POSITIVE tests for prohibited
substances continue to affect
equestrian sport. The presence of a
prohibited substance in a post-race
or urine sample is a disaster for all –
connections, the sport and any
supplier duly implicated.
The definition of a prohibited
substance depends on the regulatory
body. In
racing, the
British
Horseracing
Authority
(BHA) defines
a prohibited
substance as
“a substance
which originates externally to a horse,
whether or not it is endogenous to it,
and is listed in any of the categories
specified in Schedule 6 of the Trainers
Manual, and includes the metabolites of
the substance and the isomers of the
substance and the metabolites”.
Schedule 6 lists the following broad
definitions:
- Any substance capable at any time of
causing an action or effect, or both an
action and effect, within one or more of
the following mammalian body systems:
nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory,
digestive, urinary, reproductive,
musculoskeletal, blood; the immune
system (except for licensed vaccines
against infectious agents); and the
endocrine system. - Endocrine secretions and their
synthetic counterparts.
n Masking agents.
n Anabolic steroids, peptide hormone
or analogues (with the exception of
oxytocin use in fillies and mares in
breeding management or to block
oestrus cycling), â2 adrenoceptor
stimulants (except when prescribed by a
veterinary surgeon), oxygen carriers or
agents that directly or indirectly affect or
manipulate gene expression. - Sedatives, tranquillisers, hypnotic or
anxiolytic substances.
In equestrian sport, the International
Equestrian Federation (FEI) lists two
main categories of substances within its
Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled
Medication Regulations (EADCMR):
- Banned substances – those
considered by the FEI to have no legitimate use in equine medicine
and/or have a high potential for abuse.
n Controlled medication substances –
medication that is prohibited in
competition and made up of all known
substances that are recognised as
therapeutic and/or commonly used but
have the potential to enhance
performance at certain levels.
Competition horses are expected to
compete with no banned substances or
controlled medication substances in
their systems unless at a level defined
and approved by FEI regulations.
The FEI publishes its annual list of
prohibited substances at
www.fei.org/fei/cleansport/ad-
h/prohibited-list.
FEI list
The British Equestrian
Federation (BEF) anti-doping
and controlled medication
system mirrors that of the
FEI and has adopted the FEI
prohibited substances list in
its entirety.
Prohibited substances can
enter the horse via
inadequate withdrawal times
of authorised equine medicines,
inadvertent ingestion of human or
veterinary medicines, recreational drugs,
food or drink that contain prohibited
substances, or contaminated feedstuffs.
In the event of a positive test,
someone has to be held responsible by
the authorities. In racing it is the trainer
and in equestrian sport it is the rider.
This is irrespective of whether they
directly approved the use of the material
that caused the positive result.
It is therefore incumbent on trainers
and riders to be informed and, in turn,
to ensure those responsible for the
horses that race or compete under their
name are educated in reducing risks.
To help educate trainers and riders
to steer clear of positive tests for
banned substances in equestrian sport,
the British Equestrian Trade
Association (BETA) has produced a
new information booklet, The BETA
Guide to Avoiding Prohibited Substances.
This handy publication highlights
the key risk factors and provides a
comprehensive checklist of care for
stable, feed and medication
management. This extensive list of do’s
and don’ts can also be found on an
accompanying poster that can be
displayed on the yard.
Both the booklet and poster are
available as a download from the BETA
website, www.beta-uk.org.
Feed assurance schemes can also
play an important part in keeping
prohibited substances at bay. Many
equine feeds and supplements are
accredited to the BETA Naturally
Occurring Prohibited Substances
(NOPS) assurance schemes.
Defined standards
Companies audited under these schemes
work to defined standards to help
reduce the risk of NOPS contamination
in their products.
NOPS can occur in feedstuffs as a
result of a natural presence of a prohibited substance or inadvertent
cross-
contamination
during processing.
The NOPS
currently covered
by the scheme are
caffeine,
theobromine,
theophylline,
morphine,
hyoscine,
hordenine and
atropine.
Since the
schemes began, 10 potentially serious incidences of NOPS
contamination have been averted and,
equally important, the supply chain for feed ingredients has become more
transparent. This behind-the-scenes,
independently audited activity by the
feed industry means that choosing a
BETA NOPS-accredited nutrition
supplier is an essential part of NOPS
control on the yard.
There have, however, been recent
examples where feed and particularly
supplements from non-scheme
members have been contaminated with
other prohibited substances, with cross-
contamination during manufacture
implicated.
Although the BETA NOPS
assurance schemes do not cover all
prohibited substances listed by the BHA
or FEI, they do require participating
companies to have risk-assessed their
supply chains and, importantly, require
that feeds can be made only on a
dedicated non-medicated production
line in order to reduce further the risk
of cross-contamination. This way, the
schemes offer a wider protection than
for the principal contaminants it seeks
to avoid.
In summary, carefully monitored
management regimes designed to
support performance in today’s equine
athletes should also include education
and vigilance on the part of all
members of the team, including
suppliers that keep prohibited
substances out of competing horses.
For further information on the
information leaflet and a list of
companies that have signed up to the
BETA NOPS schemes, please contact
Claire Williams at BETA, telephone
01937 587062 or e-mail claire@beta-uk.org.
