We should hear something shortly

Whip rules in NZ are pretty lenient compared to some other countries but stewards are still being pretty proactive in their monitoring
Only a few weeks back,,five riders faced the wrath of stewards for excessive use of the whip
All at the one meeting!

Similar in France,,where a jockey is not allowed to use the whip more than 8 times during a race
And they have an interesting addendum ?
Nor can they take a whip off a fellow jockey during a race!

They wouldn't, would they lol

In Germany the use of the whip is limited to a maximum of 5 hits which a rider may give to a horse during the whole race,,only for the purpose of encouragement

Even this number of hits could be deemed too much if the horse is well beaten or easily winning or being clear for its placing

Whip rules in Oz changed for jumps racing a few months back
Jockeys are now allowed to use the whip up to 10 times before the 100m but not in consecutive strides
Jockeys will not be allowed to use the whip in consecutive strides during the final 100m of an event

Has happened, but not that often
I remember reading about at least three incidents where a jockey 'borrowed' a whip from a rival
Two in the UK & one here
Some years back Shane Scriven received a hefty ban for stealing an apprentice's whip during a race at Ipswich
Didn't help the first one (Davy Russell) in the UK, finished unplaced & copped a suspension
Then of course there was Lester Piggot, Piggott stated the other jockey didn't need it, Piggot's mount ran 2nd
Didn't wash with officials who relegated Piggott to third

And from memory, more recently, Josh Cartwright attempted to borrow another riders whip at a Canberra meeting
Stewards fined Cartwright & warned him the penalty would have been far greater had his attempted snatch-and-grab been successful

Lester Piggot makes for an interesting read,,a lot of ups & downs
As for whip "borrowing",,another example USA late last year
Angel Castillo copped a 20-day suspension & $1,500 fine for snatching a whip out of a rival rider’s hands & using it to propel his mount into second place

"Australian harness racing is banning the use of whips in training and racing from 1 September 2017 in a world-leading animal welfare initiative that improves the industry’s image and enhances its sustainability."
(http://www.harness.org.au/news-arti...m?news_id=31814)

If it's a successful move I imagine there would be pressure on thoroughbred racing to follow (presuming they don't take the initiative themselves).

No immediate plans for NZ harness to follow suit
NZ recently made changes to their whip policies pertaining to how often they can be used