By SUSAN LEGGE
I’ve been a hunter rider for over forty years and a hunter judge and a steward for about twenty-five. I sometimes joke that I’ve been in this business so long I’m on my second go round for most trends–I mean exactly how many times can rust breeches come back in style? The not funny part of having been around seemingly forever is that I’m familiar with the dark side of the sport, particularly the sometimes questionable treatment of our equine partners.
As a result, it takes a lot to shock me when it comes to ethical violations at hunter/jumper competitions. That doesn’t mean I don’t care or don’t speak up–I care a great deal, and I have and will continue to speak up against unethical acts. What it does mean is that there is, and probably always has been, an element of uncaring in certain people who frequent those competitions. In this instance, I’m talking about the people who are willing to compromise the health and welfare of horses competing in the show ring by injecting them with calming substances in the hours before they show.
The USHJA Board of Directors is currently gathered in Tucson, AZ. for the Annual Meeting (click here to the see latest news and stay up to date) where one topic being discussed is the ban of non-veternarians having possession of and/or using the following substances on Federation show grounds:
- Injectable ACTH
- Injectable Adenosine
- Injectable Formaldehyde
- Injectable Magnesium Sulfate
- Injectable Oxytocin
- Injectable Pentobarbital, except by a veterinarian for the purpose of euthanasia
- Injectable Thiamine
- Liquid Nitrogen
- Any prescription medication in any formulation without a label identifying the horse for whom it is prescribed, pharmacy, prescription date, and prescribing veterinarian, unless it is the possession of a veterinarian, and not yet prescribed or otherwise prohibited under these rules (GR414.8, Tracking #107-24).
This extraordinary rule change was proposed by USEF’s Veterinary Committee–the intent stating that there are some substances that non-veterinarians should not have in their possession or use on the grounds of a Federation Licensed Competition, due to the potential threat of abuse for competitive advantage.
Depending on what conclusion the Board of Directors draws, this rule change could go into effect April 1, 2025 and will prohibit the possession of certain drugs at horse shows (unless you are an attending veterinarian), including Injectable Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) and Injectable Pentobarbital. I’m focusing on these two drugs because of my personal experience with the first, and my outrage at what I’ve been told within the past year about the second.
Let me be clear, I have never administered, or had administered, ACTH on a horse of my own. My experience with ACTH comes from having heard people talk, quite openly, about using this drug on horses to make them quiet. I have watched horses change physically, developing bulky necks and odd muscling (the Cushing’s-like side effects common to continued ACTH use) the longer they remained in certain programs. And then those horses are suddenly absent from the hunter ring, because horses exposed to ACTH long term often develop the same infirmities that afflict horses with Cushing’s disease–including tendon degeneration and laminitis. That’s what bothers me most about horses being injected routinely with ACTH before they compete–the lack of caring about the effects of the drug and the long term damage it does to a horse.
Let me be clear, I ride hunters and so they get prepared before they go to the ring. I lunge when needed, I ring ride in the morning (yawn), I use ear stuffies, but I don’t use performance enhancing substances. Does it annoy me that programs who do are winning? Of course. But I can sleep at night, knowing that my horse is not standing in his stall shaking from the effects of a shot of ACTH spiking his cortisol levels so that he’ll be exhausted into submission for me to show the next day.
And then there’s Pentobarbital, the active ingredient in the solution used to euthanize horses. So what the heck is this doing at shows in the hands of a non-veterinarian? According to several professional hunter trainers I have spoken to in the last year, it’s being used in small amounts as a quieting drug for hunters. Just to be clear on the implication of this, according to my sources, some hunters are going to the ring having been injected with a sedative that is so powerful it is used to euthanize animals.
The professionals who told me this were equally as shocked as I and had heard about the use of Pentobarbital by other trainers. In other words, my information was not from a direct source. The horse show world is built on rumours, and until I saw the USEF list I wasn’t sure that I was willing to give credence to this information. Since the publication of the rule change proposal I have spoken to more people in the industry and been informed that this usage of Pentobarbital is happening. I’m horrified, but I believe them.
It seems like a watershed moment in horse sport when the governing body of a discipline has to make it illegal for persons responsible for those horses to carry around a drug intended to kill them. People will talk about how clients put pressure on trainers to win. Amateur riders will bemoan not having enough time to practice but still want fancy horses to compete. Showing hunters has seemingly become a pursuit where the ends justify the means, no matter how horrific.
Most of us say we love our horses, that we see them as partners in sport. If that is the case, then we need to step up and support not only rules with teeth that protect our show horses but also work actively to change the culture that we’ve built. Consider who you train with, scrutinize your invoices, be involved with your horse’s care, accept that every day at a show won’t be perfect. Be the advocate your horse deserves.
About the Author
Susan Legge is a retired high school English teacher. She has been competing in the hunter, jumper, and equitation rings for the past 45 years. Currently she is developing a young hunter, Imagine SLH, who will make his debut in the 3’ Adult Amateur Division at WEC this February. Susan is also a senior Equestrian Canada hunter, jumper, and equitation judge, as well as a senior E.C. steward. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
