Robert Morris wrote:
> To all questioning the Drug Rule I offer the following written by the
> President of the AERC who is a Vet and sometime competitor.
> ********************************************************
> AERC Drug Policy
>
> Much confusion seems to have been generated due to the lack of definition
> as to what is a drug and what is a nutrient. A drug is a substance that has
> a physiological effect THAT IS NOT A NUTRIENT. All nutrients are included
> in one of six classes: water, carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins,
> minerals. Certainly, nutrients have a physiological effect or we would not
> be engaging in this discourse. Since AERC rule 13 addresses drugs, it by
> definition is not intended to regulate nutrients. <SNIP>
Ok - In my mind, this still doesn't address probiotics. I haven't tried them
yet and probably don't need them. But is it ok to use them??? They are NOT
nutrition as described above, but they don't appear to be a drug either.
> Do we really need more? Do you really need that so called "racers edge"?
> Or are you all really kidding your selves that "Joe's speed powder " will
> give you a win? Go back to the basics of plenty of good water, adequate
> amounts of forage, access to salt and you can have a top competitive horse.
Bob, this is insulting to me. I stated quite clearly that I believe in the no
drug philosophy. At my level of participation, I am NOT looking for the extra
"edge" of seconds to win a race. I WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN A SPORT AND FOLLOW
THE RULES TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. If this means no probiotics - you got
it. No flex free - he'll come off of it well before the ride. But give me a
fair chance at complying! You are focusing on folks looking for the edge to
win... There are far more who want to compete, expect to be middle of the pack
on a good day, and WANT TO FOLLOW THE RULES.
Again, I want to be sure that what I do falls within the AERC drug rule should
I decide that I wish to administer one of the "gray" products. You danced
around the issue. When many folks in a membership have similar questions, the
organization needs to provide guidance so that the members can comply, or the
rules need to be written differently. A rewrite of the rules is not
attractive, so that leaves us with asking the Drug Committee to review these
gray areas. Perhaps they cannot make a list of approved and banned
drugs/neutriceuticals, but they could clarify their thinking in these areas so
that riders can critically evaluate new products themselves. I'm ok with drugs
vs nutrition explanation, but it just doesn't cover everything.
Linda Flemmer
Events