With massive drug use scandals rocking many professional sports, its time for the equine community to take a look at their practices when its comes to the use of drugs. The issue of drug use is in all levels of the sport from local hunter shows, with trainers using calming “supplements” or butte to help the new riders deal with a stressed horse to the Olympics in 2008 when several horses were disqualified from show jumping and dressage for testing positive for banned substances. This trend is not only doing a disservice to the reputation of the equestrian community, but also putting both riders and horses at risk of injury or death. The international equestrian governing body, the FEI, has an extensive list of banned substances and strict rules about following the spirit of these rules by not allowing and testing for substances with similar effects even if not specifically listed in the rules. Even with these rules, riders and trainers still continue to use the medications and supplements. While the FEI and other competition governing bodies do urine and blood tests, not all substances can be easily tested for and not all horses are tested at events. The most controversial types of drugs are those that have either a calming effect, a pain relieving effect, or a sensitivity effect.
The calming supplements can work in many different ways and can be administered in many different ways. Some definitely have a greater effect than other supplements. Some are also significantly more dangerous than others. Smartpak offers a wide variety of calming supplements, mostly herbal remedies that may be support the horse being calm along with a proper feeding and exercise regimen. Riders should be cautious about giving these supplements as there may be substances in them that are banned in competition or may have a more significant calming effect than desired. Riders should consult with their trainer and veterinarian before starting their horse on any supplement. Even with these herbal supplements, riders should monitor their horses behavior and be cautious when riding or asking their horse to be athletic as the horse may not be able to react as quickly or be as agile as when not on the supplement. There are other substances on the market that pose significantly more danger to both horse and rider. This article from the chronicle of the horse last year discusses the use of intravenous magnesium sulfate at a hunter/jumper stable. Magnesium sulfate will suppress the nervous system of the horse when injected intravenously, if the injection is not done slowly and in the right amount, this can lead to the death of the horse. Magnesium sulfate is one of the ingredients in the injection used to put horses down. Add the risk to death of the horse to putting a rider on a horse without a fully functional nervous system and you have a recipe for disaster. Especially when asking a horse to do a hunter or jumper course where the horse is running and jumping and expected to be functioning as a finely tuned athlete, having a suppressed nervous system can lead to injury or death of both the rider and horse.
Like calming supplements, pain killers also put both horse and rider at risk of death or serious injury. While bute (Phenylbutazone) and banamine (Flunixin meglumine) are two of the most common pain relievers for horses, there are many kinds of pain relievers both topical and oral that riders can use. While most effective pain killers for horses require a veterinary prescription, they are often readily available from barn owners, trainers, and other riders. While it is prudent to keep both bute and banamine around incase of injury or colic, often these substances are not used in prudent manners. Both bute and banamine can have severe side effects if used inappropriately and both can have long term health effects. Bute can cause ulcers and stomach bleeding if used in too high a dose or for too long and can also lead to colic, kindney failure and other serious health problems. Banamine, if given intramuscularly, can cause severe tissue inflammation and should be given orally or intravenously. Banamine has all the similar side effects of bute as well.
On top of the clinical side effects, there is another consideration that riders and trainers often ignore. Pain killers affect the pain response of the horse, so the horse is less aware what hurts. While this is the intended effect, if you ride a horse while it has its pain response decreased, it will not know if it does something to hurt itself. This can cause the horse to push itself too hard which can lead to strains, re-injury of the problem area, and other issues. This puts the rider at risk because if the horse pushes itself to the breaking point, the rider may get thrown when the horse injures itself and may have little or no warning when this happens. Bute and banamine can be used to treat specific conditions, but should not be used when the horse is going to be ridden. A horse, after being treated with a pain killer, should be given at least 24 hours between its last dose and when it is ridden next to prevent injury.
Unlike the calming supplements and pain killers, the sensitivity drugs are often not used with good intention. While it can’t be proven, the show jumpers that tested positive for capsaicin were accused of potentially using it to make the horses more cautious over the jumps to prevent knocking rails. Capsaicin can be used to relieve sore muscles, but it can also be used to make the skin more sensitive. The saddlebred association has also had several scandals break from their use of “soring” to make their horses step higher and with more animation. These sensitivity treatments can also cause the horse to injure itself by trying to avoid the pain or sensitive areas. These practices are cruel and any rider made aware of their trainer using these practices should find a new trainer.
Most drugs for horses should be used to treat specific ailments of the horse and when the horse is being treated it should not be in training or being ridden. Exercising the horse puts both rider and horse in danger of injury or death and there is no reason to risk exacerbating the issue with exercise.
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