Quote:
Originally Posted by cmorioles
Honest question because I really don't know the answer. What happens to horses that bleed through Lasix? I seem to remember horses not being able to enter for a pretty decent amount of time, and even being barred from racing. Has all this changed?
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Depends on a few factors. It used to be that a when you put your horse on lasix initially that was considered to be the first episode and you were prohibited from entering for 14 days. The second time you bled you would get 30 days but only if the state vet visably saw the blood coming from a horses nose and examined them post race to make sure the blood wasnt from a cut in their mouth or another horse. The 3rd time would get you 90 days and any episode after that would get you ruled off for good.
One of the technical issues with the current rules that could be an issue with banning lasix in stakes is that the way the rules read in some places if you take the horse off lasix and put them bak on again you get 30 days and are considered a 2 time bleeder. If this were to happen and a horse unfortunately bled because they happened to hit their head in the gate they would get 90 days and be a step away from being banned. The rules can be changed obviously but the intent was to prevent trainers from putting them on and taking them off indiscriminately so that will have to be addressed.
I am under the impression that eventually lasix will not be allowed on raceday because those who are the adamantly behind the movement are well heeled and hate being told no and will keep fighting until they get their way. If only they felt so strongly about topics which could actually help improve the sport tangibly...