Agreed, and anyone who has ever used the assortment of OTC topical arthritis meds on the shelf is up close and personal with the sensation. 
However it is the last thing you would slap on your horses legs if for some reason you wanted to make his legs more sensitive, which is what people are arguing.
Have you ever seen anyone use Equi-Block or Magic Cushion with the intent to NOT block pain?
[QUOTE=DMK;3461303]
Vet notes are worth … what? Ask the Germans and their team vet about that 2004 team gold.[/QUOTE]
Errm?..german drug was NOT vet authorised according to the FEI?
from their enquirey…
‘‘Beerbaum “could and should have sought authorization for the use of the substance,” the federation said. “The sport overall must take precedence over the interests of any individual.”’’
[QUOTE=nycjumper;3461309]
You’re right - how foolish of me not to realize that despite rampant drug tests, it’s most logical to assume that 4 high level riders would apply a topical antibiotic, knowing it would probably test & then crashed their horses into warm up fences.
And since it would have to be applied right before jumping in order to be effective, we had best assume that they were liberally slathering their horses legs with the nefarious ointment in front of the FEI stewards.
Your scenario is so much more likely ;)[/QUOTE]
Thanks.
these horses have NOT tested positive to a drug
they have tested positive to a banned substance. There is a huge difference.
""Capsaicin is used in human medicine as a pain killer, but in horses is applied as a paste or lotion to the animals’ legs to make them hypersensitive as its immediate effect is to make the skin burn, Paul Farrington, associate member of the FEI’s veterinarian committee, told AFP.
Its use seems to be like a chemical form of rapping, an illegal activity in which horses’ forelegs are hit to bruise them, so they will avoid knocking the fences.
FEI’s secretary general Alexander McLin said the B tests for the positive horses would be completed in coming days, but not soon enough for any of the riders to compete in the final.
“The policy is that it is preferable to stop riders from competing rather than disqualifying them afterwards,” McLin said.
The stunning development casts yet another shadow over equestrian events generally as it follows a medal re-allocation in Athens, also for doping.
It also casts doubt on the future of equestrianism as part of the Olympics.
The doping scandal also puts show jumping under the microscope once more.
A doping scandal cost Germany the team jumping gold in Athens after the horse ridden by Ludger Beerbaum, who is a lynchpin of his country’s team here, was disqualified after testing positive for doping.
World number one, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, was left off the German team for Athens after her horse tested positive, though she was later cleared.
“This is certainly a serious blow to the sport and we are well aware of the possible implications for the sport and its position in the Olympics,” said Sven Holmberg, chairman of the FEI’s jumping committee.
“The four cases tested positive for the same substance. I don’t know if we can say it’s a trend but it contributes to the seriousness of the case.”
fair enough belambi, although their vet did say he thought it was permitted and left wide open the inference he dispensed it, although he may not have directly said he did. Now maybe he fell on his sword for the team, but I suspect not.
Sorry, I’m just in the camp that this is part of the reason the zero tolerance rule needs to be revisited. No, I’m not talking about competing on bute and reserpine, but this has gone too far in the other direction. Trace levels of non-performance enhancing substances dos not a difference in medals make.
for sure.
Would you count this present situation as performance enhancing?
Just an alternate theory.
In the past a variety of substances were used pretty much because there was no test or the test was not reliable.
Perhaps this is a substance that has been in use and is only recently able to be tested when applied to the skin
Isn’t the Hong Kong lab one of the leading labs worldwide?
Interesting no positive dressage horse tests…
ROFLMAO at the idea of Salinero needing to be ‘a little more hypersensitive!’’’
I don’t know how they can claim this would determine the future of equestrian sports in the Olympics. There have been plenty of other people eliminated from these games for testing positive in other sports.
Are all those other sports also in danger of getting dropped from the games? :rolleyes:
Again - the USEF has a test for capsaicin. It is on the forbidden list for the USEF not just the FEI.
well, no positive in dressage horses at this particular competition. They’ve had their moment in the sun.
Exactly, so the vet saying he didn’t know is pretty laughable. I cannot imagine that any team vet would not have been COMPLETELY familiar with all the banned substances. This is not new.
Also found in Rap Last, by the way.
I wonder how long it stays in the blood stream.
Sorry folks, but I find the idea that the riders/grooms/coaches/team vets might be unaware that either capscasin was prohibited or that products they were using contained it laughable.
I thought the point of an FEI controlled competion is that the stabling area is also supervised 24/7 making less likely sabatoge or it would have to be very well thought out/executed sabatage!
I find it interesting that this substance is commonly found in peppers. I wonder what kind of concentration these tests can identify. It would be interesting to know if it is a trivial amount or something significant.
Using anything that contains this substance purposefully would seem to be quite idiotic wouldn’t it? Especially with the large amount of testing that was going on at this Olympics that everyone could see. It just seems illogical that these people would be guilty to me, maybe I’m just giving people too much credit. The truth is we’ll never know for sure, like always. They are really the only ones who know, and of course they will never admit it.
This is the most embarrassing news ever 
Capsaicin — out of all substances to come up with the one that is the most suspicious of abusive use on a jumper’s legs. Insufferable…
Is there a big hole somewhere I can burry my sorry deep-red German head in?
I’ve been in the FEI stabling in Florida and at the World Cup Finals. You have to show your pass to get inside, but they don’t follow you around once you’re in there.
It may be different at the Olympics.
It is what makes peppers hot. Capsaicin = peppers. Paprika is roasted, dried ground up peppers.
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