For the Good of the Horse, or the Good of the People?
Sports have rules. No matter the sport, it will have guidelines that tell people how to play and to keep players from cheating. Drug usage, one of the most debated sections of any rulebook, is regulated and controlled with drug testing and hefty punishments. The entire Russian track and field team was recently suspended for a “culture of cheating” through large-scale, government influenced drug usage (Keteyian). The second baseman for the Marlins received a suspension of eighty games after testing positive for two performance enhancing drugs (USA Today Sports). However, in the sport of kings, horse racing, regulations vary across states and the various countries. This results in multiple …show more content…
When administered, it decreases sodium absorption in the kidneys, which then produces the increased urinary output (KER). Through this process, the transport of calcium and magnesium, along with other electrolytes is affected (KER). While most of these electrolytes are easily replaced through the horse’s diet, calcium is often not fed in the amounts that would replenish the loss occurred when Lasix is given (Allin). This only creates a small deficiency, but for already fragile horses or those who have been given Lasix for races and their workouts each week, it adds up. This calcium deficiency due to Lasix is suspected to be a major variable that has impacted the decreasing number of starts a horse runs on average and the high rate of breakdowns and racetrack injuries that horses receive. In Europe, the breakdown rates are much lower than those in North America and, within North America, Canada’s premier track, Woodbine, with tougher drug laws and penalties, has a much lower rate than the North American average …show more content…
People with asthma are allowed to use their prescribed inhalers to help them breath. Olympic athletes can have caffeine, a substance that millions have used to gain energy so they can pull an all nighter. Advil and Ibuprofen are allowed in competition as well. If asthma inhalers can be used to help top human athletes with their breathing, why shouldn’t Lasix be allowed for horses that do have issues with EIPH? In order to do what is right for the horse, public education and near total reform of racing’s administration are at the top of the to-do list. The horses can’t talk, so the people around them must do their part to keep them healthy and
Sports have rules. No matter the sport, it will have guidelines that tell people how to play and to keep players from cheating. Drug usage, one of the most debated sections of any rulebook, is regulated and controlled with drug testing and hefty punishments. The entire Russian track and field team was recently suspended for a “culture of cheating” through large-scale, government influenced drug usage (Keteyian). The second baseman for the Marlins received a suspension of eighty games after testing positive for two performance enhancing drugs (USA Today Sports). However, in the sport of kings, horse racing, regulations vary across states and the various countries. This results in multiple …show more content…
When administered, it decreases sodium absorption in the kidneys, which then produces the increased urinary output (KER). Through this process, the transport of calcium and magnesium, along with other electrolytes is affected (KER). While most of these electrolytes are easily replaced through the horse’s diet, calcium is often not fed in the amounts that would replenish the loss occurred when Lasix is given (Allin). This only creates a small deficiency, but for already fragile horses or those who have been given Lasix for races and their workouts each week, it adds up. This calcium deficiency due to Lasix is suspected to be a major variable that has impacted the decreasing number of starts a horse runs on average and the high rate of breakdowns and racetrack injuries that horses receive. In Europe, the breakdown rates are much lower than those in North America and, within North America, Canada’s premier track, Woodbine, with tougher drug laws and penalties, has a much lower rate than the North American average …show more content…
People with asthma are allowed to use their prescribed inhalers to help them breath. Olympic athletes can have caffeine, a substance that millions have used to gain energy so they can pull an all nighter. Advil and Ibuprofen are allowed in competition as well. If asthma inhalers can be used to help top human athletes with their breathing, why shouldn’t Lasix be allowed for horses that do have issues with EIPH? In order to do what is right for the horse, public education and near total reform of racing’s administration are at the top of the to-do list. The horses can’t talk, so the people around them must do their part to keep them healthy and