V. VETERINARY CARE & CHECKS

 

“The welfare of Olympic horses should no longer be overlooked and neglected”

This blog is an excerpt from the PARIS 2024 HORSE WELFARE CAMPAIGN MAGAZINE  which is free to download and read online.

 

 

Law n°2021-1539 of November 30, 2021, aimed at combatting animal abuse and strengthening the bond between animals and humans, and more particularly its article 21 proposed by Mrs. Martine Leguille-Balloy, deputy for the 4th district of Vendée, finally allows the traceability of the neurectomy.

By artificially and dangerously masking pain, this practice is considered a form of doping. It is prohibited in competition because it can have dramatic consequences for the horse: the loss of limb sensitivity modifies perception of the effort and can lead to fatigue fractures or the aggravation of existing injuries.

Veterinarian Franck De Craene, a French equine expert, campaigned for a law to make it mandatory to mention any medical or surgical intervention of this type on the equine identification document for French horses. However, this is not the case for foreign horses that will come to the Olympic Games.

It should be noted, however, that the FEI has taken this problem into account: for the first time, the horses of the AlUla endurance race in Saudi Arabia on January 29 were the subject of sensitivity tests carried out by veterinary doctor Morgane Schambourg, who has been working for a long time on the development of a neurectomy detection system. It would therefore require a veterinary certificate to certify that these horses have not undergone this intervention, or take the risk that they do not respond to sensitivity tests which would lead to disqualification.

Recommendation #19

Remind everyone that the fight against doping is the priority of all international competitions and that the rules prohibit the use of horses who have undergone any type of neurectomy, at any level, whether chemical or surgical.

Mainly used in endurance for the moment, the hyposensitivity test consists of screening horses which have undergone treatment intended to reduce their sensitivity to pain in their limbs by truncal anaesthesia (either definitive by surgical section or temporary with anaesthetic blocks of nerve trunks) so that horses do not stop or slow down due to being in pain.

Thermography is also a valuable tool, as it allows assessment of the differences in surface temperatures of the horse’s skin, by highlighting hot and cold thermal signatures on body areas. Thermal variations as well as asymmetries are all clues that will help identify possible pathologies or traumas. Cold signatures may be related to possible vascularization defects related to the presence of oedema, hematoma, or abscess (existing or in formation). The hot thermal signatures specify areas of inflammation (e.g. back pain, tendinitis, etc.). They also allow for the detection of fraudulent use of rubefacient products.

Finally, the hypersensitivity tests highlight an exacerbated sensitivity of the horse’s limbs obtained thanks to sensitising products which make each touch of the bar very painful and push the horse not to touch them during its jumps.

All these tests require scientific validation, in particular of their sensitivity (false negative rate), and their specificity (false positive rate) before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Recommendation #20:

Increase the random use of hyposensitivity, hypersensitivity and thermography tests to check at least 10% of the horses after each event.

The fight against doping in human athletes recommends carrying out 20% of the tests during competitions and 80% outside. This principle should be applied to equestrian sports.

Recommendation #21:

Conduct longitudinal monitoring of horses in preparation for the Olympic Games and provide for anti-doping samples between 1 month and 15 days before the veterinary visit prior to the events.

Horses participating in the Olympic Games must not present pathologies of the musculoskeletal system in the clinical phase which must be managed sufficiently in advance. Horses should therefore not receive intra-articular injections in the weeks preceding the competitions. If they are still pathological two weeks before the start of the tests, they should not participate.

Recommendation #22:

Prohibit all intra-articular injections, whatever the nature of the product injected, 14 days before the official start of the competition and until the end of the event, with no possibility of exceptions to this rule.

The fight against doping, but also the maximum reduction in the administration of even authorised drugs, is one of the pillars of equine welfare of physiologically healthy horses. Various control measures are to be implemented as well as awareness of the over-medicalisation of these athletes before and during competitions.

Recommendation #23:

Impose the maintenance of the FEI Medication Logbook (register of the care and treatment administered to the horse throughout their career) and present it at the pre-event veterinary control.

The possession of medicines, syringes and needles is prohibited by the FEI/EADMCP regulations, but despite this prohibition, a large number of medicines are constantly circulating in the stables during competitions. They must be made inaccessible.

In addition, there should be no exemption or relaxation from national law and regulations, particularly with regard to veterinary practice and the use of drugs.

Recommendation #24:

Ensure that all medication brought in by the attending and/or team veterinarians are properly controlled on arrival and on departure, and are traced by keeping a controlled register, administered exclusively in the clinic and only when necessary by authorised attending veterinarians under the responsibility of the FEI Veterinary Commission.

The FEI has five accredited laboratories that carry out analysis of samples from horses tested under the World Anti-Doping Program and Equine Controlled Medicines at FEI events. All approved laboratories are not necessarily equivalent and other innovative laboratories have arrived in this sector since the last approvals were granted.

It would be necessary to create an inventory in this field and blind test these different laboratories on different samples that tested positive for various substances. New poorly detectable doping substances appear regularly.

Recommendation #25:

Expand the call for tenders and increase the number of analysis laboratories for the Olympic Games, in addition to the five establishments already selected by the FEI and, if necessary, provide for a comparative test phase.

In early 2021, during an international competition in Valencia, Spain, where nearly 850 competition horses were gathered, a first horse with fever tested positive for rhino pneumonia. “From there, everything went very quickly,” says Anne Couroucé-Malblanc, equestrian veterinarian mandated in Valence by the French Riding Federation (FFE). A vast testing campaign was launched on symptomatic horses, but it was too late.

Within 48 hours, 52 horses were declared positive. In the end “nearly 20% of horses returning from the Valencia Spring Jumping Tour present these neurological symptoms”, indicated Christel Marcillaud-Pitel, director of the Equine Pathology Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RESPE). This was the start of a huge global cluster.

Obviously, everything must be done to ensure that this does not happen again. Even if the vaccine is not completely effective on the nervous form of disease, vaccination remains the best way to limit viral spread.

It would also be prudent to request a negative PCR test within 8 days prior to the arrival of the horses in the Olympic precinct for influenza and rhino pneumonia.

Recommendation #26:

Mandate vaccination against rhino pneumonitis (Equine Herpes virus) in accordance with the protocol validated by the responsible veterinary authorities, this is in addition to the existing regulatory mandate for equine influenza vaccination as a condition of entry into the Olympic Games precinct.

The CSO and the CCE challenge the entire musculoskeletal system of horses. This can lead to pathological consequences which sometimes leave sequelae or particular fragility that is conducive to fractures or ligament ruptures, and which often lead to euthanasia of the horse.

We believe it is necessary to remove horses from competition with this type of sequelae or weaknesses in order to limit the risk of euthanasia. An exception may be made for young horses treated surgically for OCD (osteochondrosis) with a veterinary certificate of perfect recovery.

Recommendation #27:

Remove from competition any horses with a medical history that is not compatible with an optimal state of health (e.g. a history of bone, ligament or muscle injury resulting in long periods of inactivity), which is necessary for participation in the Olympic Games. This optimal state of health will have to be verified in advance by the FEI Veterinarians.

For better observation and impartiality during veterinary checks, video recording is recommended.

Recommendation #28:

Systematise the video recording of veterinary controls (pre-competition checks and sensitivity tests) to enable viewing the slow motion control on request in case of suspected lameness, in the event of a dispute or subsequent accident, and for educational purposes.

FEI rules stipulate judges must stop the competition performance or disqualify the rider-horse combination if the horse shows bleeding due to the action of the rider at the level of the horse’s mouth, because of the mouthpiece or its flanks because of the spurs. The performance is therefore not automatically stopped if the horse bleeds for another reason. This led to the Kilkenny scandal during the Tokyo Olympics, with the horse finishing a bloodstained course without the bell ringing and without any disqualification from the FEI, which would have allowed the pair to continue for subsequent events.

Recommendation #29:

Impose the immediate stopping of a ride at the slightest trace of blood on the horse and eliminate the horse from the rest of the competition.

For the well-being of horses and to reduce their stress, a longer time to adapt to the local climate and time zone is recommended.

Recommendation #30:

Allow horses and their teams to arrive at the pre-competition stables in the Olympic Games precinct at least 15 days before the competition, giving them time to rest after transport and acclimatise to the conditions before the competition begins.

This blog is an excerpt from the PARIS 2024 HORSE WELFARE CAMPAIGN MAGAZINE  which is free to download and read online.