A truly unbelievable video clip has emerged from Australia, of a jockey punching his horse before the beginning of a race.The jockey in question is Dylan Caboche, who has ridden 40 winners in the last year and was involved in an incident with his horse She's Reneldasgirl.As you can see by scrolling down to watch the video below, when approaching the gates for the start of the race at Port Lincoln race course, She's Reneldasgirl suddenly rears and nearly causes Caboche to fall.The jockey then dismounts and amazingly decides to violently punch the horse. The force was such that the horse jolted sideways upon impact. Despite this altercation the horse still competed in the race and ended up finishing 8th out of 10 finishers.Caboche was reprimanded by Thoroughbred Racing South Australia for the incident, who said: “TRSA does not condone and will not tolerate such behaviour and it is hoped this penalty - which will remain on the rider's record and will impact his earning ability - will send a strong signal to others.”Remarkably, Caboche has received just a two-week suspension for his actions.The 22-year-old jockey has been condemned by animal rights groups, with Elio Celetto of Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses saying: “It's absolutely disgusting how this young jockey treated this poor horse, unfortunately we see this kind of cruelty everyday when whips and spurs are used on racehorses.”

However Caboche isn't the only target for criticism for his behaviour, the TRSA themselves have come under fire for their action taken against the jockey. 

The video has continued to go viral on social media around the world with many people on Twitter outraged at the length of the ban. Here are the best tweets:

It's clear from the stir that the video is causing about Caboche's actions and the punishment taken in regards to protecting racehorses in general, that there is an appetite for a review on the length of bans given out to riders who physically harm the animals.

Previously we have seen bans handed out for excessive use of the whip, but the uniqueness and shocking nature of Dylan Caboche's actions may be the spark that triggers reforms.