[QUOTE=dags;3464719]
I like the stiff breeze analogy 
But I’m not sure how I feel about a horse that has undergone numerous drug tests all year long and, continuing to use the same theraputic treatment it always has, suddenly gets pulled from the Olympics hours before the event. I’ve always used paprika, and stopped about 10 days out from a show. Back when I was a constant user of Equi-block, I believe I used it right at the show, though I stopped the paprika, because of the capsacin (I’m sick of trying to remember how to spell that word, sry :/)
So to me the impression was that injested=bad, topical=okay. I’m certainly no FEI competitor, and I admit this would certainly make me consider the equi-block use more carefully, but if he’s been using it all year long, getting tested all the time, horse is going GREAT . . . you see? I don’t think it’s fair. I certainly don’t think it’s fair to get DQ’d before the whole thing is even settled, he may never get that Olympic chance again.
It’s one thing to walk the line when you know you’re trying to cheat, it’s another to be strutting along innocently, trying to help your horse, doing the same thing under the same rules that you have always done, and be sidelined by the gale force winds drummed up by another :([/QUOTE]
Let me know if you think the following situation is analogous(other than a bit having no therapeutic value) , it occurred at a horse trial this past weekend.
During the dressage test, judge notices that the competitor appears to be using a slow twist snaffle (good eyes on that judge). Competitor is stopped and bit is “re-checked”. Bit is in fact a slow twist which is an illegal bit in the dressage phase of a horse trial.
Competitor is eliminated. Competitor argues that the volunteer performing the bit check did not notice the illegal bit. The competitor has been using the slow twist all summer and no one noticed. Thus, she should not be eliminated. TD asks if the competitor knew the bit was illegal. Competitor says she did know. In fact her coach told her not to use the bit, but she did anyway.
In my mind, these situations are exactly the same, with the exception of the fact that the Irishman MAY have been trying to “help” his horse, which ultimately he was doing in order to improve his performance. Same as the young lady above. The fact that people have been getting by the drug tests only means that they were successfully breaking the rules, not that it was okay.
Again, I am not siding with the FEI on the no tolerance policy, but “I have been doing it for months and no one said a word” is not a valid defense. The use of ANYTHING other than food and water at an FEI event is against the rules. Topical, injected or given orally. The rider in question may have had a noble purpose, but he should have known he was breaking the rules. Our federation will tell you in no uncertain terms that topicals are just as illegal as oral or im or iv meds or supplements. They will also tell you that you probably won’t get nailed for putting vetrolin in your horses wash bucket, but they won’t tell you it is okay.
FWIW, I have ridden at the FEI level in eventing since 2001 and have Chef’d for three different Young Riders Teams and also groomed at many FEI events. None of this is a big secret. The kids at young riders know these things. It is sad that the Irish rider thought he had found a way around the rules and it caught up with him at the Olympics of all places, but the blame rests squarely on his shoulders.
It is not legal to administer adaquan and legend at an FEI event. It is done, but you can bet if you get caught doing it there will be a fine to pay. If the FEI one day found a way to test for it and told no one about it until the Olympics, my guess is they would DQ 95% of the entries. It would be sad, because we are only trying to help the horses be more comfortable, but ultimately we are doing it to enhance performance. Comfortable horse = improved performance.
