About Drugs and Medications

The Equine Drugs and Medications Program has worked to protect the welfare of equine athletes and ensure the balance of competition for nearly 40 years. The program utilizes veterinarians and technicians around the country to collect blood and urine samples from horses competing at USEF and FEI events. What makes the Equine Drugs and Medications Program truly unique is the comprehensive nature of our program in maintaining all three important components necessary for successful drug testing; the collection of samples, the analysis of samples, and ongoing research to stay current in the enforcement of medication rules.

Initially, the program was dependent upon an outside laboratory to analyze the random samples collected at competitions across the country. In 1995, the Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory (EDTRL) was established by the Equine Drugs and Medications Program and currently conducts all sample analysis for USEF and FEI samples collected in the United States. Additionally, the EDTRL is only one of five laboratories worldwide that is an FEI Reference Laboratory, and the only one in the western hemisphere.

The USEF strongly encourages its members to review the current Drugs and Medications Rule and to be aware of the published recommendations for treating a horse in competition. These recommendations can be found in the Federation’s Drugs and Medications Guidelines pamphlet and are provided as a link on this website. If you have questions not answered in the pamphlet please contact the Equine Drugs and Medications Program.