Page 25 - The Game November 2006

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper The Game, November 2006 25
What are You Doing This Winter?
Equine Health
by Karen Briggs
LESS IS MORE WITH NSAIDS
Dave Landry Photo
Okay, common sense might have told us this already, though there are certainly plenty of horsepeople willing to ignore common sense. I’m talking about non-steroidal anti-inflamma- tory drugs, or NSAIDs, and the practice of ‘stacking them’ by administering more than one kind to a hurting horse. Given that we know the detrimental side-effects of NSAID use tend to accumulate over time, one would think that combining two or more NSAIDS would be a bad idea for the long-term health of the horse, and now we have some proof of that.
In a joint study performed at the Universities of Missouri, Columbia, and Oregon State, and published in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research, Nathaniel Messer DVM, Dipl. ABVP, an associate professor of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri, and his team demonstrated that when phenylbutazone (bute) and flunixin meglumine (banamine) are administered together to horses, there can be toxic, and even fatal, effects.
Twenty-four horses were involved in the study, which used bute and banamine because those two drugs are probably the two most common, and accessible, NSAIDs in every trainer and owner’s arsenal. The treated horses received a standard therapeutic dose of bute or banamine for five consecutive days, then a combination of bute and banamine, for five days. On the first and final days of each treatment, the researchers drew blood on the study horses to measure total protein, albumin, and glob- ulin levels. Not only did the horses who received stacked bute and banamine show abnormally low protein levels, they also had a significantly greater incidence of gastric ulcers and one horse in the study died from severe gastrointestinal ulceration and colitis, which the team attributed to the effects of the two drugs being combined.
Said Messer, “We use NSAIDs in therapeutic dosages by themselves, but by using them at the same time the dose can become toxic to horses and can cause serious problems.” He added that although only bute and banamine were examined in the study, NSAID drugs are sufficiently similar that their results would likely hold true for any combination a trainer, owner, or veterinarian might concoct.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act by inhibiting prostaglandins, chemical signals in the body which trigger and perpetuate the inflammatory process. They do this by binding to a chemical called cyclooxygenase, which is necessary for the production of prostaglandins. But prostaglandins also play an essential role in the production of mucous in the intestinal tract, protecting the tissues from caustic digestive acids. When an NSAID causes prostaglandin levels to decrease, the protective function of this lining also decreases, leaving the horse vulnerable to gastric ulceration.
Why do some horses tolerate accumulated or long-term use of NSAIDs without obvious detrimental effects, while others develop ulcers, or liver or kidney problems? The answer to that isn’t yet clear, which means that there’s no predicting which horses might be ultra-sensitive, another good reason to avoid stacking NSAIDs. We do know that even single NSAIDs should be avoided particularly in horses who already have gastric ulcers, known kidney or liver problems, or are on blood thinners for navicular disease or laminitis (bute, especially, can amplify the anti-coagulant effect of these drugs to a dangerous level).
Fingerlakes Racing Secretary Joe Colasacco (right) and Racing Manager Patrick Placito were at Fort Erie recruiting horses for the last month of their meet as well as their 2007 meet which runs from mid April to the end of November.
Relaxing on the backstretch are (left to right) trainer Mark Fornier who is waiting to hear about getting some stalls at Woodbine at the end of the Fort Erie meet; Richard Morden, Assistant Trainer to his father Lyle, will also be heading to Woodbine; while Charlie Buttigieg, Assistant Trainer to brother Kevin Buttigieg was anxiously awaiting his departure to Mountaineer Park where they will be tak-
Exercise rider and groom Velibor Ilic will be heading to Tampa with trainer Thomas Agosti this winter. “Somewhere to stay warm.” says Vel.
Jacquie Erwin (right), wife of trainer Dennis Erwin and hot- walker Tina Hutcheson with the Herbert Chambers owned 4-year-old gelding Pyrite Delight. Tina hopes to spend her winter working at Philadelphia Park while Dennis and Jacquie are looking to take some horse to Cleveland.
After the snow storm - there was barely any branches left on this once magnificient tree in the walking ring at Fort Erie
Groom Frankie Turner who is originally from Alabama and Florida with 4-year-old Holy Jolie. 2006 was his first year in Canada working for trainer Myra Mora after working as head outrider at Calder and Tampa Bay Downs. “I had never been to a Canadian racetrack,” said Frankie, “People treated me really well. It was a fun meet until the snow storm.”
Did You Know....
That Betfair, a British based betting exchange has agreed to pay 10% of its profits on Irish horseracing to Horse Racing Ireland. The agreement, which is similar to the one which Betfair had already made in England, will guarantee annual payments of $1.28 million to Horse Racing Ireland.