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Posts: 30
(6/7/05 14:32)
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From: phanilah in response to Message 3 Sent: 3/5/2005 12:49 AM
Linda wrote:
"Beth, thanks for taking on this area. I doubt if I will post much other than to ask questions. I am truly ashamed of my total lack of knowledge in this area and believe I will learn much."
Hi Linda,
You're very welcome and I hope that this forum is very educational...but please don't feel ashamed for anything! This topic has a reputation for being somewhat overwhelming - that's why it's very easy for people to "trust" what they are told...sometimes by people who either don't know or who intentional mislead.
"I already have a question. Carol referred to "the anabolic question". I am assuming (I KNOW!) this refers to use of steroids to *bulk* up a horse. Correct? The reason I wonder is because of a conversation I had with my blacksmith. My 5 year old is very narrow in the front compared to my 23 year old. The blacksmith commented that the 5 year old must not have been *bulked up* as a baby. Dense one here--took a while to figure out what he meant. Then the light bulb went on concerning the 23 year old. He developed serious allergies as a 3 year old with terrible coughing. Vet put him on Medicortan to control it. Told us he could not have a shot for at least a week prior to a rated horse show. He was on Medicortan for over 2 years getting shots on a fairly regular basis. NO WONDER HE'S BUILT!! OMG! However, this truly was done for the health of the horse because we were to dumb to know to do it for any other reason."
I'm going to break this into 2 sections:
1) Anabolic steroids - you're in luck, this is one of the information sheets going up this weekend. Yes, the anabolics are used for building muscle. They are also known for adding some "attitude" and not as commonly known (but important), they help speed up the recovery time between training sessions - so horses can be pushed harder during training than normal. Although they do have some therapeutic use, those uses apply to debilitated horses who are recovering from situations such as surgery or serious illness - hardly a "healthy" horse going into competition. And, the effects on musculature aren't permanent - once the drugs go away, the developed muscle will also go away with some time (same with the "attitude").
2) Corticosteroids - and, you're in luck again, since there should be a sheet on these going up this weekend also. Medicorten is actually a corticosteroid, not an anabolic, so not to fear - it's actually a different group of drugs. But, I am interested in what they told you about the timing for the injection. It was only a couple of years ago that USEF started restricting the use of corticosteroids at shows...but since he would have been shown many years ago, maybe there was an earlier rule re: restricted use that I'm not familiar with. Very interesting!
So...stay tuned and keep the questions coming!
Beth
MB II Arabians
Colorado
American Foundation Bred
CMK/Fadjur/Azraff-Ferzon
*****
GAHeC
Colorado Arabian Horse Club
Region 8
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