RE: It's a Drug.

["Bob Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

Kat:

I agree with you completely. I hate to see this continual working to
circumvent the AERC Drug Rules by so many persons. And now the Vet
profession is in on it as well.

When I read lines like

 <<<< As an equine veterinarian of more than 25
> years, I can state that these herbs exert a remarkable effect on the
> metabolism of the horse.>>>

this tells me that the product is in conflict with the AERC Drug Rule
utterly, completely and ultimately. Is our Vet Committee going to sanction
the use of the product? Time will tell.

<<<<Now that he's been on it for over 6 months, what I'm seeing is a horse
> that's turned from a young cute baby, into what appears to be a potential
> 100 mile monster.  I'm shooting for the Swanton 75 this summer, but
> every time I take him out on the trail, he's so energetic I swear he needs
> that 100 to calm him down and teach him to really get to work.>>>>

Is this rider reading the AERC Rules and Regulations? In particular Rule 13
which states; THE INTEGRITY OF ENDURANCE COMPETITION REQUIRES THAT THE
EQUINE IS NOT INFLUENCED BY ANY DRUG, MEDICATION OR VETERINARY TREATMENT.
ENDURANCE EQUINES MUST COMPETE ENTIRELY ON THEIR NATURAL ABILITY.

Now, the description from the above quoted competitor certainly gives
testimony to the fact that the substance certainly influences the equine and
while it is not classified as a medication it certainly has been recommended
by a VETERINARIAN. Definitively, a violation of the AERC Rules, Regulations
and Basic Principles.


Bob Morris


-----Original Message-----
From: guest@endurance.net [mailto:guest@endurance.net]
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 4:38 PM
To: ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject: RC: It's a Drug.


K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net


An excerpt from the post of Michael Van Noy on APF said:

> As an equine veterinarian of more than 25
> years, I can state that these herbs exert a remarkable effect on the
> metabolism of the horse.

Kathy Meyers said:

> Now that he's been on it for over 6 months, what I'm seeing is a horse
> that's turned from a young cute baby, into what appears to be a potential
> 100 mile monster.  I'm shooting for the Swanton 75 this summer, but
> every time I take him out on the trail, he's so energetic I swear he needs
> that 100 to calm him down and teach him to really get to work.
>
> ...
>
> APF has the little weasel horse is atleast thinking he's an eagle... don't
> tell him he's still just a little weasel.

I must confess that I find the combination of these statements to be a
little
scary.  If the assortment of assertions made by Micael Van Noy about APF are
true, and the "one rat study" reported by Kathy Meyers have anything to do
with
having given APF to her horse, then there should be little doubt in
anybody's
mind that APF is a drug; and if the Kathy's final statement is accurate, not
only does the drug have a physiological effect, but it appears it may also
have
a psychological effect (i.e. it is "mood altering").

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because it has an herbal origin,
that
it cannot be a drug.  Synthesizing drugs from non-herbal sources is a VERY
twentieth century phenomenon.  Until that time, virtually all drugs were of
herbal origin.  To list just a few: Heroine is a Chinese herbal extract;
cocaine is a South American herbal extract; digitalis is an herbal extract
from
foxglove; aspirin is an herbal extract from willow bark; caffeine is an
herbal
extract from the coffee bean (that's where the "caf" in caffeine comes
from).

I would be very careful before I decided to undertake a medications policy
of
systematically drugging an otherwise healthy horse.  Back in the 16th to
19th
centuries people "dosed" themselves with laudanum (an extract of the opium
poppy) for the very same reasons.  It was a Chinese herbal extract that made
them feel good.  Today people dose themselves with cocaine for similar
reasons,
it is a nice "pick me up."  Medically/physiologically speaking, there is no
difference.  The difference is merely social/cultural.

If Michael Van Noy's assertions about the metabolic effects of APF on horses
is
true (and if they aren't they why use it at all), then the stuff has a
pharmacological effect and it is a drug (and like many drugs, it may have
some
great benefits in maintaining the health of a horse).

But if _I_ thought that the drug was having the effect of making my horse
think
that it is something that it is not (e.g. of making it think it can fly like
an
eagle when in reality it is as earthbound as a weasel), well...I knew a
couple
of people who were on LSD who thought they could fly too, and found out the
hard way that they cannot ("knew" being the operative word here).

Even so, while Micheal Van Noy also said:

> Again, I have been using these herbs in horses since 1994 and began
> marketing this formulation in 2000, after careful study and a history of
> field use in my practice and the practice of other veterinarians.  Every
> batch of APF is tested at a FEI level lab to guarantee that it complies
> fully with all regulations and it is allowed by the medications rules of
> AHSA.

Just because current drug tests do not test for metabolites of the chemical
compounds contained the herbs that have the above stated pharmacological
effects, there should be little doubt in anybody's mind (no matter how
strict
of a definition used for the term "drug"), that using APF on an endurance
horse
would be in violation of the AERC's rule 13 (despite the assertion that
current
drug tests would not pick it up, and therefore it is unlikely that anybody
using it is likely to get caught).  The fact that it is allowed by the
medications rules of the AHSA is of no consequence when determining if it is
allowed by AERC rules.  The AHSA has gone to the trouble of making a list of
forbidden medications...and, apparently, this medication is not on it.  That
doesn't mean that it isn't a medication; there are lots of medications that
are
not on the AHSA's list.

At the same time Kathy Meyers also said:

> *If* I had tying up problems, this is definitely (sic) one of the first
things
> I'd try.  I'd imagine you need to first have a good solid feeding schedule
> with a good quality vitamin / mineral supplement (mine are on Dynamite)
> and then definitely (sic) APF to help with problems such as tying-up and
to
> put that little extra edge on your endurance horse.
>

If _I_ had tying up problems with one of my horses, this might also be my
drug
of choice for treating the pathological condition; but I wouldn't fool
myself
into thinking that I am doing anything other than drugging my horse.  If it
doesn't have a pharmacological effect (treating the pathological medical
condition of azotoria) then why would I be using it?

Make no mistake, if you are using this stuff on your horse and it is having
any
metabolic benefit, then you are treating your horse with a drug.  "I didn't
know it was a drug, because I don't understand the pharmacology" is not a
"defense" for drugging your horse; nor, I might add is, "It comes from a
plant
so it isn't a drug."

I make no comment as to whether this is a good or bad thing to be doing
to/for
your horse.

I merely wish to point out that it is a drug. And if I were going to use it
on
my horse, I would want to be sure that I had a good reason for giving my
horse
drugs.  In fact, I would do as Michael Van Noy suggests and consult my
veterinarian.  Oh, yeah, and I wouldn't give it to my endurance horse,
because
it's against the rules.  (I also make no comment as to whether or not I
think this
is a good rule.)

kat
Orange County, Calif.


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