Will my horse test positive for CBD?
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
By Jeri Lockwood
As most of you have heard, many of the horse and other equine associations have banned the use of CBD Hemp Oil when it comes to competing in horse shows and on the race track. Our hope is when more CBD testing is done and the FDA releases their findings and the associations will find that CBD is a healthy alternative to other pharmacuetal pain management pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, USEF determined that CBD had a calming effect on horses, donkey's and mules. This is far from the truth! CBD makes your equine friends feel better so they are performing at a high level. If CBD calmed a horse down, our largest clients wouldn't be barrel racers and team ropers. So when USEF banned CBD the rest of the associations followed along. Another reason might be the veterinarian industry. It is hard to prescribe and make money off of a holistic product. I have one veterinarian tell me that the amount of injections have gone down on the horses that are using the H & J CBD discs.
So, can you use CBD oil before you show your horse; and, how long should you stop using CBD Hemp Oil before you compete? These are all great questions. We have consulted with veterinarians and USEF and they are recommending to stop giving your horse CBD oil three to five days before you compete. I have found with my own horses that they are still receiving residual benefits days after I stop the daily dosage.
The benefit of giving your horse CBD oil is to get our horses off of pharmaceuticals which, as we all know, are hard on the intestinal tract. Horses who are on CBD tend to have less inflammation and pain. Even stopping CBD administration in your horses three to five days before competition, horses are still performing at a high level. Why do we think this is happening? If the horse feels better, he/she will want to go out and do the job for which they were bred. Also, when you give your horse, dog or even human's CBD it is telling our own system to produce more of our own naturally producing CBD.
Our full-spectrum CBD oil does have less than .3% THC. Our Certificates of Analaysis is ont he order page of www.hjequine.com/order. THC tends to stick to fat and that is why it can be detected using blood and urine tests in dogs and some humans. Horses are mostly muscle and many doubt it can be detected in such a small quantity. With that being said, we recommend you call your breed association for their specific recommendations on when to take your horse off of CBD before a competition. Many associations have a phone number you can call to find out exactly what their criteria is. More than likely, you will end up calling USEF.
Now the big question we get asked all the time: does CBD oil actually test? This is a great question since all mammals naturally have CBD in their system with CB1 and CB2 receptors. CB1 receptors exist mainly in the brain and central nervous system. CB1 receptors regulate appetite and pain. CB2 receptors exist in the intestinal tract and nervous system and this helps reduce pain and inflammation. As of now, a mammal has over 101 CBD receptors that we know about. It takes days for the body to realize that it is not being enhanced with additional CBD and so the body is still sending signals to naturally heal itself. We have asked repeatedly to have our horses tested, but so far none of the breed organizations have taken us up on our offer.
We recommend you do your research with your association before showing competitively to know when to stop CBD administration.
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