CBD (Cannabinoids) from hemp has recently been added to the ‘Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances’ List, known as BETA NOPS. This means that CBD is now considered a banned substance for horses competing under affiliated competition rules.
Our Flex Free joint supplement contains hemp seeds. They are highly nutritious, providing an excellent source of digestible protein as well as unique Omega oils with natural anti-inflammatory properties.
This is where it starts to get complicated!…
Hemp CBD is only found in the flowers and a little in the plant material. The seeds don’t actually contain any CBD at all. BETA NOPS list ‘Cannabinoids from hemp fibre and plant material’, the seeds are not mentioned. But, there is obviously still a risk that some hemp plant material may make it into the seed harvest and cause a very small amount of CBD to be present. This is not likely to have any impact on your horse’s performance what so ever, but if it can be detected, it is breaking competition rules.
If you are not competing your horse under affiliated rules there is no reason to feel concerned. We feed Flex Free to our own horses and are convinced that the inclusion of hemp seeds enhance palatable and effectiveness.
CBD is not harmful to horses in anyway, in fact it is believed it could offer an unfair advantage in managing joint comfort and behaviour. We are currently looking at options for our Flex Free formula. Our hemp supplier is also running tests on the hemp seeds to decide on the future of hemp as a horse feed in the UK.
Learn more about the BETA NOPS prohibited substances here.
Learn more about our Flex Free joint supplement here