Only the Good Die Young

I have a friend who has lupus and when the disease flares up she is forced to take massive doses of steroids to put it back into remission. The long term effects of these drugs is beginning to take its toll. She has had cataract surgery (at 49!), numerous bone fractures and ruptured tendons. It seems she is always having some sort of "corrective' surgery.

At the same time, it is almost impossible for her to wean herself completely from the drugs. She tries to maintain the lowest possible dose, but she cannot be truly be steroid free without being debilitated. Long term use is itself debilitating, but so is complete withdrawal.

All of which got me thinking about how long it takes for horses to get the steroids out of their systems and what kind of consequences they suffer during the detox.

An AP article that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week addresses these concerns. Don Rosenberg, a breeding consultant who worked at Three Chimneys for 25 years notes that many stallions arrive at the breeding shed from the racetrack with smaller testicles than normal and fillies, who have been on steroids may have irregular menstrual cycles and display "masculine" aggressive tendencies. "Four to five months after they get here, they're back to normal," Rosenberg notes.

The question is, what is normal. Most of these horses have been shot with steroids during their first year, to build muscle and make them more attractive in the sales ring. I've got to believe that muscle building is at the expense of bone building and that we are forcing those delicate legs to bear even more load. Muscular, "ripped" stallions may catch the eye of a bidder or bettor, but these centerfold equines are walking time bombs--set to implode with or without continued steroid use during their racing careers.

What needs to happen is an industry wide ban on these drugs--from cradle to grave, if you will--except for palliative and therapeutic reasons. Small animal vets usually resort to prednisone as a last resort--and in as small a dose as possible. There is no doubt it works but the question is at what cost.

Why can't large animal vets follow their lead? Isn't it ironic that our cats and dogs are living longer and longer and our horses are dying young?