What
if you buy a horse that has run on the track and was given steroids
while a race horse would this test 1, 2, or 3 years later. Some of us
have no idea what type of history our horses come from. Who knows what
they were given in their previous career.
I had a friend that bought a TB mare to breed. The vet told her that it
might take up to a year or two for the effect of the drugs to subside
so she could get in foal. So that is how long the effects can last.
However, the drug is long gone before the effects are gone so it won't
test - no matter what you use.
It depends a lot on how often and what test are used. There are very
expensive testing procedures that can detect steroid use in an human
for up to about six months since the last dose. I suspect the same is
true for a horse. But I also expect because of the expense these test
are not used in the horse world. In humans urine is used for testing
which I believe is more accurate and more sensitive than blood. The
AERC uses blood - but I think CA does use urine.
In professional football and basketball today athletics undergo random
drug testing throughout the year. If someone is caught after their fine
and suspension they may undergo monthly drug testing for awhile.
Baseball has the weakest drug testing and subsequently the most
problems - with many of the top players under suspicion of steroid use.
But since there is almost no testing there is no evidence. After Sen.
John McCain chewed MLB and the players union director out in a public
session of a congressional hearing they are changing that now.
Track is under the microscope - as well it should be - now with rumors
rampant of the use of "designer steroids" by some of the top runners in
the world. A designer steroid is one where the chemical composition has
been slightly changed so that it doesn't effect the performance enhance
effect but it is less sensitive to the current testing so that it can
be used closer to the events before it is withdrawn. Are the use of
these performance enhancing drugs making a difference? You bet the
are.
Could the same trainng methods be used on endurance horses - I suspect
they already have been.
Anything we use has a multiple purposes. Glucosomine and hyaluronic
acid will help minimize the stress of the sport from impacting the
horses joints - hopefully preventing the onset of joint problems so the
horse will live a happy healthy pain free life. It is common sense care
of the horse we are asking to work for us. However, in the strictest
sense it is performance enhancing in that if it does what it says it
will allow a horse to be better over a longer period. It will allow
faster rides and more miles.
In my book there is no way in hell that a drug powerful enough to
control the heat cycles in mares, e.g., regumate, cannot be considered
performance enhancement. It will most likely allow a mare that suffers
cramping or tying up if competed at certain times during the cycle to
compete without such probelms during that time. If a mare gets too
cranky during certain parts of her cycle to be an effective endurance
horse then regumate will eliminate that effect and she can compete
without problems at any time. In ether of these cases are the horses
"competing on their on ability" - not in my book. Is the control of the
negative effects of the heat cycle in these horses by external chemical
means ( a drug by the way that is a perscription drug) using a
performance enhancing durg - in my book it is. I can see absolutely no
difference in the use of regumate and gastoguard - neither of which do
I think should be allowed.
But we got to worry about those dandelions - yep dandelions are the
problem - yep shoot those people that don't clear the dandelions out of
their pastures.
Cheers.
The longer this discussion goes on
the blurrier it gets. I use injectible glucosomine, MSM, DMG, when my
going horse is being conditioned. I pull the supplements 72 hours
before the ride because of the AERC rule but that is the only reason.
The funny thing is I hope these supplements and preventitive measures
will enhance my competition performance. Why else would I be using
them and pay big $$ for them if I didn't think they would help :) If
my 12 yr old endurance horse was just being used as a pleasure trail
horse I doubt I would be giving her the same supplements.
It is really amazing that a
discussion can get focused on the illegal eating of "dandelions" when
big issues that can ruin this sport, like the use of
steroids, basically get ignored and not discussed at all. I still
don't understand how Regumate can be OK to use during competition if
there really is a 0 tolerance of drugs. One horse might get busted for
eating too many dandelions because the owner weeded on a Thursday and
the horse tests positive to whatever is in the dandelions and the next
rider can legally use a prescribed drug, Regumate, at a ride and that
is OK with the current AERC drug policy.
Kim
-- We imitate our masters only because we are not yet masters
ourselves,
and only
We
imitate our masters
only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and only
because
in doing so we
learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.
