Prohibited substances in equine feeds


Had 2020 been a normal year, the main sports story of the summer would have been the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. By now we would be reflecting on the success of our athletes and maybe raising our eyebrows at any doping infringements subsequently reported.


Premier Nutrition’s equine nutritionist, Clare McCafferty, explains


that doping is a hot topic in sport, not least in equestrianism and racing. “Upholding the integrity and reputation of the sport is critical to ensure not only an even playing field, but also the welfare of the horses competing. “The consequences of a positive dope test are disqualification and


loss of prize money, and in the case of championship events, loss of individual and team medals, with ‘responsible persons’ (the rider or the trainer) subject to fines and suspensions,” she says. Clare explains that feed compounders manufacturing products


for the equine market also have a role to play. Consumption of contaminated feedstuffs is one route in which prohibited substances can enter a horse. In fact, 24% of FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale) tribunal decisions between 2016 and 2019 were related to Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances (NOPS) in feedstuffs. Clare goes on to outline the difference between the types of


prohibited substances that could result in devastating penalties for riders and trainers.


Prohibited substances The term “prohibited substances” encompasses medications, recreational drugs and naturally occurring contaminants. Substances


Governance Racing is governed in the UK by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) which works within an international framework overseen by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). Equine sport worldwide (dressage, show jumping, eventing etc) is governed the FEI and British Equestrian adopts FEI Rules for Great Britain.


PAGE 28 SEPTEMNBER/OCTOBER 2020 FEED COMPOUNDER


are classed as either: • Banned substances – these have no legitimate use in the competing horse and have a high potential for abuse, for example arsenic, and are not permitted for use at any time. • Controlled medications – deemed to have therapeutic value or be commonly used in equine medicines. They have the potential to affect performance and/or the welfare of the horse. An example of this is valerenic acid. These medications can be used day-to- day but must be absent at the time of competition. • Specified substances – these are banned substances or controlled medications that are more likely to have been ingested by accident and not deliberately administered to the horse in order to enhance performance. These are however considered to be just as dangerous as other prohibited substances. An example of this is morphine – a class A drug but a known potential contaminant of feed. Specified substances are most likely to enter the horse via feed contamination as they tend to originate in plants and can cross into the feed chain inadvertently. “The presence or absence of substances such as theobromine,


hyoscine, atropine and ergonovine is in part controlled by Undesirable Substances Regulations, but the thresholds set in legislation are orders of magnitude higher (in mg/kg) than the limits set by competition and racing regulators (in nanogrammes per millilitre),” explains Clare. “The Undesirable Substances Regulations are put in place to


control major contaminations with these substances, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that the horse is very adept at extracting such substances from feed and excreting trace amounts of them or their metabolites in urine, the preferred sampling route for dope testing.”


How do prohibited substances enter feeds? There are several ways prohibited substances can enter the manufactured feed from beginning to end.


1) Inherent in the material itself, for example, caffeine in coffee, theobromine in chocolate or harpagosides in the herb, Devils’ Claw.


2) When processing of raw materials. This could be through cross-


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