My daughters are horsey. The crop is for encouraging the horse to move (faster), so its a whip. In the UK, jockeys are allowed 7 uses of the crop per horse race (8 in jumps races) or they may face disqualification or even suspension. I gather this is monitored very closely in the UK. Elsewhere (e.g. New Jersey), any use of the crop is banned apart from use for safety reasons (not sure what that means!).