Talking Tuesday: Drugs and Horse Showing

but I used to jump, remember?

Given that I don't show horses on a national level (or even pay to belong to an organization that does), I generally keep my nose out of national equine politics.

But then I ran across an article on Chronicle of the Horse that argued for changing the banned substances rules. It's fascinating read if you have the time. If you don't, the gist of it is that the USEF can ban/fine it's members for even the tiniest violations, a 1000th of a 1000th of a gram, which is so small that it could be explained by a horse metabolizing a drug differently.

It's an interesting argument, to be sure.

not a DUI

Basically, the only proof needed to hand out punishment is trace evidence that something was ever present. The author argues that the USEF ought to also be able to prove that the substance was available in an amount that might have a therapeutic effect.

Part of me agrees with the author. The hoopla around the disqualification of Jock Paget at Burghley even when he proved he did nothing wrong intentionally was wildly unfair in my opinion. The other part is offended that the author's examples are enforcing speed limits (on vehicles by police) and blood alcohol limits placed on DUI enforcement.

only strike dramatic poses on cloudy days

It bothers me that the author compares horse sport with motor vehicle operation because a horse is in no way equivalent to a machine. I don't worry about my car consenting to drive me to work. I don't ensure that every drive ends on a good note. Why? Because it's a non-sentient being.

A horse cannot consent to compete in a sport verbally. It can't understand the risks inherent in putting that kind of stress on a body and it has no concept of what another option might be.

Because a horse cannot give informed consent, I think the standard of evidence for riders MUST be higher. It's not as simple as saying "I drugged him, but he wasn't impaired" to the USEF enforcement officer looking at a tainted blood sample.

At least, in my world, it shouldn't be.

Thoughts? I really can argue this one either way.

Never a Dull Moment

Dental day started out kind of fun--I chatted with the vet about the sedatives he was using and then was duly impressed by what a lightweight my little man is. Seriously. He pretty much just sniffed them and was under. His girlfriend took twice the dose he did and she was still quasi awake.

Once his teeth were done, I literally left Courage standing in the stall with the front and back doors open because he was so put of it that I knew he couldn't go anywhere. I mean, his head was about 2" off the ground and he was snoring. Loudly.

I paid the vet, chatted with friends for a bit, then closed the stall doors and rode another horse at the barn while Courage recovered enough to go to his own stall. By the time I got off the other horse, he was sort of clumsily wandering around the stall so I pulled him out. He was all dopy and cuddly. I stuck him in the cross ties and hosed him off to clean up the dust he accumulated in the dry weather.

He didn't like the cold water, but it was 70f and sunny, so I scraped him off and stuck him in his run to dry in the sun while I picked up my stuff.

But he started shivering. His hind end was shaking uncontrollably and his front end was twitching. His skin was ice cold to the touch. I put his halter on and hand walked him in the sunbeam, but he back end was super stiff and he was still shaking.

If that wasn't weird enough, then his nose started bleeding.

Yikes. I put in a call to the vet, let the BO know that he was having some trouble, put a fleece on him, and hand grazed him in the sun for a while. (Noted: at this point, he was awake, just really, really cold.)

Poor little man. :-( It took a crazy long time, but he warmed up slowly wearing both fleece and standing in the sun. The vet got back with me and said that as long as he perked up, it would be ok. By the time I left, Courage was muching his hay, though now wearing his 220gram medium winter blanket in the nearly 60f weather.

He seems fine now. My BO checked on him overnight and I'll be out this morning. I've been around plenty of sedated horses before, but I'd never seen a reaction quite like that.

The Best at Time Off

He is the best at turnout

Between the bodywork lady and the farrier and the BO, we have worked out a plan of (in)action for Courage. Best guess is that he did something creative and awesome in the pasture which jammed his shoulders up.

Oh Courage.

He's taking a few more days off to get himself re-aligned. To help his muscles relax from their current state of spasm (ouch!), he got some bute today.

Here comes the cookie monster!

I think painkillers are a great thing when you're in pain, but I use them very sparingly, both for myself and for my horses. I guess my thought is just that if something hurts, I want to know about it and not push through it instead of drug accordingly and just keep going. I know that's it's not necessarily a popular mindset and I have to temper it with the fact that I'm pretty young and have limited aches and pains at this point in my life.

That said, my policy on anti-inflammatories is that they can be given post-exercise as needed. I do not bute in order to ride or pop painkillers to run. If I see the need to give a horse bute after exercise, then they get the next day off, provided they are in a situation with enough turnout to stretch their legs. If exercise is causing the horse to need drugs, then the situation needs to change. I don't see pain killers as a regular part of daily life for horses or humans.

That's a big part of the reason that Cuna is retired--given the right injections and enough drugs, he probably is passably sound to jump around 2'6" or so. I just don't believe in doing that to a creature. If drugs have to mask his pain, then shouldn't I be listening to his body instead of my desires?

Too adorable not to share

Is that just just me? Is it because I don't understand the aches and pains of growing older? How does everyone else use bute/banamine/advil/ibuprofen?