Ask yourself this question: Do you know what medication and therapy your horse is receiving, and why? Is there a good reason for it? Most of all, is it safe?
The Chromatic Fund, formally unveiled last week, will pay for collaborative research and education enabling veterinarians to be updated as they make decisions about horse care at competitions and elsewhere.
The initiative has the earmarks of being a lifesaver.
The fund will facilitate a ground-breaking effort under the auspices of the U.S. Equestrian Federation and American Association of Equine Practitioners, designed to make a big difference in the lives and careers of sport horses.
It all started because Kc Branscomb wasn’t going to give up.
She knew something had to be done following the death of Chromatic BF, a grand prix show jumper she bred, raised and loved.
A carefree Chromatic galloping through the fields of his California home.
The 13-year-old gelding competed at April’s FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Saudi Arabia, where he finished third in the second leg of the competition. Upon his return to the stables after an ebullient round of honor, a USEF-appointed veterinarian injected him with a cocktail of five drugs (none of which were prohibited substances), ostensibly to aid Chromatic with recovery after his big effort. Minutes later, the horse went into shock, collapsed and died.
Branscomb took issue with the results of a necropsy performed in Saudi Arabia that pointed toward an exercise-associated fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. According to the final report, the administered medications were not identified as the cause of death.
Chromatic ccompeting in Saudi Arabia.
But Branscomb insisted on better answers, including why the substances were injected, and beyond that, how to insure no other sport horse would suffer the same fate as Chromatic.
She made sure USEF listened, and also approached AAEP about her concerns. That led to a new welfare initiative and creation of the fund. The fund’s process, which also includes Branscomb’s input and the work of the Foundation for the Horse, is taking a worldwide perspective on a multi-faceted agenda.
Branscomb made an initial gift to kick-start the fund, matching a pledge from USEF, but the goal is to go beyond six figures and raise $2 million. For more information or to donate, go to this link — https://www.foundationforthehorse.org/support/chromaticfund.
The focus is on appropriate use of medication and other therapeutic interventions in equine athletes across the disciplines. The fund will pay for “science-based, equine-specific research and information access to benefit the health, well-being, and career longevity of horses in sport.”
Branscomb wants to get scientific information on untested therapies and the right dosages; how do you get the best efficacy while keeping the horse safe?
“We are dedicated to enhancing our welfare initiatives for sport horses announced in August,” said USEF CEO Bill Moroney, citing “the perfect partnership to set this education and research program on the right path to success.”
That’s particularly important in the era of horse sports seeking social license to operate from the general public. There have, for instance, already been petitions to the U.S. Olympic Committee asking that equestrian competition be excluded from the Games. Competition horses are a favorite target of animal rights groups.
In September, the advisory board of industry stakeholders that oversees the Chromatic Fund spent a day at AAEP headquarters in Lexington Ky., asking about the opportunities to sustainably improve the safety, welfare and longevity of the horses, and “do that in a way that wouldn’t adversely impact the sport itself? Most of us believe well-cared-for, healthy horses enjoy competing,” said Branscomb.
The result was a document listing the decisions and agreements the advisory board arrived at when they “explored rules, regulatory issues and questions of whether the problem was that the research is available, but just not getting out there to riders, trainers and the vets who are treating horses,” she continued.
Another facet involves determining whether the proper amount of research has been done on widely used emerging therapies and homeopathics.
“There is a huge amount of benefit and improvement that can be made just by properly curating the already available research and getting it out in practical, usable ways to veterinarians and clients; trainers, riders and owners hiring those vets,” said Branscomb.
She noted that if the vet who treated her horse at the World Cup had access to, and been informed on, peer review and academic papers about use of a product containing selenium (one of the components in the mixture given to Chromatic) he would have known there was no scientific evidence it does anything for muscle recovery and should only be given only over a course of treatment to horses who are deficient in that selenium.
Chromatic finished third in the second round of the World Cup.
As Branscomb explained the fund’s goals, she noted, “This is about available information not getting into right hands and not being paid attention to. So what we’re hoping to do with this…is bring the very best academic veterinarians who are doing the academic research and the top 30 treating vets in world, and get them together with top research veterinarians over a day or two to talk (this) through.”
The goal is a handbook for use by treating veterinarians in equestrian sport, covering items such as inflammation, cardiovascular fitness recovery rate and immune system response, “so many aspects of what makes a horse be able to perform at its very best and be healthy.”
The handbook would lay out protocols such as “do this, don’t do this and if you do this, here are the risks.”
That’s one part of the program. Another, according to Branscomb, is insuring that owners, the “ultimate custodians” of the animal, can educate themselves and have pertinent information to make therapeutic decisions for their horse, rather than simply relying on trainers who may feel pressured to win. It could “change the culture,” or “at the very least, determine which practices are potentially harmful or helpful.
“I think we need to find out what the impact is of injecting hocks every six weeks in horses that are six to eight years of age. I think there’s plenty of research that shows that can have an impact on potentially shortening a horse’s career. An owner should have an opportunity to ask intelligent questions,” said Branscomb.
She mentioned that there are “too many examples of `Well, let’s try this’… without really a scientific basis or any evidence that what they are trying is going to work.
The research will take time and the advisory board is looking at various ways to handle it. In addition to Branscomb and Moroney, the board includes Sonja Keating, the USEF’s chief operating officer and general counsel; Dr. Tracy Turner, president-elect of the AAEP and the Foundation for The Horse; Olympic show jumping medalist and trainer Norman Dello Joio; Dr. Jack Snyder, an FEI-certified treating veterinarian and Dr. John Madigan, distinguished professor emeritus of the University California Davis school of veterinary medicine and board certified animal welfare specialist with a focus on equine.
Kc Branscomb and amateur-owner hunter PakNSave. (Photo by Donna DeMari)
Branscomb noted sport governance organizations put out a list of prohibited substances, but there is “no discussion about tens of thousands of different therapies and medications; not even any discussion of `should they be limited and who should apply them?’
“It’s unbelievable how many drugs are in peoples’ (tack) trunks, being administered by people who are not veterinarians, things that are widely used. Those are permitted substances, depending on how and when they are administered, alongside other drugs, and who administers them. There’s a lot of information about what is safe and not safe, but that is not out there in the hands of people using those drugs.”
There needs to be a level of accountability and some kind of consequences when someone makes a mistake, she believes, noting the International Sport Horse Veterinary Association has made a set of recommendations to the FEI (international equestrian federation) for rules on how to supervise and insure best-in-class knowledge is being utilized.
“I don’t know if USEF or FEI will lead, but I believe in the next 12 months, both organizations will make a major change in management of how medications are reviewed and applied within the context of permitted substances,” said Branscomb,
She lobbied successfully for revisions to the USEF’s Horse Participation Consent Agreement in terms of treatments that can be given without permission to horses representing the USA. A change was made to say that except in an emergency, no medications will be administered to horses by team veterinarians at international competitions without prior consent of the athlete (a rider or driver), who is the person responsible under FEI regulations for substances present in a horse.
This week at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s convention, Branscomb will receive the Mrs. A.C. Randolph Owners Legacy Award, which recognizes past or current owners who have been loyal patrons of the industry.
USHJA called her a significant figure in the hunter/jumper industry for many years, making her mark as a breeder dedicated to producing top sport horses at Branscomb Farm in California. She has cultivated a breeding program prioritizing both talent and temperament, USHJA noted in announcing the award, while citing her work with USEF “to advocate for changes in the role of owners in international competitions.”
Branscomb’s persistence, which has achieved much, was fueled by devotion.
“I loved my horse and what happened should never have happened,” she stated.
“I set out to make sure it would never happen again and in that process, I learned there were some holes in the safety net that was supposed to protect our horses, and there was some lack of understanding and knowledge that was readily available that would have kept my horse safe and alive. I wanted to make sure that got fixed.
“We have an opportunity to lead from the front and do it right, and have the sport be celebrated and leave the parts that we love intact and just have better-informed therapeutic care of the animal.”