In this day and age, there are many medications available to both human and horses. While some of these medications are quite benign, most of them have varying degrees of side effects.
Some of the side effects are relatively minor, while some are rapidly fatal. Recent national events have shown us that we must take great care in what we put in our horses. Obviously, horses can neither tell you where it hurts nor can they tell you what they feel like on a given medication. So, paying attention to what our horses have been diagnosed and medicated with is critical.
» US polo pony deaths
The USEF equine drug and medication rule is a rule that has evolved for 30+ years and serves almost 30 breed and discipline organizations. It is, however, a rule that has served us well for a long time, as long as we remember to continually modify it in favour of the horse.
The last major modification of the rule was in 1998. The modification involved setting dosage restrictions on all of the medications permitted by the USEF. This was accomplished and has since helped people with correctly medicating their horses.
Another proposal that was put forward at the same meeting was not able to be passed at that time. The USEF Veterinary committee put forward a recommendation that the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) be limited to a single medication. This proposal was ahead of its time and had neither the research nor the political will to succeed. Since that time the American Quarter Horse Association has adopted a single NSAID rule and has lived with it successfully for many years. It is certainly time to revisit this proposal within the USEF.
Continued
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