That Anne Romney rides dressage is one thing; that she was involved in drugging and defrauding

[magical thyme]

a horse buyer is another. Her involvement was tangential, I'm sure, which is why she was dropped from it. She probably has no idea her horse (or likely her other horses) were being drugged, because there is no way she is involved in their day to day care. Frivolous law suit, my ass. Ebeling clearly was involved in drugging at least one of his competition horses.

And frankly, as a lifelong dressage rider, I question the continuous use of anti-inflammatories in a competition horse. If you or I were caught using the anti-inflammatory bute in a competition, we'd be eliminated. And here they were using one anti-inflammatory or another on a routine basis. And 4 -- not one, but 4 -- tranquiliziers in his system, with only 2 accounted for? Boy does this piss me off.

"But Dr. Herthel apparently did not mention that a toxicology test reported four tranquilizers in Super Hit’s blood at the time of the exam. His records showed that he injected two of the drugs — to steady Super Hit during X-rays, he testified — but there was no documentation of the other two tranquilizers.

Dr. Herthel sent an e-mail to Ms. Ebeling asking if the horse had been sedated before the exam; she replied that he had not. How the additional tranquilizers got into the animal was never fully established. A lawyer for Dr. Herthel, Steve Schwartz, said the drug laboratory’s tests were not definitive.

But veterinary experts unconnected with the case questioned the circumstances. “The presence of all those medications makes interpretation of the exam null and void,” said Dr. Carolyn Weinberg, a board member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. She and others said tranquilizers could mask problems....

Ms. Norris, who could not be reached for comment for this article, continued to board Super Hit at the Acres, paying some $2,400 a month. But she was soon complaining that “he looks funny on his left front,” she testified in a deposition. According to her, Mr. Ebeling replied, “It’s your riding.”"

forgot the link. here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/us/politics/ann-romneys-hobby-spotlights-world-of-dressage.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

[bklyncowgirl]

1. When buying a horse, only a fool uses the seller's vet, especially for a six figure horse.

That being said, there do seem to be some nasty undercurrents here. It seems the trainer's been playing his wealthy clients along--not unusual in the horse world of course.

[magical thyme]

2. it's drugging competition horses that is stunning

That is supposed to be grounds for banning from competition. If the horse isn't sound enough to compete without anti-inflammatory drugs, then it isn't sound enough to be competing, period.

And if the horse already had 2 tranquilizers circulating when the vet added another 2 for the x-rays, then something is amiss with that horse, period.

Both situations seem to merit elimination and banning, if found during random drug testing. Which is supposed to be part of competition above a certain level.

The rest of it is, sadly, part and parcel of the horse world. It's an expensive sport and Ebeling would hardly be the first to marry wealthy students to lock in his funding. It was kind of funny to read that he and Lisa Wilcox divorced when *she* wanted to stay in Germany. She apparently had the talent to make it at the epicenter, and cared enough about what she was doing to want to stay there.

[magical thyme]

5. also, in this case the buyer was another client of the trainer who recommended the vet

The buyer had not yet learned the nasty lesson...that *some* clients are more equal than others.

Basically, Ebeling deliberately screwed over his less important client in favor of his more important client.

[Rose Siding]

3. You give her more of a break than I do.

From the way it was reported, it looks to me that she may have been dropped as part of the plea:

Last September, on the eve of a jury trial, Mrs. Romney was dropped from the lawsuit before it was settled out of court, according to the Romney campaign. “The lawsuit was frivolous,” said Gail Gitcho, a Romney spokeswoman. Lawyers for the Ebelings did not return calls.

As an owner, I don't see how she wouldn't bear some responsibility. It's fair to conclude that non-disclosure was part of the plea as well. That she continues to work with the trainer is damning.

[magical thyme]

4. you're right; I am giving her too much of a break

She knew Super Hits' performance was deteriorating and she probably knew he was being drugged to keep him going.

It just amazes me, how vicious people can be. They're loaded to the hilt. They could have simply retired that poor horse and written off the loss.