WARNING! I was told this graphic was offensive and detrimental to the breed!

Voice your concerns to ApHC CEO Steve Taylor at The Appaloosa Blog Spot

In July 2007, at an annual BOD meeting in Oklahoma City, during the ApHC National Show, the ApHC BOD members voted for a new set of drugs to be added to the ApHC list of approved drugs.

Here is the vote;

Gene Carr......................................No
Larry Baker...................................Yes
Frank Larrabee..............................Yes
Wiebe Lise....................................Yes
Laura Lyon....................................Yes
William Thiel..................................No
Jack Zuidema................................Yes
Dennis Dean..................................Yes
Sandra Matthews..........................Yes
Jim Jirkovsky.................................Yes
Ray Burchett.................................Yes
Eric Beené.............................President
Debby Letham..............................Yes
Chuck McWhirter.........................Yes
Diane Rushing...............................Yes
David Schjeldahl...........................Yes
Stacey Sordahl..............................Yes
Tracy Meisenbach..........................No
Glenn Popelka..........................Absent

If you are not happy with the vote your BOD representative cast, please write them, call them, email them! Let them know you are opposed to this new drug ruling!

BOD members who will be coming up for re-election in 2008

Zone 1 - Glenn Popelka

Zone 2 - Dennis Dean

Zone 3 - Jim Jirkovsky

Zone 4 - Larry Baker

Zone 5 - Eric Beene

Zone 6 - Laura Lyon

When the new Drug Proposal was introduced in March, a vote was taken and it was not unanimous, but a committee was formed to "look" into it. Those minutes from that meeting were never posted on the ApHC website, nor on the Blogsite nor into the AJ until the June issue, which came out late and by that time, most of our Directors were on their way to the Nationals. So, if you had any letters you wrote, they didn't get them until they returned from Oklahoma. If you did not go to the meeting during the Nationals, you would not know about this new ruling, nor would you know that the "Vet" (Sharon Marshall) who stood up to talk about how all these new drugs were OK to give to our horses, is not an impartial party. It is also important to note that the minutes from the July meeting were "almost" promptly posted on the ApHC website 6 weeks after the meeting, right after I reserved a full page in the AJ for an Ad opposing the new Drug Ruling.

With all the problems already associated with getting folks to join our Breed, become new members and show in our shows, why are we adding insult to injury?? Why are we allowing HYPP horses drugs so that they can more comfortably show in the ring? Why are we allowing bleeders to use Lasix? Don't breed genetically defective horses to begin with and we won't have this issue! Don't compete genetically defective horses! It is not worth the risks!

Society is at a Zero Tolerance for drugs, Drug Testing for new jobs, Random Drug Testing to keep a job and Just Say No programs to keep our kids off of drugs!

If you are interested in joining our group of grassroots ApHC members opposing the use of Drugs in the Show ring, please contact me.

Thank you

Carrie Giannandrea

OK, now that we have this information in front of us, lets get down to the business of what is so very wrong with these drugs!

From the National Cutting Horse Association Rule Book:

Administration of drugs while on the show grounds, including show arena and practice arena, is strictly prohibited unless administered in a life-saving situation. Such an instance must be reported to show management. The decision of show management as to lifesaving treatment should be based on consultation with a veterinarian. Show management shall disqualify and/or refuse entry to any contestant and/or owner for violation of this rule.

From the National Reining Horse Association:

Currently, the NRHA is conducting a Medications Survey of its' participants. For Reining to be accepted as an Olympic Sport, the NRHA knows it must implement a Medication Procedure acceptable to both the USEF and the FEI. Further information on the outcome will follow and be posted here after the NRHA annual meeting in August 2007.

The Tennessee Walking Horse - The Image of a Breed

Acetazolimide

Used to keep potassium levels in an HYPP horse from causing it to have a seizure. It is also a Diuretic - meaning is causes the horse to urinate, a lot! Which in turn will cause the horse to pass any other drugs it has in its' system and dehydrate the horse. Now, please talk to a Vet about Acetazolimide. Make sure the Vet you talk to is neutral and not an HYPP breeder. The horse world was advised 20 years ago by Dr. Sharon Spier, DVM at UCDavis, that we should not breed "for" HYPP. Yet here we are today, allowing and encouraging these horses to be in the ring with us.

Acetazolimide is also a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. It slows periodic breathing as well as increasing recovery time from stressful activities. Reduced breathing rates mean less oxygen in the system and the body becomes tired very quickly. Is this what our western pleasure trainers are actually after?

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors have not been studied in pregnant women. However, studies in animals have shown that carbonic anhydrase inhibitors cause birth defects.

Acetazolamide is a diuretic that helps the liver and kidneys shed the excess potassium, however it takes approximately 12 hours after being administered to become effective. Acetazolamide is now approved as a maintenance drug by the AQHA and can be used during competition, however it is still listed as a substance banned by the USEF and FEI during competition.

Lasix

Race horses race under the rules of the state they are racing in. Adding Lasix to the ApHC list of approved drugs does not benefit Appaloosa Race Horses. They can already use it if they race in a state with rules allowing Lasix.

Used to aid horses prone to Bleeding during high levels of activity. The Jockey Club requires any and all horses that are to be raced on Lasix to Declare the use of this drug 4 hours prior to racing. AERC and NATRC do not allow Lasix.

Lasix use is banned in USEF and FEI equine competitions. It is not only a diuretic, but also a drug masker. Prolonged use can intensify the damage to the blood vessels, as well as the kidneys, which must work harder to flush the drug out.

Also known as Furosemide or Salix

Safe Homeopathic alternative to Lasix - Xantex

Appaloosas are the only breed to run barrels and poles “horse against horse” — two horses enter the arena and compete against each other. The first horse back to the finish line wins that heat and advances through a bracket system to determine the overall class winner.

I think we are opening up a can of Worms that was not very well thought out. Everyone is quoting the racing people and vets on this or using outside barrel racing as examples of this being used. Which are all fine and dandy EXCEPT our speed events are in NO WAY like either of these events. Race horses get it for a race then have a vet to "jug" electrolytes in them after the race. Another thing about them is they run once about every 8 or more days. In the open pen their horses run one run and maybe 2 so AGAIN it is NOT the same as ours. Our horses run at least 2 or 3 times in a given class and if the show has all the speed events in one day and you run both the poles in barrels you are running 6 times at LEAST. Add to that the fact that some of us run in open and nonpro or our horses run in open and youth, either way you are adding about 6 to 8 more runs to that total. If it is a hot and humid day you have just depleted your horses electrolytes by using Lasix and then the heat on top of it?? NOT a good thing.
Another thing is that at the Nationals and Worlds you have it spread out for more days and if you do it for every day you run you have at least 3 days or 5 to give your horse Lasix and NO ONE KNOWS how that will turn out as I doubt it has been done before so we are in virgin territory here with that. Also who will regulate how much the horses get and who gives it and who admiinisters the electrolytes, as in vets,??
I think we have rushed into this without really thinking the whole thing thru properly.
Debbie Schaffer