Stringhalt is a different beast than the vast majority of gait abnormalities as there is not normally a pain component. I can see a model where horses with stringhalt could get a waiver from a vet to compete. An informative video describing the condition could be part of the horse welfare training that USEF should institute. Maybe then that dad won’t chase you mansplaining. Your horse would still get soundness checks to ensure it does not have an additional issue such as a front end lameness.
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Me too. If your horse needs NSAIDS and muscle relaxants that is a big sign there is something wrong with your show schedule.
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This is not common or accepted practice in the dressage world. We don’t give our horses NSAIDs and muscle relaxants because we rode them hard. Riding them so hard they need this is a sign they are being ridden too hard. Just doing it when your horse is not sore because someone taught you it is good management is misguided. I competed Intermediare II this weekend. My horse worked hard. The horse is sound. They get a couple days off with turn out, brushing, and some carrots.
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Yeah, this is more of what I am talking about. This is the HJ culture I know. Bute is caustic nasty stuff. No horse should be getting 2 grams every night of showing just because. It is not the same thing as Advil, which you also shouldn’t take every night. People assume the risk to abuse NSAIDS. Horses aren’t given a choice. Also, why would you go to shows with concrete stall floors? I’d skip those.
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THIS!! Boom another poster who admits to the culture I knew existed. Exactly. Terrible horse management. Show, show, show and drugs, drugs, drugs. “There’s nothing wrong with this. It is standard practice.”. Blah, blah, yuck!
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I would debate the “beneficial” part of it. If this is seen as positive horse welfare in the HJ world, ironically it just lends credence to my argument that the HJ world is terrible at horse welfare.
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2g of bute for multiple days at multiple shows a year is a hell of a lot of bute.
Hind limb lameness is harder for most people to see. Plenty of trainers and pros do not have a good eye for lameness.
You don’t need a vet degree to develop an eye for lameness. The training could be like the USDF judge training. There would be more than a couple days of training and the candidates would have to pass a test to prove their competency.
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You don’t need to be a vet or go to vet school to learn to be able to identify gait abnormalities. Vets learn a ton more than this in vet school. Your post is just an excuse to allow people to continue to knowingly exhibit lame horses while maintaining plausible deniability.
With the amount of showing that a large percentage of the HJ does, it is potentially a whole lot of bute. Bute over time is a caustic little biyatch.
Edited to add “only if the judges of this horse management competition are pharmaceutical reps.”
Doing Pro-stride or joint injections is a whole lot different than giving a horse 2 grams of bute every night of showing when the horse is shown so often.
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Yes, your experience at a dressage barn is very similar to mine. The vets we use do not prescribe bute like some of these hj people describe, and we keep banamine around in case of colic or for vaccine reactions. We are very wary of using bute due to potential side effects. Older stiff horses may get previcoxx but no one gets bute regularly. Adequan, Legend, Ulcerguard and joint injections when necessary are all part of the accepted culture. There are some PRE and Lusitano types that are more prone to metabolic issues. Some are medicated with things like Insulin Wise and Thyro-L. We don’t have a sharps container at shows. Some lady tries to use Bach Flowers to calm her horse. It doesn’t seem to work. She uses them on herself too. LoL.
I have had a horse drug tested a couple of times at a dressage show. If USEF only sends one tester per show, this is an issue. A lot of the local dressage shows are quite small. The HJ shows around here tend to be huge. The number of drug testers present at a show should be dependent on the number of entries.
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Apparently, I’m a monster. When my horses show, they get banamine after jumping AND robaxin. Oh and legend too. Banamine and legend needles go in the sharps box. They are used to 10-12 hours outside at night when they are home. No amount of hand walking at a show will make up for their lack of turn out. I want them to feel comfortable overnight so that they can rest /relax. I also pay for 1.5 stalls for each of them so they aren’t trapped in a tiny box. I use ulcerguard at shows to mitigate the effects that banamine Can have on their stomach lining. I give them meds at dinner time (4ish) which is well before 12 hours prior to competition. The meds aren’t making them sound for competing but making them comfortable afterwards since they can’t walk around all night. I take Motrin AND Tylenol for myself. Horse showing is more work than you do at home but under less ideal
Conditions. I don’t see why helping your horse feel comfortable is bad. When I’m showing I’m trying to optimize their comfort so they perform their best.
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You do realize that h/j and dressage people literally use THE SAME VETS right? There’s not some magical sport horse vet that only does dressage barns and advises against anything but FEI standards of medicating, and another that only goes to hj and fills them full of bute and other totally normal meds that any well-managed barn has on hand.
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I’ll happily be a monster alongside you, complete with my happy, sound horses and apparent kickbacks from the pharma reps. 
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Oh, you are soooo clever. I see what you did.
Edited to say I’ve put you on ignore: you really should step away from the computer and try to to create the change you want to see instead of internet belittling and bullying a bunch of people who provide truly exceptional care for their horses.
Or you know, you could try to help horses who are truly abused and neglected, there are lots of them in places like low level racetracks and the slaughter pipeline that could use your time, attention and advocacy.
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You make arguments like a petulant 14-year-old. So your problem is actually the supervised use of regulated, USEF-approved medications? Do you hear how stupid you sound? Stick to your dressage horses or whatever it is that you do.
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You’re upset with people using allowable medications within the established guidelines of the governing body?
That’s a failed position right out of the box.
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What I’m saying is there are some of us who take better care of our broodmares and pasture pets than some do their show horses. There is an anti-injection crowd, and they’re just as ridiculous as the anti-bute crowd.
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Let’s see - medications prescribed by a veterinarian who has gone through at least 8 years of school to learn proper care of competition horses equals terrible. I get it - You’re really “NotOK”. 
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