Events
Groups
Rider Directory
Market
RideCamp
Stuff
The article was written by Robert H. Timm who is a racehorse trainer
whose horse tested positive for caffeine after winning a race for which
he was suspended for administering prohibited drugs and a referral to
the state racing commission for additional punishment. By his report,
the horses tested positive for a virtually negligible amount of caffeine
which apparently was found in a feed supplement about which he said, "I
am sure there was no intent by the manufacturer, but caffeine is common
to a lot of food and drinks we use every day, common in over 60 plant
species in North America.....I had innocently and unknowingly used a
supplement that contained caffeine." And further... "In recent months
it has been reported that six trainers in California were called for
positive tests for scopolamine, a substance found in jimsonweed and
traced to the hay supply. All of these trainers were found guilty and
fined....What the racing commissions across the country are telling
trainers is that under the absolute insurer rule they must sleep with
the horse and test everything that the horse eats and drinks. This
because you cannot believe the manufacturer's label as to the
ingredients. You must test every bag of feed. I do not know how you
test hay, as one end of the bale may be contaminated but not the rest of
the bale."
This article was written by somebody who was found guilty of drugging a
racehorse, but regardless of the accuracy of the information presented
in the article, it raises a fairly interesting issue with regards to
endurance riding. The AERC's current 'no drug' policy may now, with the
ability of drug tests to detect absolutely minuscule traces of drugs in
a horse's system, no longer be a tenable position to maintain;
especially with the current plan to implement more wide-spread drug
testing at endurance rides.
I have always been an advocate of the AERC's philosophy with regards to
drugs; however, if the current plan is to use currently available drug
testing to determine whether horses have been drugged for competition, I
would have great reservations. I can remember when the new no-drug
policy was implemented asking the question of the vet panel at the AERC
convention, "Do I need to be worried about whether my horses grazes on,
for example, a Eucalyptus tree or some other weed that contains some
naturally occurring 'drug' along the course?" To which, after a few
smiles, I was told, "No, such minuscule amounts would not show up in a
test."
So now, I ask the same question, "Do I NOW need to be worried about what
my horse grazes on along the way...or even, at home?" (My horse has a
predilection for Eucalyptus and likes to gnaw on the trees that surround
his paddock :)).
I am not asking this in order to be contentious, but rather to ask if
the current AERC drug practice of expecting endurance horses to be able
to test completely free of all drugs on the day of competition will
actually achieve the stated purpose of ensuring that endurance horses
compete only on their natural ability and are not drugged in order to
enhance their performance. It may have been a convenient way to avoid
the issue up until now, but if the AERC plans to test horses at rides in
the future (which, so far they have been....ummmm....quite lax in
doing), this seems to me a question that needs to be addressed before
competitors are disqualified and/or suspended for "an unknowingly
innocent use of a supplement containing no-effect amounts of caffeine."
kat
Orange County, Calif.
Events
Groups
Rider Directory
Market
RideCamp
Stuff