PrintFEI president HRH Princess Haya welcomed the Fédération Equestre Internationale initiative to hold a congress on Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, declaring it long overdue. She hailed it as the first real opportunity to bring together new science on NSAIDs since the FEI’s 1993 ban on their use.
Opening the event at the Olympic museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 16-17, she referred to the tensions the debate had created since being raised at the General Assembly last year. She hoped that the distillation of information would continue in the run-up to the vote at the 2010 GA in Taipei, Taiwan, in November, as well as informing the wider horse community.
The horse is “our partner, not a tennis racquet,” said Haya, adding, “Knowledge is indeed very important, but it is nothing if we do not understand what we do not know, and knowledge itself is worthless without having the wisdom to apply it properly.”
Sven Holmberg, FEI first vice president and congress chairman, strongly criticized the vote in favor of the “progressive list” last year and accurately predicted the resulting media storm.
“The way our sport is perceived is fundamental to our ability to attract interest from the general spectator, from the media and from future sponsors. The outcome of this congress should not only guide us in future discussions but also give the outside world the right message,” he said.
Do The Drugs Help Too Much?
Dr. Wayne McIlwraith of Colorado State University discussed studies on pain control. A dose of 4.4 mg/kg phenylbutazone significantly reduced clinical lameness scores at six and 12 hours, and at 24 hours with the higher 8.8 mg/kg dose. Flunixin can allow onset of analgesia within two hours and can persist for 30 hours. Results depend on the timing and duration of dosage, and they are even more effective combined—but with side effects. After one five-day “stacking” experiment using both drugs, one horse died of necrotizing colitis. More specific types of NSAIDs had less risk of slowing healing processes in the joint.
However, Professor Ken Hinchcliff of the University of Melbourne said that most studies had insufficient sample numbers to inspire confidence in the findings. Few studies used healthy horses, or studies used horses that do “not closely mimic those of the target population.”
Peter Kallings of the Swedish-Norwegian Foundation for Equine Research said that other studies showed NSAIDs allow a horse with a musculoskeletal condition to compete better despite injury.
“This type of therapeutic use could threaten the welfare of the equine athlete,” he stated.
