BoDog : Just Say Neigh to Drugs!

[IE]

Big news in the world of horse racing as the Breeders? Cup executive committee announced that beginning in 2012 race day drugs will no longer be allowed in certain races. Further, the committee announced that there will be a complete ban of race day drugs in all Breeders? Cup races from 2013 onwards.

The issue of race day drugs and in particular the use of Lasix has long been a contentious issue among the horse racing community and a hard sell to the public at large. Lasix has been in use for over 20 years and approximately 90% of all horses compete on the drug. Lasix is designated as a diuretic but in the 80?s was also found to prevent pulmonary bleeding in race horses. The drug became an instant hit with trainers and the logic has always been that it protected certain horses from lung damage.

However, there is also clear evidence that the drug can significantly improve racing performance as well. Therefore, it has been argued by many that this is the true reason for the drug?s prevalence in the sport. The other concern with Lasix is that it is also very effective at masking other drugs and as such there may be the possibility of further doping going on.

Currently the United States and Canada are the only countries that allow the use of race day drugs while the practice is banned in the rest of the world. Many feel that it has tainted the sport and in fact contributed to the decline of its popularity. Given public sentiment towards chemically enhanced performance in other sports it makes sense.

The Breeders? Cup committee has agreed and has taken the brave first step in banning the practice. Given that horse racing in the U.S. has no central authority or commissioner, it remains to be seen if the initiative gathers any steam. This year it will only be applied to the Juvenile or two year old races at the Breeders? Cup. It will also be very illuminating to see how the three years olds run without it in 2013.

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[Jimboski]

Verly Interlesting

Verly Interlesting

Got mixed feelings about this decision. I've seen, at the track, horses come out of a race with blood flying out of their noses, ain't pretty. I gotta think that we would have not seen some of the great ones race at all if it wasn't for Lasix too and also that many trainers won't run their horses without it ESPECIALLY concerning their horses that are already on it.

On the other hand, it is unfair cause I think it DOES improve the performance of a horse whether he/she NEEDS it or not.

Those bossmen could have gotten a little more creative with their decision. How bout - giving attractive weight allowances to any horse that is not using Lasix in any race that horse runs in. And make that allowance even more attractive (more weight off) for 2 and 3 yr. olds cause that would discourage trainers from just starting them out with Lasix even if the horse may not need it. Plenty of them do just that.

 

[Hamster]

Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH). This is a condition that is much debated and has many different theories regarding its possible causes and treatment. Bleeding from the lungs, or pulmonary hemorrhage, is a condition that is found in most performance horses, even lower level performance horses (as many as 10% may experience bleeding). However, it is most often associated with Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses, Standardbred harness racers and those used in high performance barrel racing, cutting and roping competitions (there are some researchers that say that 100% of these horses experience "bleeding", but the degree to which they bleed varies). It mostly occurs during strenuous sprint exercise and may be accentuated by pathologic changes in the lungs. There are also schools-of-thought that propose that from an evolutionary standpoint, horses were designed to graze and travel for miles and miles at a walking pace and only would sprint if trying to escape a predator. Their heart and lungs were not designed for extended periods of hard running, or for repeated sprints. What we as humans may be asking them to do goes completely against how evolution has designed them.
Horses may develop very high blood pressure within the pulmonary capillaries in the lungs. The high pressure causes the capillaries to break (pulmonary hemorrhage) and allows blood to flow into the animal's airways. In the more severe cases, the blood flows up the trachea and out of the horse's nostrils. While many high-powered performance horses may bleed in and from the lungs, only a small percentage bleed from the nostrils (about 3-5%). In order to view the interior of the airways and see if bleeding has occurred, an endoscopy needs to be performed.

Some veterinarians believe that there are three areas that influence the high pulmonary blood pressure: the pulmonary blood vessels, the heart and the spleen. These veterinarians are concerned that there is not enough time for the heart to contract, relax and fill during vigorous exercise such as racing. They are doing research to find out if the problem occurs because of something that isn't happening properly within the heart, or whether it is a problem that really has its origin within the lungs. Some veterinarians are also not ruling out that a contributing factor for bleeding in performance horses may be because they are fed diets high in protein in the form of alfalfa hay. The excess protein (that fed above the horses requirement) is broken down into energy (calories) and a nitrogen by-product called urea, that is then expelled in the urine. By being kept confined to a box stall for several hours per day, possibly breathing in ammonia fumes from the urine in their bedding, these horses may develop irritation to their airways and lungs, causing the horse to bleed when vigorously exercised.

EIPH is rarely fatal, but the ailment can be very serious in some cases and also costly to treat. The current method of treatment is to give horses that have a bleeding episode a diuretic called furosemide (Lasix) before they race. This reduces the high blood pressure, but does not eliminate the problem completely. Another concern is that if Lasix is over-used, the horse may become dehydrated, develop electrolyte imbalances and also experience low potassium levels, which may require that the horse be supplemented.

Complete recovery from an episode of bleeding may take four to six weeks, so for many horses, their training comes to a standstill while they recover. In many states and countries, a horse cannot race for 10 days after a first bleeding episode. In some countries, if a horse bleeds a second time, they can never race again, so for this reason, many horses such as yours, will be trained for other careers.

There are a few things that you can do to help prevent a repeat episode of "bleeding" with your horse. First, if your horse is housed in a barn, make sure that there is plenty of ventilation. Exposure to fungus, mold spores and other potential allergens should be avoided, so only provide hay that is free from dust, mold and weeds. Make sure that your horses stall is kept mucked-out to avoid possible exposure and irritation from the ammonia in his urine in the bedding. If at all possible, your horse should live outside, or be turned out, for as many hours a day as possible. Second, try to feed your horse in a more natural grazing position with his head and neck lowered to eat. When fed from feeders that are above eye-level, horses inhale spores and dust from their hay which can irritant their airways and lungs. Third, design an efficient conditioning and training program geared toward your horse as an individual. Utilize various approaches and build his fitness in a step-by-step way so as to avoid over-doing it and perhaps having him bleed.

Bleeding may be tied up with the structural efficiency of the lungs, the physical fitness and conditioning of your horse and the amount of scarring from previous bleeding episodes. For these reasons, be sure and structure your horses living conditions and training/conditioning program toward the individual that he is and in this way, you will be helping to prevent future bleeding episodes.

 

[IE]

yup, you hit the nail on the head Jimboski.