Conference noted::equitation

    Lasix is a diuretic used to rid the body of excess water.  In humans
    it is commonly used on people with kidney problems.  Many racehorses
    tend to get bloody noses when the weather is extremely cold.
    
    

    
    My understanding of why race horses bleed  says that race horses
    have thin skin with blood vessels close to the surface, when they
    race they raise the rate the blood is pummping (from very slow to
    very fast), this causes some of vessels to break. Not a serious
    medical problem but it can be distracting to the horses. Meaning
    they pay attention to their nose instead of the race. Why Lasix,
    a diuretic, reduces the nose bleeds, I don't know.
    
    Nancy
    
    PS - Lasix is not suppose to affect performance one way or the other.
    

    You mostly see this problem with race horses, but it occurs any
    time throughout the year (probably more so in the winter).  I don't
    know the exact reason, but it could be that they break small blood
    vessles from the stress of their physical exertion, and when they
    start bleeding from the nose, it interferes with their breathing,
    thus they won't run as well.  I'm not sure how the Lasix works,
    but supposedly it stops the horse from bleeding.
    
    One trainer told me that even if his horse isn't a known 'bleeder'
    he'll put the horse on Lasix if the officials let him - just in
    case (kind of like a preventative measure).  Because it
    is a diuretic it makes the horses urinate more frequently, and some
    trainers that have their horses on illegal drugs will use it to rid the
    horse of traces of the drug before a race. 
                                              

    I do know that horses when racing use up all the available oxygen
    that the body stores, within the first quarter to half mile.  After
    that, the heart and lungs are working at an extremely high rate
    to replenish the body with a fresh supply.  It's like the jogging
    term *hitting the wall*, when the body uses up all its stored energy,
    it has to shift gears to bring in a fresh supply and the feeling
    is like *hitting a wall*.
    
    I asked a friend who has a trotter why they use Lasix and why it's
    listed on the scratch sheet.  His reply was that Lasix is a diuretic,
    it will thin the blood making it easier to circulate.  My thought,
    is that it may also lower the pressure rate within the blood stream.
    As noted earlier, some trainers do use it to rid the horse of illegal
    drugs and therefore some states, I believe Florida is one, will
    not allow horses to race while on Lasix.
    
    I think I saw an article in Equus? on racing and Lasix.  I'll root
    around an see if I still have it.
    
    Hope this helps.
    
    Roslyn  (%^)

    By the way, the nose bleed problem is not limited to runners and
    trotters, other displances can see the same problem. Jumpers have
    been known to have the same problem. I do not know if the AHSA allows
    showing with Lastix.
    
    Kentucky allowed Lastix on their tracks last year. Have not heard
    if they are going to allow it this year or not.
    
    Nancy
    

        This is a short summary of an article in Hoof Beats, U.S.
    Trotting Association, November 1990.  [Without permission of course].

  . Veterinarians first began using
    the drug furosemide, better
    known by its original brand
    name of "Lasix", in performance
    horses in the early 1970's.

  . Furosemide was given to horses in the
    belief that it prevented them from bleeding
    from the lungs during a race, and
    thereby would improve their performance.

  . Furosemide is a potent diuretic, a drug
    that increases the rate of urine production,
    and is widely used in human medicine
    in the treatment of congestive heart
    failure, kidney failure, edema, and a
    variety of other conditions.

  . It is not unusual for a normal horse to
    produce 10 quarts of urine in two hours after
    being given furosemide, while a horse not
    given furosemide produces less than one quart
    in this time.
    
  . Recently it has been found that furosemide 
    is useful in the treatment of
    some types of asthma in humans.

  . Reseach at Michigan State University has
    recently shown that furosemide has similar
    effects in ponies with heaves.

  My summary: "yes a horse could become dehydrated if not allowed access to 
  water" and combine the excess urine production with sweating and the horse 
  will loose large quanities of body salts (electrolytes).

  . The importance of these losses of 
    electrolytes after furosemide administration
    is not known at this time.  However... it
    would be suprising if there were no
    adverse effects of administering
    furosemide to horses.

  Me again: We have been giving Lasix to horses for 20 years and it's effects
  have not been thoroughly studied.  I guess there isn't a FDA
  for animals.  Sounds like it should have an effect on an animals
  breathing but the side effects if any are unknown.

  Lasix is allowed in many states in racehorses.  Not allowed in New York.

  Moderator:  I don't see a keyword for lasix, I remember a note asking
  about it relatively recently so you are welcome to move this entry.

    
    
    Race horses, polo ponies, and Quarter Horse Sprinters bleed internally
    from the lungs when they run hard, and no one knows why and how to
    prevent it.
    
    According to a Kansas State University veterinary researcher, when a
    horse is working at maximum performance levals, its lungs bleed, a
    common condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrage (EIPH). 
    As many as 75 per cent of race horses may have this bleeding condition,
    says Steve Olson, a physiology researcher.  Performance is always
    impaired to some degree, sometimes and animal bleeds from its nose, and
    EIPH may have been a contributing factor in some sudden death
    incidents, Olson said.
    
    He and a group of KSU scientists are studying the condition with a team
    of six horses, specially trained to run at high speed on a treadmill at
    KSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.  The scientists want to know
    where the hemorrhage happens on the blood's circuit from heart to lungs
    and back to the heart-and how a drug, commonly used by horse trainers,
    works as a preventative measure.  Furosemide, or Lasix, usually is
    given to people with congestive heart failure.
    
    So far, Olson has looked for blood pressure changes in three parts of
    the circulatory system-inside the heart;in the pulmonary artery, which
    carries blood from the heart to the lung; and in the carotid artery, a
    branch of the aorta, which carries blood from the heart to the body. 
    Other researchers think the seperate bronchial circulatory system, a
    branch of the aorta, may be the weak spot.
    
    During exercise, the horse can increase its heart output eight-fold, a
    unique ability.  (An "elite" human athlete can increase capacity only
    about four times.)  And, at full stride, a horses's blood pressure in
    the main artery to the lungs goes up five times.  Such extremely high
    blood pressure may cause hemorrhaging, literally "blowing out" the tiny
    capillaries in the lung, Olson says.
    
    To mimic the way Lasix is used at the racetracks, researchers
    administer it about 4 hours before the treadmill exercise regimen
    begins.  They found that as they increased the dosages, pressure went
    down in the pulmonary artery and also in the right atria, the blood's
    return chamber from the body.  they saw no changes in the carotid
    artery.  After 4 hours, 90 percent of the dye should have been
    excreated, "but it still has a beneficial effect on blood pressure,"
    Olson said.  
    
    However, the team is still unsure of the drug's exact mechanism.  It
    was designed as a diuretic, which means it causes body fluid to be
    excreated as urine.  When they used a dye to help measure fluid levels
    in the blood, they found some diuretic effect at the higher dosage, but
    "it is not the major mechanism by which the drug works," Olson noted.
    
    "We also saw an interesting finding that warrents further research," he
    said.  Lactate levels seem to go up at the higher Lasix dosages. 
    Lactate indicates when the body has gone into an anaerobic metabolism,
    or when the animal is working without sufficent oxygen.
    
    Graduate students Blane Lowe and Nick Pellitier, and faculty members
    Howard Erickson and Cody Coyne work with Olson on the research
    sponsered by the American Quarter Horse Association and Solvay, a
    pharmaceutical maker.  Erickson and Coyne also have research support
    through the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
    
    In related future studies they will be looking at cardiac output, a
    difficult task with an animal as large as a horse.  And they will be
    studying a hormone the heart muscle makes when it is streached,
    specifically Atrialnatriuretic Peptide, which helps dialate the
    vessels.  This has not been investigated in horses, and Olson will be
    observing ANP levels during exercise and the effects of Lasix on the
    hormone production.
    
    Western Horseman magazine  March 1991.
    
     

There has been a bit of a debate in The Blood Horse between the editor and 
Arthur Hancock III. Arthur Hancock bred Kentucky Derby winners Sunday Silence 
and Sunny's Halo  as well as other classic winners. He is the son of the late 
Arthur "Bull" Hancock of Claiborne Farms fame and therefore the brother of 
Seth Hancock who currently owns and manages Claiborne.

The debate is about the use of medications in racehorses. Most states allow 
horses to race on Lasix(furosemide) and some also permit Bute(butazolidin). 
NY is the only state which does not permit raceday medication of horses.

In Europe, UK, Ireland and (I think) Australia, no medication is allowed. 
Until the day of the 1991 Molson Million, Canada did not allow medication on 
race days. It now allows Lasix.

Hancock feels that we need national laws which preclude any and all 
medications on the day of a race. He says that the current situation in which 
each state in the US has its on laws about medication is an accident waiting 
to happen. 

Hancock points to the tragedies at Belmont during the 1990 Breeder's Cup 
races. Three horses died during those races. Hancock suggests that if 
Go For Wand had broken down on national TV while running on medication, the 
public would have been so outraged that the future of racing would be in doubt.

Hancock also feels that by allowing medication and then breeding from horses 
that raced on medication, we would eventually weaken the horses genetically
until they ALL required medication to race.

John Veitch(aka John The Bald), trainer of Triple Crown Winner, Affirmed and 
occassional "color" announcer on Breeder's Cup telecasts said during 2 such 
broadcasts that he feels medication definitely has no place in high caliber 
racing because those races are used to select the parents of the next 
generation.

The Blood Horse editor feels that "including a non-medication stance in 
proposed legislation flies in the face of the majority and does not create 
unity or represent the prevailing position of the industry" because 
"the vast majority of racing jurisdictions allow racing on those 
medications". Translation: We got it and we want to keep it.

The standard pro-Lasix argument is that some horses need Lasix to control 
bleeding into the lungs(Exercise-Induced-Pulmonary-Hemorrhage or EIPH). The 
argument goes that such a drug does not enhance performance but only allows 
the horse to compete up to its natural potential. Some big name horses of 
recent years that ran with Lasix were Alysheba(all-time leading money winner 
in US), Summer Squall and Unbridled. 

The BH editor says that it seems the more humane approach to attempt to 
protect a today's competitive horse against EIPH via the use of Lasix.
He also says he doesn't see the difference between breeding from horses that 
race on Lasix and breeding from unsound horses. He claims people have been 
doing that for generations. He points out that people even breed from the 
unsound offspring of horses with reputations for producing unsoundness if 
any close relative is a major winner.

How do you feel about medicating racehorses on days they compete?

My personal opinion is that Lasix and Bute ought to be illegal on race day.

Despite the claims that Lasix is not a performance enhancing drug, there 
have been research studies in which sound horses were given Lasix and then
timed in race-speed workouts. Their times were significantly faster after 
being given Lasix. 

The pro-Lasix camp claims that the studies are inapplicable becuase
the horses were sound mature geldings. In fact, some of them have suggested
that the studies were somehow fixed because the Jockey Club commisioned the 
research and its (then) Chairman Ogden Mills Phipps is a known opponent of 
Lasix.

Let's consider fixing for a minute. One of the oldest and undetectable ways
of fixing a race is to give the favorite a big drink of water "too close" to 
post time. The weight of the extra water in its system slows the horse and it
is likely to loose.

Lasix is a diuretic and therefore causes the horse to pass lots of water. If 
extra water slows a horse, doesn't it seem logical that a bit less water 
would improve its speed?

Furthermore, Lasix has not been shown to be very effective in preventing EIPH. 
Many horses have EIPH episodes while racing on Lasix.

How is it "humane" to race a horse which is known to have a problem with EIPH
on an ineffective drug like Lasix versus resting the horse? 

Bute is another story altogether! Bute is a pain killer and an 
anti-inflammatory drug. Is filling the race card so important that we force
sore horses to compete?

IMHO, what it all comes down to is that the people involved in racing care more
about the almighty buck than the welfare of the horses. The state governments 
want/need the money they take out of the betting pools. They have no interest
in passing laws that diminish that income. The tracks need to a minimum number 
of entries in each race in order to hold the race. Otherwise, they might lose 
money on the betting. The owners and trainers(by and large) need to race a 
horse frequently enough that it earns its keep. Therefore, the owners/trainers
want to be able to use Lasix and Bute to keep their horse running. Otherwise, 
the lesser talented horse ends up at the auction and we know where that may 
lead! The lucky ones are retired to the breeding farm, sold as polo ponies or 
jumpers,etc.

The basic problem is that people have made a business of a sport. Racing is 
not unique in that respect. Other equine sports(showjumping, 3-day, etc) as 
well as just about every other variety of sport are businesses too. Those 
human or equine participants are frequently paying a dear price just like race 
horses. But, I feel that we at least owe the horses a rest when they hurt even 
if it means missing the most important race of its career. That race is only 
important to the pocketbook or prestige of the owner. Even if the horse LOVES 
to race, it won't mind(if it even knows) missing an occassional race to rest 
and recuperate.

    
    	How does Lasix prevent the bleeding? Does it constrict the 
    	pulmonary capilaries or reduce blood flow? Either way, would
    	this not also reduce the amount of blood available to take
    	oxygen into the system and therefore slow the horse down? If
    	this is so, then the use of lasix and the resultant decrease 
    	in oxygen absorption would cancel each other out, benefit-wise.
    	
    	Sherry
    

I want to state here that I do not mean to criticize anyone who races or
likes racing. I know that there are many people that do the best that they
can by the animals. I am just personally morally opposed to the exploitation
of any animals for profit.

IMHO, the debate over proliferating lasix-dependent, or bute-dependent animals
through breeding is not the issue. I think the issue is that a large number of 
trainers and owners use medication to race horses that have no business on a 
track.

It's at the $3000>= claiming race level that you see *what the problem is*
with medicating racehorses. Take a stroll around the shed-row at Rockingham
or Suffolk. Better yet, stop by one of the off-track barns. You'll see
three year olds with joints the size of footballs, Cripples that have been
shot up with cortisone enough times that the cartilage in their fetlocks
is gone. Just to try to get one more race out of them, just to try to get
them claimed, get the losers out of the barn. 

It wasn't 'til I started working with horses off the track, that I had a 
chance to view this side of the debate first hand. I wonder how the average
race fan, taking the family to the track to see the pretty horses, would
feel after seeing that! I used to love to watch the Breeder's Cup, all the 
Triple Crown races, anything I could. Not anymore....it is that disturbing
(and i know it's my problem ;-)

That's the problem with medication, the *priviledge* (if you can call it that)
is abused. I know it gets abused in the show ring too, but this is the Racehorse
debate note ;-)

    Very perceptive technical question for a "non-techie" :-) I'll tell you
    what I've read on the subject but I think the answer is that nobody 
    really knows. There just hasn't been enough ressearch done on the drug 
    and its effects on horses to say whether or not Lasix really prevents
    EIPH and/or enhances performance.
    
    The key question is whether or not Lasix actually does prevent the
    bleeding. The study commissioned by the Jockey Club examined 655
    geldings and their performance while on Lasix. They claimed to find no
    evidence that Lasix controlled EIPH and labeled the belief that Lasix did
    control EIPH as "a common misconception."
    
    Lasix has several effects. One is the diuretic effect mentioned earlier
    which will cause a horse to pass 20 or more pounds of urine within 2
    hours after the drug is administered. There has also been research which 
    shows they cannot drink enough water in 3-4 hours to replace the water 
    lost in the urine because the drug is still active and causes them to 
    pass urine at a higher than normal rate.
    
    One of the other effects of Lasix is that it lowers blood pressure.
    Lowering blood pressure in the Pulmonary artery(the main one that goes
    to the lungs) is what those in favor of Lasix claim prevents or
    minimizes the amount of bleeding seen in a horse with the EIPH
    syndrome. The reduction in blood pressure is supposed to reduce the
    risk of rupturing blood vessels in the lungs or at least reduce the
    number which actually rupture.
    
    As you point out, reducing the oxygen flow would slow a horse down
    because he would "hit the wall" sooner. I think there has been some
    research on that which showed that that might actually be happening.
    
    I did read one article which said horses running on Lasix would show an
    improvement in their racing times of about 1.3 seconds at their best 
    distance. Using the handicapper's rule of thumb that 0.2 sec = 1
    length, that translates to a difference of about 5.2 lengths in a race.
    How many big stakes races are decided by 5 lengths or less? Consider
    Easy Goer vs Sunday Silence in the 1989 Triple Crown for a minute.
    Neither of those horses ran on Lasix or Bute. But, suppose Easy Goer
    had been given Lasix for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness while Sunday
    Silence was not. It is likely that Easy Goer would have won the Triple
    Crown because the Derby and Preakness were decided by 1/2 a length and
    a nose respectively.
    
    Even those who favor the use of Lasix admit that it improves a horse's
    time the FIRST time it is used. Do you remember Spend A Buck which won
    the Kentucky Derby in 1985? The was a real uproar because his trainer
    had given him Lasix for the first time that day but did not report it
    in time for the bettors to be informed. EVERYBODY knows Lasix improves
    a horse's performance slightly the first time but it's also enough to
    change the outcome of a race.
    
    Another handicappers rule of thumb is that 1 pound = 1/4 length. That's
    one that they use in evaluating weights assigned to horses in handicap 
    races. If Lasix causes the horse to lose 20 pounds of water, that would 
    translate to 5 lengths or 1.2 seconds... pretty close, huh?
    
    So, is that clear as mud? The scientists haven't proved whether or not
    Lasix works and aren't sure whether or not it improves performance.

    Joanne,
    
    Use of medication(s) to keep a horse in training is a slightly different 
    issue. It's MUCH harder to legislate for one thing. How can you tell
    someone that they can't give an injured horse medical treatment
    prescribed by a vet? It's harder to differentiate between what someone
    is doing FOR the horse and what they're doing TO the horse and FOR
    themselves.
    
    In principle, I agree with you that many of the cheap claimers are
    treated unethically by giving them enough medication to keep them in
    training. 
    
    Re: "I am just personally morally opposed to the exploitation of any
    animals for profit." Wouldn't that belief imply that you are against
    charging stud fee according to the value of the sire and/or his
    offspring? The buying and selling of animals as a livelihood? And
    ultimately would it not imply that you are against ownership of
    animals? Would it not also preclude farming/ranching to produce
    meat, assuming that the farmer/rancher actually made a profit?
    
    Just curious about what you consider exploitation and how far you carry
    that belief. No criticism or editorial comment is expressed or implied.
    Just old fashioned nosiness!

Animals suffering for the sake of entertainment might be more along the lines
of what I was trying to say.

I should have left that remark out because the point I was trying to make was
that medicating of racehorses can be, and often is, abused.



Back to Lasix & Bute! :-)

    Oops, John the Bald trained Alydar who ran second to Affirmed in all 
    three Triple Crown races. The late Laz Barrera trained Affirmed.
    
    I'll try to keep these things straight in the future! But they say that
    memory is the second thing to go when you pass 30! or was it 40?
    JND

	 How about  an alternate proposal: Any horse that races on Lasix
     carries additional lead.  

	 Wouldn't this  help  even  things  back out?  Correct me if I'm
     wrong, but wasn't the concept of carrying different amounts of lead
     supposed  to  help the slower horses (who wouldn't have to carry as
     much) and hinder (i.e.  slow down) the better ones? Of course, this
     may  mean  some  changes  in those races where all horses carry the
     same weight, but you could say that say, using Lasix requires them
     to add 5 additional pounds to what they were *supposed* to carry.



kathy_who_knows_very_little_about_racing

    Well, having seen the results of a racehorse "bleed" after
    a grueling race.....
    I think the use of Lasix should be allowed, for the HORSE's
    sake.  It's the over-exertion of the race that causes the
    horse to bleed, and that's what the Lasix (tries to) prevents. 
    
    IMNSHO, however, no horse should be allowed to run, period, if it 
    is on any kind of "pain" medication....Bute, etc.
    I consider this animal cruelty.....

    How about if a horse not being allowed to run if it bleeds?  Another
    thing to keep in mind is that the bleeding looks pretty awful to the
    observer, and probably feels pretty awful to the horse, but an article
    I read speculated that the horses who are opn lasix to control bleeding
    are probably in considerable respiratory pain from running while in a
    very close to dehydrated condition.  We just don't see that pain.
    
    As an interesting aside,  couple of years ago I saw a study that showed
    a correlation between bleeding and dirt-surfaced tracks.  The theory
    was that the dirt surface is hard enough to allow a horse to run faster
    than he would or could on turf, and that this, coupled with the fact
    that these tracks are harder than turf, and caused mode concussive
    effects on the horses entire body, caused the bleeding.  This study
    said bleeding is almost unheard of on European turf tracks.
    
    Course, they don't race the poor beasts every two weeks all year round,
    either....
    
    -ellie

Is racing's Attitude Toward Medication Antiquated ?
by James T Robertson, DVM
Hoof Beats, May 1991 (magazine of U.S. Trotting Assoc)

    [Youl'l have to forgive my typing skills and I'm not going to spend
     a whole lot of time proofreading this note at this hour. My main
     reason for entering this is to 1) bring to people's attention that this
     is a hotly debated issue in the racing industry and 2) to bring
     some rationality to some of these topics.]


It really makes me wonder when I hear people say "Horses should
race only on hay, oats and water."

Where have these people been for the last decade ?  Have they
been to the backstreach of a racetract recently ?  If so, they
would know that the "hay, oats, and water" approach sounds nice
but has no relation to what's happening in the real world.

The fact is that most year-round race horses will need some medical 
assistance to perform at peak efficiency.  That doesn't mean that
I'm condoning "doping" horses.  I'm speaking as someone with a medical
background who sincerly loves harness racing and has invested
considerable money in it.

The issue of Lasix is a perfect example.  It's easy for people to say that
Lasix should not be permitted, but in reality by not allowing the use of
Lasix you force trainers to seek other drugs which have similar effects.

Many of these drugs are used in contravention to the current rules of racing.
Sooner or later they'll show up in a positive test.  And that results in
bad publicity for harness racing.  Who gains ?

I say that "sooner or later" these drugs will show up in a positive test
because, unfortunatley, our post-race testing programs are not perfect.
Unless we want to spend the national debt on testing, we won't catch every
drug in every sample.

I liken post-race testing programs to speed limits.  Just because the speed 
limit is 65 miles per hour, do you think that means no one ever drives faster ?
Of course not !  Many people drive faster and hope they won't get caught.

Do you think that because certain substances are prohibited in horses, no one
ever uses them ?  Of course not!  Many horses are given these substances and 
their trainers hope they won't get caught.

You can often drive 69 miles per hour and never get stopped - until someone 
decides to crack down on speeders.  Then, suddenly, they nail you and your 
paying a big fine.

It's the same in post-race testing.  Many times a trainer can give an illegal
substance and go undetcted until the post-racing testing procedures are
altered, and suddenly he or she is caught.  It does noone any good to have
the lab suddenly "find" 40 or more positives for a prohibited substance over
a three or four week period !

With a controlled and supervised program permitting Lasix, the horsemen
won't need to turn to other drugs.  And the public won't need to wonder if a 
horse is racing on some medication; if the horse is on Lasix it will be noted
in the program.  Everything will appear to be above board.

it seems to me that some tracks and racing commisions have developed adversarial
relationships with veterinarians.  Remember, veterinarians simply respond
to the needs of their clients.  Veternarians do not go into a barn and tell
a trainer, "I'm going to treat the horses in stalls 4, 7, and 11.  Any
questions ?"  The veterinarian gets invited into a barn to treat a horse,
so the trainer must still be responsible.

It's the trainers and owners who benifit when a horse win's a race.  After
all, a veterinarian dosen't get a part of the purse check.  He or she is
just hoping to get paid for his or her services.

It also seems that some tracks are severly limiting veterinarians access to
their patients.  What does tah accomplish ?  It simply menas that some
trainers become more used to administering medication themselves.

Sure, you can argue that we have too much racing and that we should not
be racing cheap horses on a year-round basis, but that is, in fact, what we
have.  Until we change that, these horses will need some medical help, because
if they don't have it they can't perform and the show can't go on.

Lasix is not the only issue with regard to medication.  It's high time that
somebody addressed the whole issue of therapeutic medication and how it
relates to racing.  In some states, the Standardbred is a victim of an
antiquated medication policy.  Many horses are forced to perform with chronic
conditions that could quite easily and more effectively be treated while the
horse continues to race - if medication rules were allowed.

This is not "doping" horses.  This is allowing a veterinarian to make a 
diagnosis, advise the trainer and owner, and then prescribe a rational
course of treatment that is in the best interest of the horse.  This would
better enable veterinarians to conduct their pratice in an ethical and
professional manner and be treated with the respect that they deserve by
all parties involved in racing.

"Doping" horses in order to stimulate, depress, or anesthetize serious
and painful orthopedic conditions is intolerable, and all involved 
offenders should be subject to severe penalities.

    A little bio on Dr Robertson:

James T Robertson, DVM, is a native of British Columbia who received his
drgess in veterinary medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and  later
interned and completed a residency at the Universtiy of Pennsylvania's
New Bolton Center.  He is currently on the facility at the College of
veterinary Medicine at Ohio State University.

    
>    	How does Lasix prevent the bleeding? Does it constrict the 
>    	pulmonary capilaries or reduce blood flow? Either way, would
>    	this not also reduce the amount of blood available to take
>    	oxygen into the system and therefore slow the horse down? If
>    	this is so, then the use of lasix and the resultant decrease 
>    	in oxygen absorption would cancel each other out, benefit-wise.
    	
Go back and read note 471.6  That is the most recent info I have seen.
Basic answer is noone knows.  Lasix is used in humans for a number of
conditions and I'd bet noone know's why it works in humans either.

    I don't find the arguments in .19 at all convincing. Asking a horse to
    race while it has a medical condition which requires treatment is
    unethical, pure and simple. In many cases it is clearly cruelty and
    abuse. If you think that attitude is naiive or irrational, that's fine 
    with me.
    
    My belief is that Lasix should not be allowed because a) it is
    ineffective in controlling bleeding and b) it is speed enhancing. The
    situation with 1991's 3 year old fillies illustrates those points
    rather well. 
    
    One of the best fillies last year was Lite Light. She is a known "bleeder" 
    and races on Lasix. Despite the use of Lasix, she bled badly in the 
    Louisiana Super Derby while racing. She has been resting since Spetember 
    to recuperate from that injury.
    
    1991 Champion 3 year old filly, Dance Smartly won the Canadian Triple 
    Crown without running using Lasix because it was not permitted. She has
    never been reported to have "bled". Canada changed it's rules to allow
    Lasix starting the day of the Molson Export Million. Dance Smartly,
    immediately began racing on Lasix. Why? There was no theraputic need.
    IMHO, her owner and trainer felt that the US-based horses which run on 
    Lasix would have an advantage over her if they raced on Lasix and she
    did not. IMHO, she was given the drug to better her performance in
    order to OFFSET the advantage that the drug would have given to other 
    horses if she had raced without it.
    
    Personally, I think Dance Smartly should have been Horse of the
    Year...after all she beat 3 yr old colts in the Canadian Triple Crown
    and Molson Million, beat the best older fillies and mares in the Breeders' 
    Cup Distaff and was undefeated all season. But, seeing her race on Lasix
    when there was no theraputic need for it, cheapened her victories. She
    won her races on Lasix handily enough that the outcome would not have
    changed if she had raced without it but her people didn't DARE take the
    chance. They were simply afraid that she would be beaten because another 
    horse had the edge that the drug gives.
    
    John

    I don't have any problems will all racing (and all other
    equestrian sports) for that matter being totally drug free.

    The issues are:  

        1.  There have been NO TRUE SCIENTIFIC TESTS regarding
            the effects of Lasix.  All discussion is speculation.

        2.  Stopping the use of lasix and bute, say tomorrow would
            I'd guess close 1/3 of the tracks in the country, put
            thousands of people out of work and send thousands
            of horses to slaughter.  

        3.  I don't want to get into animal rights again, but the
            breeding for profit issue is a hugh rat hole.

    
    I have a partial lease on a TB to ride, the horse has been diagnosed
    with niviculear (sorry for the spelling) and the vet at Rochester
    said he may need Bute 4 hours before riding.

    Why is that any different than racing ?

    RE: The last note regarding the TB with navicular needing bute before
    being ridden. "Why is that any different from racing?". No offense, but
    in my personal and honest opinion, it's not. I wouldn't ride him. I
    don't believe in doing anything to an animal that will cause it
    physical pain, and I don't feel that masking that pain with drugs makes
    it right, either. I used to work part time at the stables at
    Rockingham, and saw a lot of horses that were treated well, more that
    were not. I don't have anything to do with racing anymore, although
    admittedly the reason is not because of drugging but because I dont
    feel it's right to work horses so hard so young, SO many of them break
    down because they're not allowed to grow up first. But that too is
    just a personal opinion.
    

>Re: .23
>    RE: The last note regarding the TB with navicular needing bute before
>    being ridden. "Why is that any different from racing?". No offense, but
>    in my personal and honest opinion, it's not. I wouldn't ride him. 

    The statement is "answered" in note 1594.1.  Don't want a new
    reader to think it wasn't.

>Re: .21
>    My belief is that Lasix should not be allowed because a) it is
>    ineffective in controlling bleeding and b) it is speed enhancing. 

    I don't know much about flats but the harness programs in both Mass
    and Maine clearly identified those horses on either Bute or Lasix.
    Kathy's idea of a higher weight handicap for TB's is a thought but
    maybe not necessary as the use of Lasix is not a secret.

    As best I rememeber Lasix is administered by the track vet a certain
    number of hours before the start of the race.  I think 3 or 4.  The level
    of Bute in the horse has a minimum and maximum.  If a horse is marked in the
    program as using bute the trainer is fined if the horse is out of that
    range in either direction.

    Yes someone can cheat if they are willing to accept the risks.  A group 
    of leading harness drivers was interviewed in a magazine and one
    was quoted as saying that "racing is no less honest than any other pro 
    sport".  I had never hought of it that way.

    Just an idle curiousity, are harness racers run on Lasix as commonly
    as flats? I have a Standardbred mare who raced for 6 years, with
    surprising success (surprising to me knowing her personality and the
    fact that she's smaller than average at just 15 hh). I have a handful
    of her "win pictures" given to me by her former owners, and nowhere
    on them is Lasix indicated. Is a horse with a 6 year career likely to
    have run without it, or is it simply not indicated in the programs?

    None of my horses have ever been on lasix, and only one in our barn
    ever raced with it.  You can tell if it was used by reading the
    program, horses racing on lasix and bute have to declare it when
    they are entered.  It is listed in the top right corner, and says
    Butazolidin, (horse#) 1,4,5 and same with lasix.  It is allowed in
    NH, but not Maine, and I don't believe Mass.  If you win in a state
    that doesn't allow it, you will show a positive urine test and will
    have your purse money taken away.  Not really worth it I don't think.

    Thanks, Linda. So then I probably can not tell from what I have, as I
    don't have programs from the day she raced. All I do have are several
    pictures of her taken in the winners box, actually 2 shots divided in
    the middle by a strip listing her 5 or 6 previous races and placings,
    etc. Hm. I know that she did race in Mass, Florida, New York and New
    Jersey, but not Maine or NH. Interesting. I know I can write to the
    US Trotting Assoc for her racing record, I've just never quite been
    curious enough. Maybe now I will. Thanks again!

    New York runs one of the toughest racing programs in the country,
    if you get caught using anything illegal, which probably includes
    bute and lasix, you can be banned from racing for any amount of time
    they decide on.  A lot of people like to buy NY horses for that 
    reason, chances are they haven't been given anything.