Jockey's actions condemned as 'absolutely disgusting' after punching horse in stomach prior to race

The 22-year-old has been banned for two weeks

Shocking scenes at Port Lincoln in Australia race course have shown the moment a jockey aggressively punched his horse in the stomach moments after dismounting it.

Jockey Dylan Caboche, who has ridden 40 winners in the last year, was slowly riding She’s Reneldasgirl into the starting gates when she reared and nearly caused him to fall off his mount.

That caused the 22-year-old to dismount the horse before violently punching her in to the stomach, causing her to jolt to one side.

The horse still entered the race in South Australia and finished eighth out of the 10 who rode.

Caboche has received a two-week suspension from Thoroughbred Racing South Australia (TRSA) for his actions.

Caboche was caught on camera punching the horse in the stomach (Channel 9) (Getty)

“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,” TRSA said in a statement.

Caboche has also been condemned by a number of animal rights protection group, with one calling it “absolutely disgusting”.

“It's absolutely disgusting how this young jockey treated this poor horse,” Elio Celotto from Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses said.

“Unfortunately we see this kind of cruelty everyday when whips and spurs are used on racehorses.”