1 (800) Medications - AQHA

1 (800) Medications

From the Therapeutic Medication Hotline to medication administration guidelines, brush up on A≤HA’s therapeutic medication rules and drug testing procedures before you head to this fall’s championship shows. By Tara Matsler

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you worked all year to make it to the championship

show. Pennies were pinched, long hours of practice put in every night, not to mention the miles and miles you hauled to get qualified. So there you are, at the pinnacle event of your year. It’s possible that your trusty steed is looking a little body sore after the long trip and late-night practices. Weighing the benefits of medication, that tube of bute is looking awfully tempting. Yet you know there is a definite chance your horse could be drug tested at this event – a procedure you’ve never been through. So you keep in mind that dosing outside of AQHA rules could mean a devastating end to a promising show season. What to do? The Journal went straight to the authorities for their insight on medicating within AQHA rules. Here to shed light on the issue are Dr. Stephen Schumacher, the chief administration for the U.S. Equestrian Federation Equine Drugs and Medications Program, the organization that AQHA contracts to administer its drug testing, and Rajeana Thompson, AQHA director of amateur activities and show investigation, who processes positive drug tests. While there is always the possibility your horse could be tested at any AQHA-approved show, it’s at the championship-level shows where winners are guaranteed a trip to the drug-testing barn, as well as random draws. Read on for more about conditionally permitted therapeutic medications, as well as the ins and outs of drug-testing procedures at events like the AQHA Novice Championship shows and the AQHA World Championship Show.

Two Resources when it comes to navigating the waters of medications

compliance, AQHA members have two resources readily at their disposal: the AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations and the Therapeutic Medication Hotline. “Every member should be knowledgeable about the medication rules that AQHA has, and if they have any questions, they can definitely call to find out,” Dr. Schumacher says. Rules VIO300-305 in the AQHA Handbook detail regulations for prohibited medications, drugs and substances, as well as the repercussions one might face if he or she is not acting in accordance with AQHA rules. Competitors should also be familiar with VIO400-405, the Therapeutic Medication Addendum, in addition to VIO405, which provides guidelines for administering conditionally permitted therapeutic medications. And for questions regarding whether a non-listed therapeutic medication is accepted, Dr. Schumacher urges horse owners to call 1 (800) 633-2472, which is staffed Monday

through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. Outside of those hours, a USEF official will return voicemails as soon as possible, which allows horsemen to have their questions answered as soon as possible. “It’s a good idea to call the hotline any time your vet prescribes something; you can always call and ask,” Dr. Schumacher advises. “We want to impress upon people that they have to be knowledgeable about the drug rules and not rely solely on a veterinarian’s advice. Frequently, we do have findings that well-intentioned veterinarians don’t provide the most accurate information. “I would encourage calling the hotline before administering the medication, the reason being that frequently we get

THIRTEEN That’s how many conditionally permitted therapeutic medications AQHA recognizes. If you’ll turn to Rule VIO405 in the AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations, you’ll find guidelines for administration of those therapeutic medications. And for most of the 13, quantitative guidelines are provided, complete with dosing amounts and timing intervals. • Phenylbutazone (aka “bute,” a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) • Diclofenac (Surpass, an NSAID) • Flunixin meglumine (Banamine) • Ketoprofen (Ketofen, an NSAID) • Meclofenamic acid (an NSAID) • Naproxen (an NSAID) • Firocoxib (Equioxx, an NSAID) • Acetazolamide • Furosemide or Lasix • Isoxsuprine • Lidocaine/Mepivicaine • Dexamethosone • Eltenac (pending FDA and AQHA approval, an NSAID) Be sure to refer to Rules VIO405-406 in the AQHA Handbook for an in-depth look at acceptable dosing and administration guidelines. If you don’t have your printed rulebook handy, you can always visit www.aqha.com/handbook for the mobile-optimized online version, or download the free AQHA Handbook app for Apple iOS or Android. If the therapeutic medication you may be administering isn’t listed above, just call the Therapeutic Medication Hotline at 1 (800) 633-2472 for help.

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“In other words, a medication report form is not applicable when you are using quantitatively restricted drugs.” Rajeana offers a great example of how a medication report form came to the rescue just a few years ago. “In one case, a horse tested positive for furosemide, or Lasix, at the AQHA World Show. Dr. Schumacher called with the number of the positive drug test and asked me to see if a medication report form had been filed and at what time and what day. I went back through the medication report forms, found it and saw the medication was given the day before the horse competed and that the horse was tested at such-and-such time. What helps us at the World Show is that we keep track of start and end times for each class. “I went and pulled our start and end times for that day, saw that the time the medication report form listed the medication as adminiscalls after the drug has already been administered, and in tered was four hours prior to the class start time, which is some cases, it may not be have been used for a therapeutic what is required, and when the test was done, the horse was purpose,” he adds. actually more than 24 hours out from when the medication For instance, under VIO403.1, the administration of a was administered. conditionally permitted therapeutic medication, such as a “So the medication report form does help us in those sedative, for the purpose of transport, grooming or training instances where there is a medication that is very legal, but nullifies the intention of the substance as a therapeutic medi- must be administered in a specific time frame,” she explains. cation; meaning its presence in a horse’s system could be “The report form gives us a place to go back and look at what found illegal. time the medication was administered.” Medication report forms are available in the show office at Medication Report Form any event – be it an AQHA Novice Championship show, now that you have referred world show or weekend circuit, to your aqha handbook and called and you can even download them “We want to impress upon the Therapeutic Medication at www.aqha.com/resources. Hotline, what’s the next step? When completing the form, you people that they have to be If you administer a therapeutic should provide identification of the medication for which quantitahorse (be sure to include the horse’s knowledgeable about the tive guidelines are listed in the registered name, not his barn name), rulebook, such as phenybutazone and be as detailed as possible when drug rules and not rely solely filling out the identification of medor flunixin meglumine (aka Banamine), be sure to follow the ication section. Show management on a veterinarian’s advice.” dosing amount and timing interwill keep the yellow copy and send vals suggested – the guidelines the white copy to AQHA. The pink Dr. Stephen Schumacher copy is for you, and you should keep are applicable to most horses. However, if you are administerit in a safe and secure place, just in ing a therapeutic medication case it needs to be referenced. without quantitative guidelines, or the medication is not listed in the AQHA Handbook, you are encouraged to com- Drug Testing Procedure plete and file a medication report form. to keep the playing field level, champions are tested at “If somebody comes into the show office, even at the AQHA’s championship shows, such as the Novice AQHA World Show, and we’re not sure if the medication is Championships and world shows. And while there will be allowed, I have the exhibitor call the hotline and file a medi- more than enough excitement if you’ve been crowned a cation report form, just to be on the safe side,” Rajeana says. champion, be prepared for what comes next. “Yet, even if you had filed the medication report form with “As you’re walking out the gate, someone is going to stop us, and the horse tested above our quantitatively restricted you and identify themselves as either the technician or the level, you would still have a positive drug test,” she cautions. veterinarian,” Rajeana explains. “At the World Show, they’ll



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walk with you to the photography booth, if you choose to have your win photo taken first – that is for world champions. The champion will go to the front of the line to get your picture made, then they will take you into the testing area. However, random draws, meaning those who did not win a championship, will be required to head straight to the testing booth. “They will have paperwork for you to fill out,” she adds. “You will fill out paperwork that includes the horse’s name; it’ll have a number at the top of the form with sample ID tags for your horse’s test tube and urine jar. The veterinarian or vet tech will fill those ID tags out, but you’ll need to be there to watch as they draw blood and catch the urine. After that’s done, you’ll watch them seal the samples and you will sign to verify that you watched. They will give you a number off of the card, which will match the number on your sample ID tags. “Then the veterinarian or technician will secure all of that. Everything is sealed, then it goes in an evidence bag, and that’s sealed and it goes in the cooler, which is also sealed. The cooler is shipped to the USEF lab in Lexington, where it is opened and tested.” For those who are concerned about anonymity, Rajeana assures that everything is done as nameless as possible. “The lab has nothing but the numbers on the samples. The actual documentation of who that belongs to goes to USEF in Columbus, Ohio. If the lab has a positive, USEF will send the sample number to Dr. Schumacher; he reviews everything and sends that to us. Names are not with the samples as they are being tested.” And drug testing technicians are familiar with all sorts of scenarios, such as when a horse or a rider has to go right back



into the next class. “If the exhibitor has to go right back into the next class, they can give permission to a trainer or relative who can stand there with the horse while everything’s being done, and the person with permission can sign the verification form,” Rajeana says. “Anytime a horse has to go right back into the next class, the drug-testing veterinarian will assign a tech to watch the horse compete,” she adds. “They’ll stay with that horse until it can be tested. And we try to get the horse tested as soon as possible after the horse is done competing.” Emotions can run high at horse shows, and especially so at championship-level events. What really makes the drugtesting process run smoothly is cooperation. “There are times when the testing teams do not receive the appropriate cooperation and civility,” Rajeana says. “The teams are there to enforce our medications policies, which are safeguards of the spirit of competition. “AQHA’s medication rules and procedures were put into place to protect the horse and the sport,” she adds. “When you’re at an event, please keep in mind the respect owed to the testing teams. And remember the service you owe your horse and the sportsmanship that is owed to your competitors for those times that you choose to medicate.” While AQHA provides multiple therapeutic medication resources to exhibitors, ultimately the choice to medicate is up to you. Tara Matsler is Internet editor for AQHA Publications. To comment, write to [email protected].