MEDICATIONS AT THE TRACK

ANOTHER REAL VET BILL (cont'd)

The vet bills were identical for August, September, October and November. He raced an average of twice a month in October and won his maiden race. He ran poorly after that. He arrived at my farm in December. I told the owner the horse was quite depressed and moving very slowly. He was probably body sore and needed time to heal. He had a little heat in his left knee, but showed no lameness at this time. The vet came out and checked the left cannon bone to rule out fracture from the bucked shins. The X-ray showed no fracture, and at the time the vet noted that he not was lame.

In the middle of January the vet had to return. The horse had begun to show lameness. He was only being turned out and fed. He moved very little but appeared to be in pain and manifested much more heat and swelling in all the joints. He looked very poor. I now wondered if he had chips in joints, as his overall movement had deteriorated. The vet again checked the horse, noting that he was lame in both front legs. The knees and ankles were X-rayed to check for chips. The X-rays showed no bony lesions and rest was recommended.

It was at this point that I started calling vets asking questions about the medications used on the horse. I was told that ACTH suppresses the normal function of the adrenal glands when used long term with corticosteroids, and that two to three treatments a month in the horse's formative growth period was excessive. I also learned these medications could explain why the horse was so depressed and why he showed no colt-like interest in any other animal. It could take months for his adrenal glands to start functioning again.

Please understand that I do not claim to be a PhD in Pharmacology or Veterinary Science. However, I felt the need to try to understand the basics of this very complex field. Some may accuse me of over simplification. The information I gleaned from veterinarians and pharmacologists is shared with you concisely and in laymans terms, because it is vital that we have a basic understanding of the contents of medications given to our horses.

During my inquiries, I saw the following article, Good Steroids, Bad Steroids, by Laura Hillenbrand in EQUUS Magazine, 1991, Issue 166 (Reprinted with permission of Fleet Street Publishing Corporation). I feel it is worthy of our attention and have included part of it for you. "Corticosteroids . . . synthetically replicate the basic structure of the hormone cortisol, which regulates many functions within the body, including reducing inflammation . . . Some forms have up to 700 times the suppressive power of natural cortisol. Corticosteroids have proved to be the least expensive, fastest acting, and most effective anti-inflammatory medications ever used in veterinary practice."

Inflammation is a part of the healing process. When you inhibit inflammation, you are also inhibiting healing. Inflammation is also a sign that there is a problem. If ignored and suppressed, you enable the damage to continue. The article further states, "Along with the benefits, these substances carry potential side effects that can leave horses permanently, or even fatally, crippled . . . all forms of corticosteroid administration carry potentially harmful side effects. Repeated use of these drugs has been shown to handicap the adrenal gland, causing a drop in levels of several other key hormones as well as cortisol and creating hormonal imbalance . . . because they suppress the immune system and the inflammatory healing reaction, the drugs may also leave a horse vulnerable to undiscovered infection. The greatest risk in corticosteroid therapy, however, involves the possibility that the medication will so prevent the body's protective and restorative mechanisms that progressive structural damage occurs. This can happen in two basic ways. First, corticosteroids can thwart or delay healing to such a degree that supporting capacity is never restored to injured tendons and ligaments, and essential structures such as the cartilage cushions between bones within joints are not regenerated. Cartilage, which is naturally worn away with use, is slow to heal. In horses repeatedly given corticosteroids (especially when the drug is injected intra-articularly), not only does the natural replacement of old cartilage stop, but the current wear greatly accelerates. Eventually, the cartilage is completely worn away and bone rubs against bone, leaving the joint crippled. Secondly, the pain relief provided by corticosteroids, while doing nothing to cure injuries or inflammatory conditions, can encourage a horse to use a damaged limb as if it were sound, unknowingly risking catastrophe with each stride . . . all experts agree that high, frequent doses of the drug can inflict serious damage."

The article does suggest circumstances when the drug could be helpful. Usually short term, small doses, locally targeted. This information is shared with you because, at first glance, the medications NJ received are not alarming. They were only given when he raced. However, I soon realized that NJ was going through a "drying out" or withdrawal from the medications he had been given. He was now a mere 30 months old but moved and acted like a 30 year old.

Although he was fed and consumed enormous quantities of grain and hay, he lost weight and muscle tone and looked like the kind of horse the Humane Society would fine me for starving. He was self destructing in front of my eyes. By early March the horse was looking worse. I took him to the University of Florida Veterinary Teaching Hospital. They examined and X-rayed him and listened to his history. Their diagnosis was Degenerative Joint Disease. It was possible that the cartilage was completely worn down and could not regenerate, there was so much damage. They had no idea whether he could ever be useful racing again or even sound. At this point, the horse was 33 months of age and had been physically on the track only six months.

After much discussion with vets, he was given four injections of Adaquan* and then the oral equivalent Flexfree. (*GAG-Glycosaminoglycan - It helps cartilage growth, but only if the cartilage has not been totally destroyed).

In early May, NJ had acute swelling in his hind legs. I thought he might be going into renal shutdown or some other kind of metabolic problem. He was hauled back to the vet. The vet found the blood tests to be normal. After that, NJ seemed to recover somewhat. He started to develop a little muscle tone and began light exercise in July. He was subsequently sold to a person that understood he might never be sound.

The point is, this vet bill didn't appear to be excessive and the horse didn't appear to be in bad shape. Only after he had withdrawal from the medications did his real state of health become apparent. Why start this process? Train with common sense and leave medications for sick horses . . . not young healthy horses that only need time. Horses treated this way may never make it to a second season of racing. Many horses with similar histories and been unable to return to racing.

One day I ran into this horse's trainer at the track. He asked me about the horse. I told him how the horse had seemed okay when he arrived, but had gone bad in about two to three weeks. The trainer rolled his eyes heavenward, kissed his fingers and said, "Thank You, Jesus!! Can you believe it? While I have the horses, they're fine and then two to three weeks later with others... they go bad! And you know what? I know why they are so good with me! It's the medicine! I know what to use... thank you God for such good stuff!" This man truly didn't equate the medicine to the disintegration of the horses. He believed the medicine helped them. The fact that anyone can be so ignorant about the cause and effect frightens me. This is a horse trainer. He makes a living in the racing industry and he has not figured out why his horses only last one season.

So many of us are not aware of what is in medications we are giving our horses. I was not aware that SoluDeltaCortef*, Prednisone*, Vetalog*, Azium*, and Medicorten* are all corticosteroids. Since various medications are given persistently over long periods of time, it is not surprising that so many horses suffer the weakening of bone, suppression of normal hormonal function, and the lowering of the immune system. Minor colds and flues that normal horses should recover from in a week persist in these horses. Steroids suppress the symptoms and the horse keeps going. Then when lung problems do show up, they are more acute, because the horse has continued to perform when not well. Clenbuteral*, another steroid-like medication, again enables the horse to perform when he has lung problems and should be resting. Is there any wonder that there is more bleeding today? Horses are running with a false sense of health because of the potent qualities of the medications they are given.

Look at the list of brand names for medications and the explanation of what they are and what they do. Study your vet bills. Know what your horse is taking. "Something to make him feel good at the gate" is not an explanation.

Why is it that so many horses do not last more than one season?

Could there be something wrong with a training process that breaks down so many horses before they ever start one race?