Doping and medication infringements have been a big problem in all sports for many years now and the various governing bodies continue to try and stop drug cheats from competing but at the end of the day it is the human athletes who decide whether or not to take the drugs.

Equestrian sport differs hugely in that it is a partnership between horse and rider and the horse has no say in what he is or isn't given so doping issues become animal welfare issues and this has made the whole problem so very difficult to administer.

The doping and medication transgressions have been well discussed both here and in other publications, but more importantly it has been discussed in arenas around the world, with most agreeing that the ridiculous use of anti-psychotic drugs in conjunction with questionable training methods are totally unacceptable.

The thing agreed on by all true and dedicated horse people across the world is that there are many substances which are not performance enhancing but are for the welfare of the athletic horse who suffers nothing more than general wear and tear associated with performance - this is not about competing a lame, injured or unsound horse.

In the 1980's bute, one of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, was banned and many saw this as a backward step for the horse itself, but many understood that it was done for reasons other than the general idea of use for this particular drug.

Sadly some of the "drug cheats" and their veterinary teams saw drugs like bute as an ideal way to cover up the use of other insidious drugs among other things and it was then I believe the decision was made to ban ALL medications.

The testing procedures have improved hugely since the 80's and if this was an issue 30 years ago one would happily assume this would no longer be the case and so "hiding" other drugs would hopefully no longer be an issue.

The issue of competing lame horses on medication would however continue to be the same problem it was 30 years ago - and it would take a huge change of human nature to over come this issue, which is what concerns many involved in equestrian sport.

Some National Federations, such as the USA, continued to allow the use in National competition.

The final recommendations from the Clean Sport Campaign led by the Ljungqvist and Stevens Commissions were presented to the 105 National Federations present in Copehagen, Denmark for the General Assembly this week and it has been met with mixed reactions.

The positive vote for the Clean Sport campaign which sees a definitive list of 1000+ banned substances was passed with a vote of 90 for and 8 against.

The Progressive List, which allows the use of certain, previously banned medications was not so well received with a vote of 53 for and 48 against. It has been reported, but not clarified, that Great Britain and Ireland requested that the vote be taken again, which was refused by HRH Princess Haya on the grounds that many of the delegates had already left the meeting.

Some of the drugs which will again be permitted in-competition seem to be bute, salicyclic acid (an asprin type product), and flunixin (NSAID) to name some.

There are many reasons which would be seen as in the best interests of the horse using these drugs which will now be permitted and an example of a legitimate use is a dressage horse recently diagnosed with ERU (Equine Recurent Uveitis).

This horse has been, under a Specialist Equine Vet, put on an anti-inflammatory drug (bute) at low levels to ensure no further episodes which may progressively cause permanent damage to the eye without the anti-inflammatory drugs. Should this young and perfectly sound horse be retired, to never compete again?

But what of the people who put their interests before the welfare of the horse? This new ruling will quite possibly see the older International horse (as an example only), which has done it's job well for many years, being sold (for good money) to a National rider who will have the horse on daily doses of bute, for example, with no thought for the effect on the horses well being. Long term use of NSAID will impact on the stomach of the horse and possibly kidneys.

Should this horse be competing if it requires daily doses of bute for example? If the horse is taken off the medications and struggles to walk, but can jump with the medication is it in the best interest of the horse?

Speaking with a well respected Irish Performance vet, the answer seems to be that it is not a good thing for horses to remove the ban from equestrian sport as it opens things up for abuse of the horse, by way of uncontrolled competition with a horse who is not sound enough for the job.

There is no question that equestrian sport at the Olympic Games is under a cloud and much of the darkness in the cloud is due to the constant positive doping tests at the past two Olympics. The growing number of positive tests is not being seen in a good light by the geneeral public and by the sponsors around the world.

Interestingly the incidence of NSAID's only accounted for 3 or the 23 hearings resolved in 2009 with the rest being for mostly substances banned for use in horses which indicates that the new rulings will not make much of a diffence to the positive tests perhaps.

Of the 23 tribunal hearings listed KSA, BRN, BUL, GER, GBR, IRL, JPN, FRA and SUI had one tribunal hearing each. Belgium and the USA had two apiece while UAE (United Arab Emirates) had 10 hearings since January, 2009.

So what would be better solutions to the doping issue?

Because there are so many variables and legitimate reasons why a horse may test positive would it perhaps be possible to have a "medical book" for horses?

This book would be filled in every time the vet is called for a horse, whether it be for a flu vac or a nerve block. The medical book would then be handed in with the passport on arrival at a show and if the horse is swabbed then the vets would call for the medical book? This would marry up treatments with swabs in a way which might be advantageous to the horses welfare and clarify when a positive test is produced, that the drug in question was indeed used well before the clearance times.

The FEI position to the change on the rulings is euphoric, to say the least, but many of the National Federations are not as happy as the governing body seems to be and this is in itself a worry.

HRH Princess Haya said on the completion of the vote "This is a true landmark moment in the history of our sport. The overwhelming support of the National Federations for the Clean Sport Campaign is proof that we are moving in the right direction thanks to the incredible work done by the Ljungqvist and Stevens Commissions. This vote has given us the power to roll out Clean Sport and allow us to restore the public image of our sport as a clean and uncorrupt product."

Professor Ljungqvist said, “Ultimately it was down to the equestrian community to make the final decision and they have voted in support of the package as a whole. The two Commissions have put in an enormous amount of work to come up with these recommendations and it is particularly gratifying that we have received such overwhelming support for the Clean Sport Campaign from the National Federations.”

Lord Stevens stated afterwards, “We said yesterday that the FEI needed to adopt these recommendations before it could be given a clean bill of health. They have been approved by a massive majority and now the sport can move forward.”

The FEI is to be congratulated for taking the doping and medication issue seriously and for understanding that the future of our equestrian pursuits may well be dependent on cleaning up the sport, but perhaps it still needs tweaking to get it working for the welfare of the horse and not the self interest of some riders.