It used to be a rule that shows had to let you bring your own stuff. Is that not the case anymore? They didn’t have to allow deliveries from other suppliers, but you could bring your own in.
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Yes, thank you for clarifying. I wasn’t clear about that.
Corticosteroids are associated with an increased risk of laminitis, but there are a lot of factors involved, particularly just which specific corticosteroid is administered, as well as the dose and the duration of treatment.
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As my phramacology professor said, “if a drug has no side effects, it likely has no effect at all.”
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You got the point across so much better than I did. Thank you.
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Exactly.
And, because it is a steroid you have to wean them off it in a calibrated way. As I mentioned in my n=1 sample above, my vet was counting down to my show to see if we could make it work for the 24 hours rule. It was going to be close!
My point was that it was a whole schedule I had to adhere to, with the dose being adjusted over that period in a particular way. It would have been very easy for me, or my trainer/friends who gave him his dex on the days I couldn’t make it out, to mix things up.
Sorry, @foursocks , my reply didn’t nest properly. I was responding to the hydroxyzine user. Dex doesn’t require a med report or for the horse to be withdrawn for 24 hours before showing, just that it is given within the legal limits and timeframes. It only requires a medication report if it is given within the 12 hour restricted window where it needs to be administered by a veterinarian.
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Ah, well, this shows how often I’ve had to worry about it- my recollection isn’t very clear, apparently. At any rate, it was confusing for me with just one horse and I am sure it can get a bit chaotic if one is managing several horses.
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Mid 90’s I was grooming and had an IMO perfectly sound horse bounced from the first jog and win the second class. If the judge was so certain he was unsound, why pin him on the second jog?
BNT explained that the judge had sold the horse that became champion because my horse was eliminated from one class.
I can only say that the horse seemed perfectly sound to me. I can’t verify anything else. My question is, if the horse was so unsound as to be eliminated, how did he pass the second jog? Which was literally 2 minutes later?
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Any insulin-dependent diabetic could have a Tide (or any really thick plastic) container labeled SHARPS in their tack trunk. That is how I was instructed to dispose of my perfectly legitimate needles at home.
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A horse can look sound or lame from one minute to the next, depending on whether it just stepped on a rock or something similar, as mentioned earlier in this (or another) thread.
That’s why if there is a question about it, they will sometimes jog the same class a second time to verify it.
And sometimes the horse will still look questionable on the second jog and get booted. And sometimes it will look sound on the second jog and get the ribbon.
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The judge owned a horse that they were judging? I can’t be positive if this is still allowed or if it’s been addressed, but I remember seeing that some rules about these types of issues have been changed since the '90s. No time to look it up right now…
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I was confused by this too, but upon multiple re-reads, I think the judge had either been owner or agent and sold the horse prior to it showing in this particular situation.
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Yes, sorry for the lack of clarity! Booting the horse I was caring for from the first class allowed a horse that the judge had recently sold to be champion in the division.
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Until I got my current horse tested for his allergies and started on the desensitization regime, he had a daily dose of hydroxyzine and zyrtec. When I went to shows I had to withdraw him from that and then give him dex (only 10mg!) 12 hours before I showed to control his itchiness. He would get frantic without any drugs at all. If there was a calming effect it was only because he wasn’t losing his gourd from itching.
I did start to investigate the whole process of registering his regimen of drugs with USEF but other issues arose and now he does mostly fine without any of them as long as I keep up his allergy shots.
I realize dex can be misused but if you’ve ever had a horse with severe allergies, it’s a big help. Nothing nefarious here.
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Corticosteroids are the quinessential double-edged sword.
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I am really sensitive to poison ivy. Steroids are the only thing that help if I get into it - and I try really hard not to. But jeeeesh! Steroids make me absolutely a raging maniac. Have to tell my dear husband to take cover on the first day when you take all those pills. It’s nuts!
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But that’s just it - if your horse has allergies (chronic or acute), dex does the right thing. If it doesn’t, though, it acts as a depressant. And the Bad People count on the fact that it’s hard to tell the difference between necessary and not.
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And that is exactly why there are limits and rules to its use. This is a circular argument with legal but capped medications.
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I get that. I think that the 12 hour rule and the limit on the dose reflect an attempt to control the misuse. But without a robust testing program and consequences, it’s easy for the Bad People to be bad.
Side note: did you read USEF’s recent strategic plan? Did you get the impression that they were going to step up testing? I read a lot about horse welfare but nothing that specifically said we are going to do more to crack down on drug misuse.
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