Equine drug testers at horse shows make me nervous. At upper-level events there’s always that official-looking person looming quietly near the arena in-gate with clipboard and urine sample cup in hand. It’s not that my horse is hopped up on performance-enhancing drugs, it’s just the stringency of it all. When he or she walks my way right after I’ve laid down a clean show-jumping round, all I can think is, “Please don’t pick me, please don’t pick me, please don’t pick me.”

At upper-level competitions, veterinarians routinely gather horses’ blood and urine samples for drug testing purposes.

Photo: Anne M

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