Mints and FEI Competitions

[Divine Comedy]

I have been told that it is illegal to feed my horse peppermints at FEI competitions. Is this true? The ones I usually feed my horse are the Wint O Green Life Savers, b/c they last forever and don't melt in the heat. The ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, aritificial flavor, and stearic acid.

If they are illegal, are there other types of hard candy (preferable resistant to melting as it hits over 100 degrees down here) that would be okay to feed my horse?

[mjrtango93]

I've never heard that mint candies aren't allowed at FEI. Thats how we kept my guy with all 4 on the floor in the start box. Come to think of it he was even drug tested twice when we did this and never an issue. If something would have been illegal in there we would have known with how much mint that horse ate in a weekend.

[caevent]

It doesn't seem like it should be illegal, but I'm afraid to give my horse ANYTHING at an FEI competition. It seems way too easy to test positive for something completely innocent. I'll stick to carrots and apples. :eek:

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I remember being told that once as well....but it was only large sums of them (as in they get in your trunk and eat a few pounds). I know pleanty of people who feed them as a treat.

[raave05]

i don't know the veracity of the claim, but i have been told at many h/j competitions to steer clear of the peppermints as it could cause a false/positive on a drug test. according to this site: http://www.rain-tree.com/hortela.htm, peppermint is primarily a digestive aid, but can also be used to break fevers. i can only imagine that the FEI would look on this as some treatment for colic or other such problem, if used in large quantities, and thus would be illegal for a horse in competition.

that said, seems like a stretch to think our little peppermint treats would do anything on a drug test, unless those drug tests are also good enough to pick up the doobie i smoked in 8th grade, in which case, i hope my boss never learns about this procedure :)

[yellowbritches]

This is the problem with the FEI, the rules are TOO strict. I'm all about taking care of our horses and not running them doped up to cover lameness or get them in the ring...but, seriously...the thought that giving my horse a couple of peppermints (which they get ALL. THE. TIME.) could cause me a heap load of trouble bugs me...a lot. Same goes for using Vetrolin, etc. Some it is just plain silly.

Does anyone know how easy it is to actually TALK to anyone at the FEI regarding the drugs and meds rules? USEF is very easy to deal with and very strightforward...I never hesitate to either call the USEF or look something up when I have a question, but I don't think the FEI is nearly as easy to deal with.

[Liebe-ist-Krieg]

somebody told me this at my first CCI* as well, right after my horse had been drug tested. i had been giving him a singe one of the little peppermint puff thingies every day for a while (you know the ones that come in the huge plastic thing), so i was pretty worried. luckily, he didn't test, but i don't know if thats because a) its not illegal b)the amount was too small or c) they just didnt look for that.
also, not to thread hijack, but i was wondering about this the other day.. theoretically, if you were drug tested after dressage (like i was) couldn't you load your horse up with bute or something after x-country and they would never know? i know the vet who did my drug test said "just remind us that we already did you we accidently call you over again"
is this just an accepted flaw in the sytem? or can you be tested multiple times?

[retreadeventer]

Here's the relevant part of the rule, I think:

"The examination may include physical, urine, blood tests and/or any other test or procedure at the discretion of said veterinarian necessary to effectuate the purposes of this rule. Said veterinarian may examine any or all horses and/or ponies in a class or all classes in a competition or any horses and/or ponies entered in any class, whether in competition or not, if on the competition grounds, or any horse and/or pony withdrawn by any exhibitor within 24 hours prior to a class for which it has been entered.
2. Whether a horse and/or pony is in competition or not, refusal to submit the horse and/or
pony for examination or to cooperate with the veterinarian or his agents constitutes a
violation and subjects the responsible person to penalties under GR406."

It doesn't say ONCE per competition. It is open to the vet who and when he wants to test, however, having helped a vet test at a recognized competition, they are given numbers or placings to test. I assume they were drawn or determined by an official in some manner, one would hope randomly. And we did test after dressage due to the fact that we could find the riders after they came out of the ring at this particular event. (Time schedule and bridle numbers) We did NOT retest them after XC since many were not riding that phase until the following day.

I have to tell you that testing at USEA events is a way less formal procedure than at hunter/jumper shows and far less than horse racing. Drug testing is wildly expensive as well, and to pull a full panel searching for minute quantities of strange and rare drugs is on the outer edges of what is actually possible in terms of money and time. Our associations do not go to that kind of expense. I race horses in a state with slot money to pump purses and the state's coffers and they have pretty much carte blanche to test for whatever they want, and even they can't do those hugely expensive tests every night for every horse. Most pull a normal panel checking for (classified)narcotics which ring the bell pretty easily due to their chemical composition. Beyond that, an exotic test can run upwards of thousands. Those of you on the board than work in labs can confirm that - but you just cannot run the gauntlet if you get to FEI level.

To do the same horse twice in the weekend would be not only wasteful but could be considered harrassment. However when you sign that entry blank you do give them permission and are bound by the rules to cooperate fully.

With the FEI however anything is possible, and indeed, probable.

I think that when a horse can test positive due some ingredient in lubricant on paddles affixed to his skin (re, Olympics) I think a minute quantity of ANYTHING remotely near an illegal substance should be removed from the tack box, indeed, from a 20 mile radius of the horse! I sure wouldn't risk it.

[tx3dayeventer]

I have been told by more than a few FEI vets that I am to NOT under ANY circumstance give my horses mints at FEI competitions. They "supposedly" help the horse's breathing and can be considered a steroid/aid. How they test for peppermints, I am not sure, but I actually had the FEI vet come by my stall at a CCI* (LF) while I was giving my mare a mint (She LOVED them) and he warned me then and there that they are "banned". He said he would turn a blind eye just that once b/c I was a "newbie" to FEI rules and I was only 18 or 19.

So I am not sure if they are or if they are not, but I would personally air on the side of caution. Who wants to be banned from and FEI event and asked to leave over a STUPID LITTLE MINT?!?!?!!?

[hb]

Wouldn't it depend on the mint? The inexpensive candies that have "artificial flavoring" don't even contain mint do they? Something with a significant amount of actual mint extract could be different.

[Sebastian]

Seriously...isn't it time we start boycotting FEI divisions until they take their heads our of their arses????

This has GOT to stop.
Seb :)

[tx3dayeventer]

Wouldn't it depend on the mint? The inexpensive candies that have "artificial flavoring" don't even contain mint do they? Something with a significant amount of actual mint extract could be different.

Holly (my mare) loffed the Starlight mints that you get at Sonic with your order. So I assume they were the cheapies.

[punk_pony]

As far as I can tell NOTHING is actually legal as per the FEI drugs and meds rules- Don't medicate your horse, don't use liniment, don't feed him any treats... in fact, don't even bring a horse- ride a stick horse. But you'd then have to make sure the the shellac on the broom handle didn't test. IMHO, the FEI drugs committee needs to take a collective leap off a very tall cliff- GO LEMMINGS GO!!! As far a peppermints go, I can't help you there- the last horse I groomed at FEI stuff would sooner eat my fingers than a peppermint...

[Eventer13]

As far as I can tell NOTHING is actually legal as per the FEI drugs and meds rules- Don't medicate your horse, don't use liniment, don't feed him any treats... in fact, don't even bring a horse- ride a stick horse.

That's a great idea! Then when you have a rotational fall on course, you'll only end up with a huge welt on the back of your head.

I must send this idea to the safety committee.

[RiverBendPol]

Hay, grain, water. Period.

[mjrtango93]

Hay, grain, water. Period.

Not necessarily true. Wasn't it the Olympics that somebody got in trouble because there was a clover or something that was cut with the hay they were feeding that tested positive? Also there are several grains that you have to be careful because they may contain trace ingredients of things. That stick horse is sounding better and better!

[pinkdiamondracing]

As far a peppermints go, I can't help you there- the last horse I groomed at FEI stuff would sooner eat my fingers than a peppermint...

Hey!!!
Tony called and said to tell you that your fingers are delicious, and they are his favorite treat-- in fact he is suffering from finger withdrawals!!!!:lol::lol:

[inquisitive]

IMHO, the FEI drugs committee needs to take a collective leap off a very tall cliff- GO LEMMINGS GO!!!

I LOVE that game! :lol:

Sorry, back to the discussion at hand :D