The following recommendations were developed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners’(AAEP) Task Force on Medication Issues at Public Auction.  The charge to the Task Force was to study and address the issues surrounding medication in the public sales horse.  Members of the AAEP Task Force are Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Chair; Craig Van Balen, DVM; Jeffrey Berk, VMD; Scott Pierce, DVM; Sam Ferguson, DVM; and Roger Murphy, DVM.

 

 

The goals set by the Task Force were:

 

1.      To protect the health and welfare of the horse.

2.      To facilitate the presentation of a healthy, well-cared-for animal for public auction.

3.      To facilitate a fair and uncomplicated evaluation of the potential sales animal for the mutual benefit of the purchaser and consignor.

 

To conceptually evaluate the interaction of medication used in the sales horse, its health care and public auction implications, the committee evaluated the peri-sales timeframe in three time periods and assessed the effect of medication as a part of the horse’s health care in each time period.

 

Time Period I: Pre-sale.  This is the time prior to presentation at the sales ground. The principal stakeholder in this time period is the owner and/or consignor of the horse to public auction.  They should be allowed to care for the horse in the best possible manner to maximize their return at public auction, but should do so without deceiving the potential purchaser about the true status of the horse.

 

Time Period II: The Sales Period.  This is the time that the horse is on the sales ground at the auction site. The stakeholders in this time period become expanded.  The owner and consignor have a continued stake in the horse, but also the auction company, potential buyers and agents for potential buyers become stakeholders. Medication issues must be evaluated to take into consideration all parties and the horse.

 

Time Period III: The Post-sales Period.  The purchaser is the stakeholder.  It is the purview of the purchaser to assure that they have bought a fairly presented sales horse, but it is not under the purview of the purchaser to return the horse for anything other than a definitive violation of the principles outlined.

 

Medication Recommendations

As a general recommendation for medication of sales horses, it would be desirable to have no medication given within 24 hours of the start of the sales session, except in such situations as noted.  Certain medications will facilitate a fair and safe sale for both parties’ benefit.  These medications would be allowable at therapeutic doses.

 

The common medications given to horses intended for sales have been divided into categories.  The categories are listed as generic classes of medication, and medication actions, to prevent the need for continually updating an exhaustive list of specific compounds.

 

Category 1: Allowable at Therapeutic Levels.  The horse can be given these medications on the sales grounds, but the medication should not be present at more than the maximum therapeutic levels, as would be recommended by the manufacturer’s dosing recommendations.

 

Allowable at therapeutic levels:

·      One non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, with no detectable level of a second non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.  The primary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug must be present at less than the maximum expected level when given at manufactures’ recommended dosage.

·      One cortico-steroid, excluding methyl-prednisolone acetate (Depo-medrol), which must not be present at any detectable level.   Any other cortico-steroid would be allowable, howeve they must be present at less than the maximum therapeutic level recommended by the manufacturer’s dosing regimens, and no detectable level of a second cortico-steroid is allowed to be present.

·        Medications labeled for ongoing therapy of gastric ulcers

·        Tranquilizers

·        Oral anti-arthritic medications, such as proteoglycan supplements  (Steroidal and    non-steroidal medications would be governed by the recommendations above.)

·        Progestins

 

Category 2: Not Allowable on the Sales Ground.  These would be medications whose use can be therapeutic, and which could be part of the normal health care of a horse presented for sale.  These medications would be allowable at trace levels, but would not be allowable above the level to be expected from administration of the lowest therapeutic dose, as described by the manufacturer in the dosing recommendations, when this lowest therapeutic dose was given prior to the horse arriving at the sales ground.

 

Not allowable on the sales ground:

·        Treatments commonly recognized as therapeutic for equine protozoal myelitis

·        Bronchodilators, such as clenbuterol

·        Vaso-active drugs, such as aspirin, isoxsuprine or pentoxifylline

·        Parenteral anti-arthritics such as injectable proteoglycan supplements  (These would not include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and cortico-steroid anti-arthritics as they would be governed by the guidelines outlined above when given by any method oral or parenteral.)

 

 

Category 3: No Detectable Level.  These medications may be therapeutic for normal health care, but should have cleared the horse’s system and should have no detectable level at the time of sale.

 

            No detectable levels:

·        Stimulants

·        Muscle relaxants

·        Diuretics

·        Anabolic steroids

 

 

Category 4: Allowable at Therapeutic Levels, but Must Be Declared in the Repository or Announced by the Auctioneer.  These medications would be allowable if given as part of the horse’s normal health care, but may affect the purchaser’s decision as to the suitability of the horse, and therefore must be declared for assessment by the purchaser.

 

            Allowable if declared:

·        Cyproheptadine

·        Pergolide

·        Antibiotics

 

 

 

Enforcement 

Neither the Task Force nor the AAEP has power of enforcement.  The principal enforcer must be the sales company, and the principal action should be the rescinding of the sale and return of the horse to the consignor.  It is the desire of the AAEP Task Force to discourage legal action by any parties.  It is hoped that the sales companies will make a concerted effort to be the power of dispute resolution for the fair and equitable protection of the purchaser and the seller.  This may be done through a panel of experienced veterinarians or some other means outlined by the sales company.  But, the sales company must take an active role in promoting the fair and equitable transaction, as indicated by their taking of a commission for facilitating the sale of the horse. 

 

The ultimate goal of the task force, and their recommendations presented in this document, would be to serve as a deterrent.  It would be ideal to establish what is acceptable, and what is not acceptable, for presentation of a horse at public auction and to have all consignors abide by those “best practices” in “good faith.” And, to have any disputes resolved without litigation.

 

The Task Force fully recognizes that not all of the recommendations are fully enforceable, because not all medications are capable of being examined for via forensic testing.  We present these guidelines as a best practice for the mutual establishment of a fair value of horses at public auction.  Forensic testing will continue to progress with time.

 

For the situations where medications are to be assessed via testing, the sampling of the horse’s blood and/or urine must take place on the sales ground, by or under the direction of a licensed veterinarian.  The sampling would preferably take place at the consignor’s barn, after the sale, with an agent of the consignor as a witness.  The blood and/or urine sample must be submitted for testing within 5 working days of the start of the session in which the horse was purchased.  The cost of testing would be the responsibility of the purchaser.  It must be done at a recognized testing laboratory and the laboratory must maintain a split sample, available for confirmation testing should any discussion of the results result in a dispute.  The consignor and sales company should be notified within 24 hours of the delivery of the laboratory report to the purchaser if a question is to be raised about the medication of the tested horse.

 

In sales where horses must sell after a timed performance, such as a “two-year-old in training” sale, such performances are normally governed by the rules of racing in the state of the sale.  Those regulations supersede the recommendations outlined here.  Likewise, in these sales where performance is part of the sales process, post-exercise medications are sometimes allowed after exercise, if disclosed on the treatment sheets on file with the sales company, and accessible to the purchaser or the purchaser’s agent.  The recommendations outlined here would also be superseded by these regulations.

 

It is the recommendation of the AAEP Task Force on Medication Issues at Public Auction that the guidelines outlined be recommended for common sales venues.  These recommendations will be superseded by specific sales conditions and can be modified as needed for specific sale sites and situations.  It is hoped that the sales company will take active roles in facilitating the use of these recommendations and that they will be edited and maintained in an ongoing fashion as required by changes in therapeutic medications and dosing schedules.  The primary objective is to establish “best practices” to serve as guidelines for the presentation of horses at public auction for fair and equitable establishment of the horse’s value, and to deter the use of medication that may cloud the horse’s true status.

 

 

Approved by the AAEP Board of Directors – December 2, 2005.