A Wake Up Call Comes Sadly Too Late …
By Dr. Mike Manno, DVM, MS

About a year ago I wrote a couple of articles in my column relating to the mounting pressure on the horse industry to clean up its act.  Most of this turmoil was stemming from the outrage over equine deaths such as Eight Belles and those in the Rolex Cup.  Throw in a little steroid controversy with Big Brown and voila – an instant PETA nightmare.  But the reality was, and is, that reform was long overdue.  I stated that the polo community felt immune and thought it flew under the radar.  And then comes the absolute horror of last Sunday at the Open.  My wife’s phone and mine starting ringing for hours and the shock and dismay at the news was overwhelming.  There was not much doubt in my mind how this happened but just a matter of from what.  We know most of the facts now, but in the end, our little polo world was smack in the middle of the media’s cross hairs.

In the hours and days following, I have been in close contact with my long time friend and colleague, Josh Hall.  He, along with many other fine veterinarians in the Palm Beach area, fought desperately on the field-side to save these dying horses.  Their efforts, along with all the other horsemen, were nothing short of remarkable.  Josh and I have known each other for over 25 years and used to work together early on in Northern California.  A good part of our practice was spent at the racetracks in the Bay Area.  Josh left and followed his passion for polo and concentrated on Santa Barbara and Palm Beach.  Eventually, many years later, I also left and headed to Del Mar to follow the race horses, but also to get back into the polo world in San Diego and Indio.  One of the things both of us loved about working in polo was that you could actually treat horses the way you felt you needed too.  Now that may sound strange to you, but if you are treating horses in the show horse world or in racing, you have to look at a calendar or maybe even your watch and determine if you can administer the medication you want to use.  You have to fill out labels with withdrawal times clearly marked so as not to have the barn help or trainer give anything too close to a race or competition.  You have to fill out confidential reports to the commissions detailing all the horse treated and the medications given at their specific times.  All the while the rules would be changing as new medications hit the market and testing techniques became more precise.  Often times you would find yourself opting for a medication that was not your first choice, but it would not show up in a test.  Other times you just did not treat the horse at all because it needed to show or might run soon.  And then there was the “darkside” of it.  The constant game of pushing the envelope by getting as close as you could with a medication or finding medications they weren’t testing yet.  I’ll admit, some vets relished this game, but most of us did not.

So, what does all of this have to do with polo or last Sunday’s tragedy you might ask?  Well, as most are now aware, polo never has had any formal drug testing protocol.   The truth of the matter is we probably never used to need one, as abuse was not an issue.  I contend that still is the case for the greater part of polo, but it has been a problem over the last few years at the higher levels.  The Equine Welfare Committee of the USPA had its meeting this past Friday.  Josh and I are both on the committee, and Josh was instrumental in starting this committee.  The meeting went well for the most part, but the bottom line is that we will now have some sort of a random medication testing policy in polo. The exact implementation is to be reviewed and formalized in the next few weeks or months.  This is no small task.  Acceptable level standards have to be determined.  Lists of allowable and banned substances have to be derived.  Withdrawal times will have to be calculated.  And if there are infractions found, how and to whom do you enact punishment.  Do you fine or suspend the sponsor, the pro or both?  Do they forfeit a game or tournament?  Do you sit the horse down too?  It is sad that it has come to this.  And the cost factor to each of us or the USPA?   Estimates at the meeting were under $100,000 annually.  That’s not pocket change for a small organization.  At this juncture, it is not a matter of whether we can afford to do it, but that we cannot afford not to.

One last note about how we have reached this point.  I am certainly not about to get righteous and point fingers.  After all, I have been on the backside of the racetrack since I was a teenager.  There are a few skeletons in my closet too.  And I have certainly given vitamins and electrolytes to plenty of horses in polo for tournament games.  There is nothing wrong or unethical about that.  Sure, we have heard all the talk about non-FDA approved substances questionably compounded at the request of an American vet to be given by an unlicensed Argentine to almost all the horses just hours before a game.  I am not a lawyer, but I guess we will see if any laws were actually broken and if any punishment is given.  I find something curious in all of this.  The state of Florida officials have known this type of practice has been going on and claims they are helpless to stop it.  Why is that?  They either do not want to or do not have the resources to do so.  But curiously, years ago, my friend Josh Hall worked for Palm Beach Equine and decided he wanted to work on his own.  One small problem – he had signed a non-competition clause.  So for 2 years or so he was not able to work in Florida (or at least the Palm Beach area).  A fully licensed, competent veterinarian was being prohibited by the legalities of the State of Florida from practicing.  Maybe, they should try and look into the unlicensed vets in the same manner.  And it may not stop there, folks.  What if the state governing boards do get involved and really start regulating lay people who act as dentists and chiropractors and herbal therapists?   And what about the online pharmacies that sell massive amounts of medications to individuals with dubious prescriptions from veterinarians who the buyers do not know and who have never even seen the horses?  That too is illegal in almost every state, but nothing is ever done about it.  It is sad that change in these areas comes most times only after something terrible happens.

In the end, this was a very tragic mistake that could be likened to wiping out the entire Kentucky Derby field and then some before they ever hit the starting gate – such a sad and unfortunate accident.   Assessing blame is not really the point here – safeguarding the welfare of our horses is.  But then, that should have been the objective all along.

Stay safe.

– Dr. Mike Manno, DVM, MS