Drugs and Horses?
The inappropriate use of normal medication can cause a serious threat to the reputation to horse sporting, because, it gives the athletes an un-fair advantage and threatens the welfare of the horses.
Many racehorses become addicted to drugs when their trainers and even veterinarians inject drugs to keep them on the track when they shouldn’t be racing. Finding an American racehorse trained on the traditional hay, oats, and water would be impossible. There are trainers over dosing their horses because with so much money one the line they will do anything.
The largest group of concern to regulators is the "performance-enhancing substances", Testing for these substances usually proceeds at the highest level of sensitivity possible; so-called "zero-tolerance" testing. About nine hundred or so substances are classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. This means that every horse in the groups the require drug testing will get tested and if found positive they will get punished (ARCI) (http://www.arci.com/druglisting.pdf).
The three most common drugs that people are using today are: Ketoprofen (Ket), Phenylbutazone (Bute ), and Flunixin Meglumine (Banamine). Bute and Banamine are both like an Advil, which kills pain when you have it, relaxes your muscles and makes swelling go down. If your horse gets injured and is not able to do its normal things then most horse owners would use that. If a horses’ pain level is at say 5 out of 10 Bute or Banamine could take it down to a 2 or 3 but if they use them both they would feel nothing at all. For one Cattle Horse Association your horse must be 100% free of drugs to be shown. The FEI(Fédération Equestre Internationale)sometimes allows small amounts of Bute , Bananmine, and Ket bringing in unapproved drugs can cause major consequences. Ranging form disqualification of the horse to suspending the trainer for admitting the drugs.(FEI) Just like me and you horses can get addicted to these drugs which can make them have major behavioral changes. They will coastally pace, restless jesters, and over all bad attitude to anyone.
A writer from New York Times says, “Trainers naturally take chances that the drugs will be flushed from the horse’s blood before the starting gate swings open. When it can be proved that a horse has been doped just before a race, the punishment needs to be a significant fine, a substantial racing ban and a prohibition against shifting the stable to an assistant trainer.”(Smith-Baranzini)
Cocaine in race horses and hunter jumper horses? Well that sentence proves that we are not the only people who use that drug. Many people in the horse racing and in the jumping world think that speedballs make your horse run faster jump higher and give them the unlimited energy. A speedball is deadly dosages of heroin and cocaine. See cocaine makes the heart race faster. So when a horse is out running its race its heart is already beating faster than it should, it gives them a higher chance of a heart attack. Many people think race horses use steroids. But in truth that is impossible. One the horses have raced they take them to the back and test them, and if the horse is proven positive for any drug the trainer is banned.
In AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) their rule book for 2012 states in section I “(i) Prohibited medication, drug, mechanical device or artificial appliance. No person shall cause to be administered internally or externally to a horse, either before or during an approved event, any medication, drug, mechanical device or artificial appliance which is of such character as could affect its performance”
In the APHA (American Paint Horse Association) rule book kind of is stating both. I wonder what side they are on? “1. A Pinto shall not be shown in any class at a show recognized by the PtHA if the Pinto has been administered, in any manner, any prohibited substance. A prohibited substance is defined as any stimulant, depressant, tranquilizer or local anesthetic which may affect the performance of an animal (stimulants and depressants are defined as medications which stimulate or depress the circulatory, respiratory, central or peripheral nervous system). Also prohibited are any drugs, regardless of how harmless or innocuous they might be, which may interfere with the detection of the aforementioned drugs.” That looks good, looks like they are taking a stand against drugs. But the next paragraph says differently: “2.The full use of modern therapeutic measures for improvement and protection of the health of the horse, including the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is permitted, unless the drug given also may stimulate or depress the circulatory, respiratory, or central or peripheral nervous system.”
The effect that drugs take on horses is very bad. Horses don’t have a voice, so we need to take a stand and help them from this horrible thing. They need us, they need you.
Works Cited
Smith-Baranzini, Marlene. “Getting a Grip on Drugs and Horses” New York Times. 7 November 2009. Web. 29 February 2012
“Rule book” National Reined Cow Horse Association March 1, 2012 www.nrcha.com/
“Drugs in Racing: Déjà Vu All Over Again” Jim Squies February 29, 2012
“AQHA Rule Book 2012 Edition” Feb 8, 2012,The Board. Print
www.fei.com/
