Veterinary
PRINCESS HAYA HAS DONE THE RIGHT THING
By Dr. Leo De Backer
Last week was a really important one for horse sport when the zero tolerance
option came up for voting at the FEI General Assembly in Copenhagen. In the past
zero tolerance has caused confusion and frustration and many high-profile athletes
were vilified unfairly. It almost looked as if the FEI or some departments and
Federations were doing everything in their power to put horse sport in a bad light.
The German Federation in particular has done our sport a disservice over the past
number of years by behaving in an ill-considered and unbalanced manner towards
any rider suspected of doping. Instead of standing up for its riders and taking
mitigating circumstances into account, instead of explaining to the public that there
is a difference between doping and a positive medication finding, they would
without fail start hacking around with their battle-axe, causing several people to be
undeservedly condemned and hung and quartered by the press. The only reason for
them to act in this way seemed to be that they were afraid of losing sponsors and
television rights after the vehement reactions in Germany during the doping
problems of the Tour de France and obviously not wanting to be the next victim of
a similar hate campaign. But Federations (including the German Federation) only
exist by the grace of the sport and some of the officials seem to forget that
sometimes.
A proposal for a new list of banned substances resulted in a comprehensive Equine
Prohibited Substances List being drawn up and this new list, together with the
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Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMR), was sent
out to the National Federations on 20 October. This meant that all substances
named on this list were prohibited, making it simply impossible to give horses the
care they are entitled to in a responsible manner. There was so much concern about
guaranteeing the welfare of the horse that the new list ended up banning virtually
everything, including legitimate medication substances that really do support the
welfare of the horse.
Thanks to many protests from the professional world, FEI President HRH Princess
Haya finally did what a good President ought to do. She was led by the power of
reason. A number of reputable professionals then drew up what came to be called
the “progressive list” which was sent to the National Federations on 13 November.
The National Federation delegates now had to make a choice between two lists at
the General Assembly, either persist with the absolute zero tolerance or vote for
the progressive list which allowed for the restricted use of a small number of care
products. This progressive list was accepted by an ample majority vote. This
decision was arrived at in a democratic manner, but for some people democracy
only counts when that means that they get their own way.
The following products are permitted on the progressive list:
Lysomucil (acetylcystein) a product that dissolves mucus in the trachea. In most
country this product can be bought at a pharmacy without prescription, even for
children with a snotty nose or light cold. Horses that are often on transport often
have to cope with minor complaints such as a runny nose and this can now be
adequately remedied.
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Next comes Lactanase (dichloroacetate) a product that has a supportive effect
against muscle stiffness as a result of long periods in transportation. It decreases
the LDH factor, a muscle enzyme that is released when horses have to stand still
for longer than a few hours after exertion. It has absolutely no stimulating or
energizing effect. It helps horses to be less stiff after a long journey and protects
them against muscle damage.
Isoxuprine, a product that has been a subject of discussion for a long time and
that in many countries is still considered the best remedy for the treatment of
navicular (a hereditary hoof disease in horses). The problem with this medicine
was its irregular excretion after use. Horses which had undergone such treatment
could still test positive three months later because the product is stored in the body
and is irregularly released (sometimes after exertion). Often a horse would test
negative after 10 days and suddenly, two months later, would test positive again
because the substance was released from the fat layers. This meant that a horse that
had received standard treatment for navicular could not start in competitions for
many months afterwards, even though the medication was not used as a doping
substance but as treatment.
Besides these products, that have absolutely nothing to do with doping but
exclusively with health care, there are three products for which strict limits were
determined, because – after treatment – they leave traces in the body for a very
long time (and therefore caused positive test results) without being active at all
anymore (residual values). These three products are also medication not doping
substances.
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In particular, butazolidin has caused a lot of resistance among many “experts”,
but for horses butazolidin is the same as an aspirin for people. I would have liked
to know how many “drugged” people were at the General Assembly having taken
an aspirin the morning of the meeting. Because that is all it is. When traces of an
aspirin are found in a horse, it will be reported in the headlines of all the
newspapers and magazines as doping. In the progressive list these two products
(aspirin and butazolidin) are given strict limits that will prevent false positives
caused by residual values. This is absolutely in the best interest of the horse but
also of the rider, who until now got the shakes when the horse was tested because
these products can leave traces in concentrations up to 10 decimal places.
Everyone knows that they are no longer active then, but a positive result can cause
an unjust witch-hunt of the sportsman/woman.
In addition, an important aspect has been overlooked, namely that butazolidin is
allowed in the USA in national competitions. The application of threshold values
protects the American rider against arbitrariness. I should think that it is important
that there should be one Federation with one set of doping rules that should apply
to all continents and it is the role of the world Federation to take this into account.
Some European Federations apparently do not know that there are also people who
are living and active in the horse sport outside Europe.
The third and last product for which a limit has been determined is flunixin. This
product is considered by most vets as one of the better remedies against colic. If
your horse was colicky shortly before the competition and was treated with this
product, the excretion process would be irregular and unpredictable. That is why it
was not used for sport horse and was replaced by medicines that were not as
effective but that would only leave traces for a short period of time. So the
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competition horse often did not get the treatment it was entitled to because it could
then not go to a show for weeks or even months. And remember that colic is in
many cases fully comparable to belly ache in children.
The fact that this medication can now be used within these strictly prescribed limits
is a big step forwards for the horse and for giving it the health care to which it is
entitled. And is that not what this is all about? In the past the moralists could not
care less about how important it was for the horse. The only thing that was
important was the zero option, even when this was detrimental to the horse and its
right to good health care. And in many cases they did or do not even know what
they are talking about. I cannot believe that the people who had to make these
decisions had all received the correct training and information that is required to
make a well-balanced decision. But their ignorance did not disturb them, as we
often saw during the persecution of cases with positive results for Theobromine, a
feed supplement that had nothing to do with doping.
Nevertheless many riders were condemned, even medals were taken away, when
the labs and the professionals had known for a long time that the positive tests
were caused by feeding habits and had nothing to do with deliberate doping.
The fact that Princess Haya has had the courage to submit two lists for voting
proves that she is not led by rabble-rousing and false sentiments, but that she, as
FEI President, knows what is going on in her sport. She has shown that she is
worthy of the title of President, which has not always been the case for some
Federations or their representatives. This vote was of crucial importance to the
sport. It is a first step in the struggle to solve the doping problem.
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I honestly believe that everyone who has anything to do with our sport is a genuine
devotee who will do anything in the interest of the horse. The witch hunts of the
past few years did not have anything to do with the fight against doping and have
been disastrous for the horse. Princess Haya, as an active rider, absolutely
understood what was going on and has now provided the tools for setting out the
difference between doping and medical treatment in black and white. It proves all
the more how important it is that the President of an international sports governing
body should be thoroughly knowledgeable about the sport concerned. The dull
bigwigs of the past have too often shown that they wanted to have the last say, but
often did not know the first thing about the issues involved.
On behalf of the horse, thank you Princess Haya!
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