I know horses, and agree that the twirling of reins was misinterpreted. If someone said they were whips, that would be a lie, yes. But I am not clear on if the horses were used to rush migrants, which would be quite dangerous and call for attitude adjustment among mounted BP officers.
If I had to choose between being teargassed and stampeded by a horse, I'd take the gas every time.
I want to wait and see what investigation shows.