By: Frank Angst Kentucky Equine Medical Director Mary Scollay is advocating a multi-pronged approach to regulating and preventing improper use of bisphosphonates, which experts have linked to catastrophic breakdowns when used in young horses because they interrupt the bone remodeling process as horses train. Scollay presented the overview during the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission meeting
Press Release: The Association of Racing Commissioner International said in a statement Wednesday that it is considering a policy that would disallow entries from horses below age four who are treated with bisphosphonates. This comes on the heels of America’s three major sales companies announcing a ban on the controversial drugs. “The ARCI is considering and
Press Release: Dr. Jeff Berk, President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, issued the following statement Friday afternoon in response to the announcement earlier this week that the three major U.S. sales companies will offer buyers the choice to test purchases for bisphosphonates and rescind sales for positive tests: “The American Association of Equine Practitioners endorses
Press Release: Jockeys’ Guild, the organization representing professional jockeys in Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing in the United States, has issued the following statement on the use of bisphosphonates. “The Board of Directors of the Jockeys’ Guild, which is composed of leading Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse jockeys, supports the view that until the research being
Press Release: Officials from Keeneland Association, Fasig-Tipton Company Inc. and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company Inc. jointly announced today that they will enable buyers of horses younger than 4 years old to have those horses tested for bisphosphonates. The policy is undertaken to ban off-label use of these drugs. The revised Conditions of Sale for each
Press Release: The Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA) has called the off-label usage of bisphosphonates in horses under four years of age `unacceptable’ in a statement issued Saturday morning. The statement read: “The Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA) and its members are first and foremost concerned about equine health. The recent tragedies in
By: Dan Ross The fallout from events still unfolding at Santa Anita have re-sparked the fires simmering under a number of horse welfare issues. Few, however, have galvanized such a swift phalanx of action as that of bisphosphonates–drugs used in humans to tackle degenerative bones diseases like osteoporosis. Their use in racehorses, however, has proven
By: Erica Larson In 2014 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two bisphosphonate drugs—clodronate and tiludronate—for controlling clinical signs associated with podotrochlosis (more commonly known as navicular syndrome) in horses ages 4 and older. Since then, some veterinarians have started using these products off-label to treat other equine bone issues, such as bucked shins
By: Ed Kane Bone is a dynamic organ—always changing, constantly being reshaped, old cells removed and replaced with new. Bone responds to stress by removing damaged or injured bone and laying down new bone—an ongoing process. Bone is constantly remodeled to meet the needs of stress and loading. The response of bone to strain is
Press Release: The FEI has tweaked its plans to ban the range of bisphosphonates that are unlicensed for use in horses amid concerns that residues from their use to treat bone disorders might result in positive tests in the months ahead. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone density. They
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