Page 1138 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

(www.insidefei.org) and there is also a very useful app available. The list is reviewed

annually. Any changes to the EPSL are published 90 days before coming into effect. The
VetBooks.ir substances on these lists are not allowed during FEI events. To help competitors and their
vets make decisions on the use of medication for legitimate reasons before an event, the FEI

publishes a ‘List of Detection Times’. The detection time is the approximate time the drug is
likely to remain in the horse’s system and be detected in a blood test.

The majority of medications are eliminated from the horse’s system and are not
detectable after 8 days. However, there is no guarantee that a drug will not be detectable after

this period. The clearance time is affected by factors such as dose, the route of
administration, the diet, concurrent administration of other drugs and the individual horse’s

metabolism. Some medications may remain in the system and be detectable for a longer
period.

Particular care must be taken with supplements, homeopathic products and herbal
preparations as not all of the ingredients are always listed on the packaging and they may

contain prohibited substances.

Medication of any sort should therefore be avoided close to competition. If treatment is
unavoidable, consult your vet about the withdrawal time of the particular drug and the

advisability of competing. A British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Medication Logbook
should be kept for all competition horses, in which any medication or supplements given
during or outside of competition are recorded.

Precautions

All too often, embarrassing and distressing incidents are reported when horses awarded

medals at major international competitions are later stripped of their titles owing to positive
tests. Subsequent investigations are detailed and expensive. A positive test result may be the
result of accidental contamination, e.g. mistakenly using a feed bucket that has been used to

give medicine to another horse. Another example is treating a small wound with a cream,
forgetting that it may contain a prohibited substance. Such mistakes can be avoided by

ensuring that the following checks are made:
• Both you and anyone responsible for the horse must be aware of the current rules.

• Your vet must be informed of the next competition date before the horse is given any

medicine, including sedatives.
• All feedstuffs and supplements must be free from banned substances. Feeds for

competition horses should be certified ‘free of prohibited substances’. Competition riders
often keep back samples of each batch of feed so they can be tested if there is a positive