Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

One thing I am hearing in this discussion is that there may be a confusion 
as to what riders actually take. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like 
Advil, Nuprin, etc (generic name Ibuprophen) do not impair mental function! 
Using the word "drug" in this discussion is missleading in some cases. Most 
of us would only take an over the counter medication like these (includes 
Tylenol, Aleive, etc) and NOT a narcotic.

I have seen however, a top rider take Vicodin (which is a narcotic and DOES 
impair a rider's reaction times) at a vet check! Now, this BOTHERED ME. I 
agree our horses' lives are in our hands and our judgement is all that saves 
them from themselves at times due to their innate instinct to follow the 
herd at whatever pace is necessary to survive.

On a side note, be careful if you are taking large quantities of NSAID's! A 
friend was diagnosed with HepC a few years ago. I asked her as I watched her 
pop about 3Kmg of Ibruprophen over the course of the day if her nephrologist 
knew of her consumption of this prescription strength Ib..she said no. Turns 
out, her shoulder bursitis was being treated by one DR and her liver by 
another..(don't get me started on MD's and the vast majority of them being 
influenced by the pharmaceutical industry)..She stopped the IB and her liver 
was fine in a month or two..no HepC..

"The Cure is in the Cause"

Ranelle Rubin
Coaching and Consulting Services
The Coaching Center
ranelle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
raneller@xxxxxxx

916-663-4140 home office
916-718-2427 cellular
916-848-3662 fax





> From: "k s swigart" <katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [RC]   Rider Drugs
> Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:34:37 -0700
>
> Bob Morris said:
>
> > THEN...The subject of human DRUGS... is broached and from
> > the sounds of things, at least a modicum of posting ride campers
> > indulge in the use of fairly strong pain medications before, during
> > and after a ride.
>
> I must confess that I, too, am somewhat chagrined to discover the rather
> cavalier attitude that a lot of endurance riders seem to have towards
> the use of performance enhancing drugs, just so long as they are being
> used by the human athlete instead of the horse.
>
> Yes, I agree, that there is a difference betwen self-administration and
> shoving it down the horse's throat; however, that does not change the
> fact that it appears that a goodly number of endurance riders are using
> drugs in order to improve their chances of winning/completing.  In fact,
> a number of people here have said that they couldn't do it at all if
> they didn't drug themselves (if that ain't "performance enhancing" I
> don't know what is).
>
> I am having a hard time figuring out how this is any different
> (philosophically) from major league baseball players using steroids to
> improve their batting averages...except that in endurance riding there
> aren't any rules against it.
>
> Since so many people here have said that they couldn't do it at all, or
> that their riding is vastly improved by drugging themselves, you aren't
> going to be able to convince me that the outcome of endurance rides is
> substantially affected by the routine drugging of the participants.  Why
> doesn't the AERC have a rule against rigging the competion with the use
> of drugs? (Jonni's argument that the outcome isn't affected because it
> is the horse that does the work doesn't hold water, if the outcome
> weren't affected, people wouldn't be doing it).  Why is it that only
> horses must compete entirely on their natural abilities, but the riders
> can enhance their performance with any drug they please....they are even
> allowed to use steroids if they want?
>
> Personally, I don't understand it.  But that is probably because I have
> never had to drug myself to get through an endurance ride.
>
> kat
> Orange County, Calif.
>
>
>
>
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