Re: [RC] SO not getting the drug rule hostility.... - Elizabeth WalkerI think this actually started with the yucca thread, since there was now a new wrinkle .. a commercially prepared, standard horse feed contains yucca. According to the current drug rule, if you buy this feed for your horse, you are in violation of Rule 13.Someone else brought up the issue of rice bran (which some folks are afraid to feed because of drug rules prohibiting testosterone). Truman just took it to the Nth degree, as gamma oryzanol is also on the prohibited list, and is present in just about all plant foods. Sure - Rule 13 was never intended to prohibit oats or rice bran - the rule was written to prevent injection of the horse with gamma oryzanol or testosterone. But that is not what the rule says. One is clearly a violation (injecting the horse), one is an example taken to an extreme (rice bran or oats), and one is an example of a situation where someone could end up being in violation just because they didn't read far enough down the label of ingredients in a standard horse feed. However - the rules as written do not distinguish between these scenarios, nor do they provide the criteria to do so. That is the key point. If discrimination criteria are not written into the rules (threshold levels, or some sort of indicator of what is being prohibited), then it ends up being a judgement call, and that depends on who is interpreting the rules. (Remember kids being suspended for going "bang bang" with their thumb and forefinger?) The challenge for the rules committee is that there are a lot of substances listed, and probably infinite variables regarding threshold levels (I'm guessing here). It may not be possible, or feasible to define threshold levels for everything. However, I think we may well need more guidance that just the presence of a substance on the prohibited list, or as Truman's example showed, it can be taken to absurd lengths. On May 11, 2009, at 3:31 PM, Mary Krauss wrote: I don't understand the hostility surrounding drug regulations. What am I missing?? Seems to me a set of pretty well-intended, simple rules are being vilified for no apparent reason. Kinda simple really: feed normal stuff, no problem. "Zero tolerance" means zero tolerance for abuse--it doesn't refer to zero amounts of substances that occur naturally in simple grain and hay. If you're feeding something weird and full of weird supplements, quit it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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