I understand what you are saying… however, we were just discussing the USEF loan agreement a few posts back, and I went back and looked at the actual document someone else linked previously, and one paragraph in particular seems noteworthy…
It is further understood that as required in the FEI General and Veterinary Regulations, the USEF’s duly appointed
Chef d’Equipe has final responsibility for general management, schooling, declaration and scratching of entries, and the
observance of veterinary administration for all Team horses.
Anyway… multiple people on this thread have said all along that at this level, decisions are made by a management team. And if selevit was being administered off label to mitigate muscle soreness, and to not only help the horse get through his final jog but also perform his best in the final leg… I would assume a few different members of the management team thought this was a good idea, and it wasn’t necessarily the independent decision of the team vet.
I guess the team vet could have and maybe should have said “I’m not giving selevit. We haven’t tested the horse’s selenium levels and the risks of giving it outweigh any possible benefit in terms of reducing muscle soreness.” But… as has become quite clear during this discussion… it seems like that’s not typical at this level. Everyone is trying to keep the horses as comfortable as possible and maintain a competitive edge.