At-home testing could come in for top competition horses

The aim is to ensure a level playing field for all, as the anti-doping laws undergo a full revision this year

- BECKY MURRAY

OUT-OF-COMPETITION testing could be introduced for FEI-registered horses, with the aim of ensuring a level playing field for all.

A session at the FEI Sports Forum (29–30 April) focused on anti-doping and controlled medication regulations (EACMRs), which will undergo a full revision this year.

Out-of-competition testing was a key talking point, following the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission’s (EEWC) recommendation that the FEI implement a process for ensuring “high standards of welfare and investigating risk practices” for horses when outside of competition.

The aim would be to test for banned substances – not controlled medications.

The EACMRs already allow for out-of-competition testing, but it does not take place. The FEI said this is owing to the challenges around establishing who is responsible; rider, owner, trainer, support personnel or all four. In endurance it was agreed that in most cases the trainer is responsible, but in other disciplines this was less clear.