Okay, I sent an email but so far no response from USEF. But I’m sure someone else on here has dealt with this.
I (the rider) was prescribed a very strong corticosteroid for eczema on my hands. Because of the nature of where it’s applied, and that I have to put it on 3x a day, my horses are definitely being exposed to it.
Corticosteroids just need to be declared if it’s for the horse. But the form doesn’t have a ‘human rider may accidentally get it on the horse’ part, and since it’s for me the ‘prescribing veterinarian’ part doesn’t work either.
I know I’m not the first person this has happened to?
You’re going to need to wear gloves and never touch the horse. If it shows up in a sample no one cares how it got there. You can’t file a med report for something that’s continuing to be administered (or exposed), or for something that doesn’t have a therapeutic purpose for the horse.
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I’m sure they have to have some sort of exemption for this. I can’t imagine that no one with eczema is showing rated shows.
Looks like topical steroids even when mixed with DMSO don’t systemically test. So according to this no need to worry. All the excuses used by various trainers of various disciplines whose horses have tested positive look pretty suspect based on the scientific literature, which states that if a horse tests for steroids it was given parenterally.
“Based on these findings, it appears doubtful that detectable blood and urine concentrations of dexamethasone are attributable to absorption from a topical application. This is true even if it is mixed in a solvent such as DMSO that has been reported to increase the percutaneous absorption of other substances. Any dexamethasone detected in postrace drug testing in horses has a high probability of being from parenteral administration.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080608003511
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I just listened to a USHJA podcast with Margot Thomas, Laura Kraut’s groom, where she talked about not using IcyHot on herself and avoiding touching analgesic tablets (by pouring into cap and then into her mouth) to avoid running afoul of the FEI drugging regulations, which are considerably tougher than the USEF ones.
Link to podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ushja-on-course/id1519027030?i=1000618374535
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Interesting! Thanks for letting me know.
Yeah FEI is a whole different thing. I’m not competing at that level though.
I was told by a vet that using a topical steroid on my horse (she has vasculitis and I apply it to the sores she sometimes develops) shouldn’t test. I still don’t do it because I’m paranoid.
FEI is definitely a whole other level. A farrier friend has a separate set of tools that she uses for horses that show FEI. But I thought it was interested that there might be concern about a person’s topical possibly causing a positive test in a horse.
I don’t want to say the people who handle the FEI horses have to be completely paranoid as a job requirement. But sometimes it almost seems that way. Lol.
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Could you wear nitrile gloves around your horses or would that exacerbate your condition ?
The biggest problem with that is that I’d have to wear them 8+ hours a day.
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Can you contact USEF and ask them what you should/can do? I use a strong topical steroid for a different problem, and not as often. It never occurred to me that it might be a problem. only one of my two has been tested once over the last bunch of years, no problem…
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And, depending on what the carrier is, change them often. Stuff does percolate through nitrile gloves. I used to tell my students in chem lab that wearing gloves was a bit like locking your car. The chemicals could make it through eventually, just like a good car thief can still steal a locked car, though it would take longer than stealing an unlocked one.
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I have an email in to them but no response yet. I actually cancelled my weekend show because I just didn’t know… and don’t want the fine
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You can call. It at least used to be the case that they were available at times other than M-F 8-5.
https://www.usef.org/compete/resources-forms/rules-regulations/drugs-medications
So the litigious side of me says if it’s not in writing, it never happened. 
much easier to prove an e-mail than a phone call.
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