Horse medication withdrawal times
Search by trade name or active substance. For harness racing you get the Suomen Hippos guideline minimum withdrawal time and the earliest date the horse may race. For riding competitions you see the FEI detection times.
What a withdrawal time is
A withdrawal time is the period that must pass between the last dose or the end of a treatment and the horse competing. A sample taken at a competition must not contain substances foreign to the body. Harness racing and riding follow different rules, so the lookup searches two lists.
- Harness racing in Finland: the Suomen Hippos medication rules. They apply to races run by Hippos and its member organisations, supervised trial races and Hippos shows, and they must be followed during the training season too. The responsible trainer answers for compliance.
- Riding: the Finnish Equestrian Federation (SRL) follows the FEI anti-doping and controlled medication rules. The FEI publishes detection times, not withdrawal times.
How Hippos counts a withdrawal period
The rules use two counting methods, and the lookup applies the right one for you.
- Periods under 5 days (96 h) are counted in hours from the last dose or the end of treatment to the start of the race. For trial races and shows, the period runs to the announced start time.
- Periods of 5 days or more are counted in whole days. Day 1 is the day after the medication, and the whole period must pass before the horse races. A horse vaccinated on the 1st may race on the 7th.
- Every injection and infusion needs at least 96 hours, whatever the product.
A withdrawal time is a minimum, not a guarantee
The Hippos guideline times come from excretion studies done almost entirely on healthy horses, and following them does not always guarantee a clean sample. Sick horses often clear drugs more slowly, and a long course or a large dose calls for a longer period than the guideline.
- If more than one joint is treated at once, or the dose is larger than normal, extend the withdrawal period.
- Creams and gels absorb more through broken skin or over large areas.
- Drug residues in the stable can be taken up again by the horse. Clean the stable during treatment, then wash it and replace all bedding afterwards.
- There is no research on how drugs meant for people or other species clear from a horse.
What the labels mean
Some products carry a label instead of a number, and some carry a condition after the number, shown under the value in the lookup.
- Prohibited: must not be used on a racehorse.
- Not on race day: race day starts at midnight and ends when the horse has finished racing.
- Not recommended for racehorses: agree the withdrawal time with the treating vet.
- Conditional: the period depends on the dose or route. Given into a joint, it is often longer.
- 0 h: no withdrawal time, but on race day only water and normal feed may be given by mouth.
Default withdrawal times by substance group
If a product is not on the list, the Hippos group times apply unless a substance has its own. Always confirm with the treating vet.
- 24 h: alkalising agents such as bicarbonate and citrates. 48 h: salt and oil solutions for constipation.
- 96 h: injections and infusions, sedatives and anaesthetics, dewormers, ulcer medication (except ranitidine) and topical antibiotics.
- 5 days: vaccinations and allergen immunotherapy. 7 days: mucolytics. 8 days: antihistamines. 10 days: shockwave treatment.
- 14 days: antibiotics, NSAIDs, short-acting corticosteroids, intra-articular injections, biological treatments (e.g. PRP and stem cells) and bronchodilators.
- 28 days: long-acting corticosteroids and clenbuterol. 30 days: firocoxib. 60 days: bisphosphonates, which are prohibited entirely under 4 years of age.
- Inhalation treatment is prohibited on race day.
Riding: FEI detection times
An FEI detection time is how long a substance stayed detectable in laboratory studies at a given dose and route. The FEI is explicit that this is not a withdrawal time: the treating vet decides the withdrawal time and adds a safety margin for the individual horse, such as its size, metabolism, fitness and recent illness. That is why the lookup shows detection times but never turns them into a competition date.
- Joint injections always carry a risk of leakage, and detection times can differ by route.
- Re-uptake from droppings or contaminated bedding can prolong detection. The FEI names dipyrone, flunixin and clenbuterol as examples.
- Banned and controlled substances are listed on the FEI anti-doping pages (inside.fei.org).
Keep a medication record
Under the Hippos rules, the trainer or owner must keep a per-horse record of every medicine and vaccine, including over-the-counter human products, and keep it for at least five years. The record can be kept electronically.
- It must show the horse, the dates given, who started the treatment, the reason, the medicine, the amount and route, the doping and slaughter withdrawal times where set, and who sold the medicine.
- The slaughter withdrawal time differs from the competition one, and this lookup does not give it.
- A Horsies medication record has a field for each of these, and the same Hippos lookup fills in the competition withdrawal time for you.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
When does the withdrawal period start?
Do the Hippos withdrawal times apply to riding competitions?
Does following the withdrawal time guarantee a clean sample?
My medicine is not in the lookup. What now?
How current is the data?
Log medications in Horsies
The competition withdrawal time fills in from the Hippos list, and the record shows when it ends. Try it free for 14 days.
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