As to CS's, and our experience is with Adequan and Flexfree, Carol Dee and I
have the utmost respect for the substances and beleive that they will increase
the longevity and usefulness of all performance horses, and probably all horses!
Carol Dees mare, Katarinka, had suffered a slab fracture to a knee bone shortly
before we bought her. Our purchase was subject to a satisfactory Vet Exam and
30 days use to determine if she wqnted to be an endurance horse. When we had
her vetted the x-ray showed a fesh slab fracture with active calcification and
heat, pain upon flexing the knee and upon flexing the knee for one minute and
unwillingness to put weight on the lag for 2 to 3 strides at a trot. This is an
unbeleivabley beautiful Russian mare and very athletic looking and our Vet who
only works on horses and offices at the racetrack, suggested we put her on
Adequan once a week for 4 weeks and daily Flexfree and see if that would help
her. It was our first introduction to Flexfree & Adequan. We picked Katy up on
Dec. 17, 1993 and gave her 1st shot of Adequan the next week and began
conditioning her. We usually condition for at least 3 months on a new horse but
with the situation being as it was (the previous owner gave us an additional 60
days (90 total) to try her out) and not knowing if the Adequan would work or be
only a temporary fix, we put her into her first race in January of 1995 (one
month) which was a 2 day 100, raced her in Feb. in a 3 day 175 miler, in March
in the NM Renegade 5 Days 285 MIles and she never took an ouchy step, and went
on to finish several other rides that year. In 1995 she raced only in multi-day
races except for a one day 100 in October, finished 3rd FWT in the SW REgion and
is still absoulutely sound. I also own Blue Wind, a 19 year old gelding with
about 7,000 miles of races, most Top Ten. At 16 he began to get a little
arthritic becoming slightly stiff and sometimes stumbling. I decided to retire
him. The next year, 1994, my son Jerett, wanted to endurance ride again and his
regional champion mare was in foal, so we let him ride Blue. Blue had been on
Flexfree for several months and we gave him one shot of Adequan at the beginning
of the season. In 1994 Blue and Jerett finished the ride season winning 2nd
place National Junior Mileage Champion, 1st Place SW Region Junior Mileage
Champion, and 2nd place SW Region Junior. And now I am campaigning Blue again
at 19......he has not taken a stumble or stiff step since the Flexfree.
Needless to say, all of the horses we ride get Flexfree as part of their daily
diet. Both Flexfee and Adequan are substances that will not "test out" in drug
tests and neither are illegal within the AERC drug rules. Adequan should not be
given after you vet in and before you get a completion since it is administered
by needle.
My opinion as a dedicated horseman, AERC member & director ,and lover of
Endurance is: these substances such as Adequan, Flexfree, and the similar
substances are not "drugs" that mask injuries, pain, etc. that violate the
integrity of endurance riding. They are substances that help the horse's body
to function in a
in a natural way and to LAST LONGER. I think that we will be seeing more horses
campaigned into their late teens and twenties because of the advent of the CS's
and it will be in all the different performance events, not just endurance.