needs and interests are not respected and where they are valued solely for their utility to humans.

But we know horses are sensitive, , capable of suffering.

The relationship between a rider and horse is often described as a partnership. In reality, horses have little choice.

The equipment and cues riders rely on to control horses work because they are . Because horses are motivated to escape from painful stimuli, they to perform in the desired way.

Because of this reliance on aversive stimuli to control horses, it is as soon as the horse performs the desired behavior (for example, releasing tension on the reins).

Why was Nico a 'problem child' in the first place?

During riding, a horse knows it has responded correctly if the rider removes the aversive stimulus that was used to cue the horse.

If the rider removes the stimulus at the wrong time or not at all, the horse may become confused, stressed and express unwanted behaviors.

If this is repeated, the unwanted responses and the horse may be labeled a problem.

Based on the footage, it seems that instead of learning to move forward to escape pressure from the rider's heels or whip, Nico appears to have developed a habit of stalling (slowing or coming to a stop instead of moving forward).

Stress and fear to learn and problem solve and horses vary considerably in their personalities and ability to learn .

The combination of personality, stress, fear and can quickly lead to the development of unwanted behaviors.

It is likely Nico's behavior reflects these factors.

It's time for a change

This incident likely taught Nico to fear humans and to expect that being ridden will involve inescapable pain unless he does exactly what his rider wants.

Training methods like this are .

This is because there is showing the modification of unwanted behavior in ridden horses can be achieved without resorting to violence to force them into submission.

International groups such as the and the have highlighted the risks of misusing aversive training stimuli.

They argue training methods that lead to fear and stress are inefficient and pose unacceptable welfare risks.

ISES has even developed a set of .

While Ryan has justified his intervention as the only possible solution to Nico's unwanted behavior, the scientific evidence shows it is neither necessary nor ethical to violently whip a horse to teach it a lesson.

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