In this issue - July 2014 Whip use in racing . Educational videos on livestock handling . Restraint and satellite tracking of cassowaries . Ultrasonographic biometry of the cat eye . Feline primary immune-mediated haematological disease . Screw-worm fly surveillance . Johne's disease vaccination . Detection of BVDV antibodies in milk

摘要

Photographs of finishes of Thoroughbred horse races in Melbourne and Sydney were examined to compare whip hand use by jockeys.[1] Right-handed whip use was identified in 74.4% and 70.7% of photographs of Melbourne and Sydney races, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two cities for right-handed whip use nor in the handedness of whip use by individual jockeys, in contrast with previous findings. Predominantly right-handed riders demonstrated significantly stronger dominance compared with left-hand dominant riders. In approximately 24% of cases in which jockeys were observed riding a horse more than once, the whip was used in different hands. The basis on which the choice of whip hand is made could not be determined, but the authors discuss that choice is not made solely according to the horse being ridden or the direction of racing. The authors conclude the usefulness of the whip in facilitating steering cannot be discounted.