Square pegs in round holes (drug use in horses)

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Kristi iluvdez@yahoo.com
Sylvia -

I took no offense at your post; thanks for your input. I think
this is one of those issues that can be inspected and argued
from every angle, with no absolutely positively right answer.
I'm glad that AERC has such a strict no-drug policy; horses w/
the right conformation, care, and conditioning will ultimately
be the successful athletes. That said, now that I have a horse
with a soundness problem (which is still hard to swallow after
5 years/1,000+ miles w/ 100% soundness in NATRC and some AERC), 
I'm very glad that there are drugs available that can make him
comfortable (and usable). Should he be "retired" and never 
ridden again at age 10 for the sake of saying that I'd never use 
drugs to make my horse usable? To me, that's the same question 
as asking if my mother, who has rheumatoid arthritis, should 
quit taking the meds that allow her to continue her career as an
antique dealer.