Would love to see this happen, but what’s to keep people from having others do the education for them or keep them from just leaving the computer running while they do other things? It already happens with the Safe Sport training - It would just be another thing for people to cheat on.
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Dumb question perhaps, but if they are asking to give lasix, why would they not just pull blood at that point and be done with it?
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Sigh.
This topic has been going back and forth for years and years.
2012 Robin Greenwood:
Are Drug Rules Putting Our Horses At Greater Danger? - The Chronicle of the Horse
2016 Ernie Oare:
Horseman’s Forum: Solve A Host Of Problems With Controlled Quieting Medications - The Chronicle of the Horse
Are we any closer to resolving it?
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But at least it’s there. How many genuinely undereducated owners WOULD take it and thus be on the lookout? How many horses would it save?
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. If people want to ignore and cheat, they will. But some people WANT to know better, and even if they only absorb the basics it’s better than thinking a “meds” line and a cagey trainer is normal.
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@fivestrideline
Exactly! And very earnest juniors - teens and tweens who aren’t jaded and simply want to love and protect their horses. I left multiple barns as a junior after witnessing things that didn’t sit right with me. My younger self would have texted the USEF hotline in a second, and kids see things that pros would be better at hiding from the adults.
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Wouldn’t those people already be reading the rule book?
This idea of a single rapid-test being able to test across the spectrum of possible offending drugs doesn’t exist. I mean it’s a marvelous dream, maybe Theranos is interested. Are they still in business?
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No, because at the end of the day, these are “heart issues” and all the rules in the world don’t fix those things.
Enough people have to believe these things are morally wrong, and have the personal integrity to not do them, before it will be resolved.
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But the rule book does not go into ways to get around the rules, it just tells you what the rules are. And Sally’s mommy writing 5k/month checks naively believes everyone is following the rules, because who on god’s green earth would knowingly place these magnificent creatures in harm’s way?
I’m not sure another required training module is The Answer, but having the training available couldn’t hurt, alongside educational outreach in general.
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More can be done, absolutely. More should be done. And there are no bad ideas in a brainstorm, but it’s also ok to explain why some ideas have way more downsides than others.
Any testing is expensive and that’s considering that not all drawn samples are tested and not every tested sample is tested for every illegal drug. And unfortunately, USEF found out first hand that anything less than a completely verified chain of command with no possibility of environmental contamination can result in an expensive and embarrassing loss in court. It’s easy to see how testing stall or ringside could open them up to all sorts of legal challenges.
Testing will always and forever be lagging behind whatever mad doctor chemistry that cheaters are willing to invest in, so while you always have to try and keep up, I think the more effective and cost effective action would be focused around whistleblower rewards and making penalties so onerous that at least casual cheaters think long and hard before they risk it (some people are always willing to take the risk, those you just have to hope for the best… and a whistleblower).
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In theory. But the rule book is clunky, hard to navigate, and sometimes unclear. It’s not light reading, though everyone SHOULD read and understand everything in it. And a lot of people trust that their trainer knows and follows the rules, and will ask their trainer/coach instead of referencing the rulebook themselves. They rely on the pro they hired to know what to do. They trust that the pros they hired are following the rules and have their horses’ best interests in mind!
A short training module required when joining (and probably periodically afterward) would get the abuse and drug rules front and center. Given the task of designing it, I would not make it entirely comprehensive but rather focus on a basic education, outline big violations, point out red flags to look for in the barn, and point out where to go in the rulebook for a comprehensive list. Basically like SafeSport, but better designed 
.
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IIRC, it’s because it’s more efficient at the laboratory level to test the urine rather than blood.
(It’s been a few years since I pulled testing samples.)
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I wonder if there would be any benefit to a public awareness campaign aimed at amateurs and the parents of juniors in the places they are most likely to frequent: the show office (for paying the bills), washrooms, food service areas, etc.
Attention-grabbing signage giving warning signs: needles administered on a frequent basis, overflowing sharps containers, or giving examples of long-term side effects from using quieting substances.
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Why do you have an agenda against this person? They don’t have a COTH membership, and it doesn’t look like they’re even on Facebook.
I’d love to ride a horse that NEVER MISSED no matter how badly I rode it. That has to be a priceless animal.
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The FEI has suspended Andrew McConnon. I wish USEF would take the lead in suspending its own members, though hopefully the new “off show grounds” abuse rule will make that possible.
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I believe this was one of the recommendations put forth by the group DiAnn headed. No idea where the suggestion has gone….
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See post 110 
and then the follow up post where I recount sending these ideas to USHJA and, after a promising reception, getting zero follow up.
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In my real life I design and create elearning modules (apologies to anyone who’d had to take one!). Because apparently people are not getting the drugging issue I would make the module mandatory every year upon USEF/EC membership renewal. There would be sections pertaining to the responsibilities of owners, rider, juniors, trainers etc. You would need to outline the dangers of the drugs, why they are banned (graphic photos included), and what the punishment is (In my dreams it would be guilty until proven innocent and instant ban of all parties involved for a certain time frame.) In the back end of any elearning module you can make it so slides cannot be skipped and all elements/pages/links have to be viewed. There would also be a quiz - basic for juniors but comprehensive for adults. 100 percent required to pass. There would also be a section “Has my trainer been banned in the past for drugging” with instructions on how to find the information… and it would be mandatory to do the search. Yes I am not very nice!
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I think that’s how the safe sport training is now. I’m pretty sure I had to click through all the things the last time I took the refresher course. Plus you had to answer questions on each section before you could continue.
I think the USHJA took peoples’ concerns fairly seriously.
Excerpt from the article:
"We all think we know what is going on in the industry we love, but after serving as the chair of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Horse Welfare Commission for the past year, now I do know, and I can’t un-ring that bell. I was sickened, as anyone would be, to hear of some of the atrocities committed by those whose greed is causing harm to horses and to our industry.
The commission was put into place by past USHJA President Mary Knowlton, who felt strongly that a group of veterinarians and stewards should investigate reports of horse abuse and develop a plan to help end the many abuse issues in our industry. This was not an easy ask from Mary, given the sensitivity of the subject."
Maybe not every concern was addressed, but shouldn’t we give credit where credit is due?
I don’t know the answer to ending abuse in USEF competition, and I too, am frustrated by the lack of enforcement of the many rules USEF already has at its disposal.
Remember a few years ago ('23?) seeing two horses eliminated by the judges at a fairly big show, for being off during the circle at the end of their round? That gave me hope that judges will act when they see lame horses.
It’s not a good sign of the state of education in the horse community when a rider and/or trainer rides a lame horse, and has to have that fact pointed out to them by a 3rd party, but there we are.
There are so many welfare issues to consider. It’s exhausting. Hopefully USEF can pull it together. I have hope, but I’m not holding my breath.
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