The Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS) today called on the new Minister for Agriculture, Ms Coughlan, to launch an investigation into the sport horse industry, in particular the practice of "rapping."
Rapping, as it is known to virtually everyone in the equestrian business, is the practice of raising a stiff, sometimes metal bar just as a horse attempts clear a practice fence with the intention of painfully striking its shins.
The idea is that the horse will want to avoid the pain on subsequent jumps and leap higher.
However, in more gruesome instances, sensitising agents and devices are administered to maximise the pain.
"Examples given to achieve this include sticking needles in the legs, applying an irritant such as turpentine, putting ball bearings in bandages and wrapping them around the horses' legs," an ICABS spokesperson said.
"If these cruel and abusive practices are indeed being carried out by some people in the show jumping community, they would most certainly be in breach of the Protection of Animals Act, and thus liable to prosecution."
The Department of Agriculture is responsible for animal welfare legislation.
The ICABS called the revelations "very disturbing," adding: "We can only speculate on who in this industry knew of such awful abuse and could have cried 'stop' in the interests of compassion towards the animals. If it is the case that there were professionals, or people in authority, who knew of such abuses and could have blown the whistle before now, we say to such people - shame on you!"
The call for an investigation comes at a sensitive time for the sport horse industry in Ireland after doping allegations have tainted Ireland's first ever Olympic equestrian gold medal.
Olympic champion rider, Cian O'Connor, and his vet, Mr James Sheehan, had to field questions yesterday not only about the doping controversy but also on the topic of rapping.
Mr Sheehan protested that he did not know anything about the practice, and Mr O'Connor pointed out that there has never been a charge of rapping levelled against him. According to the International Equestrian Federation, there have been no rapping cases taken against any Irish rider and none are pending.