PROTOCOL FOR THE USE OF FUROSEMIDE IN TRAINING
PROTOCOL FOR THE USE OF FUROSEMIDE IN TRAINING
- From a welfare point of view, the NHA supports the use of furosemide in training.
- The accepted detection time for furosemide is 48 hours, so there is no reason why a horse cannot receive furosemide prior to a pre-race gallop in the week prior to a race.
- The NHA understands that the drug needs to be administered a while before a horse has its work-out and practicing vets cannot be expected to be at the yards at 4 o’ clock in the morning to administer the drug.
- To this end, it is acceptable for a vet to prescribe and dispense a month’s supply of correctly labelled furosemide to a trainer for him/her to administer, with the proviso that the vet must complete the VTR on the day he dispenses the furosemide with the details of the horse/s and the dose to be administered. The VTR page number must be written on the dispensing label on the furosemide bottle.
- The trainer must then complete the VTR himself on the day and at the time that he/she administers the furosemide to the horse.
- A trainer may NOT be in possession of vast quantities of unlabeled furosemide for use on an undetermined number of horses as and when he sees fit.
- Any furosemide detected in a horse during routine out of competition testing that is NOT entered in the VTR as described above, would then be considered a breach of the rules, with the trainer being held responsible.