Natural Doesn't Always Mean Competition-Safe

Natural Doesn't Always Mean Competition-Safe

Understanding FEI rules, supplements and herbal ingredients

Updated October 2026

If you compete horses, you've probably heard some version of "it's natural, so it won't swab." We wish it were that simple. It isn't, and understanding why matters more than most of us are told.

Herbs, nutritional supplements, pastes, powders and topical products can all contain biologically active compounds. Under FEI and Equestrian Australia (EA) medication-control rules, an ingredient doesn't need to appear by its familiar name on a prohibited list to create a problem. A plant is rarely just one chemical, and a label word like "herbal" tells you almost nothing about whether a product is appropriate to use around competition.

If you find swabbing rules and guidelines confusing, you're not alone. Wherever we can, we try to demystify the process and help you understand it a little better.

So let's break down what that actually means, and where the real risk sits.

What the FEI actually prohibits

The FEI Equine Prohibited Substances List (EPSL) sorts prohibited substances into two main categories. Banned Substances are considered to have no legitimate use in the competition horse and/or a high potential for abuse. They're prohibited at all times. Controlled Medication Substances may have a legitimate therapeutic use but can affect performance or welfare, so they're prohibited in competition and must have cleared the horse's system beforehand.

Some substances are also classed as Specified Substances. This doesn't mean they're less serious or automatically acceptable. The FEI is clear they're no less important or dangerous than any other prohibited substance. It simply recognises that they're more likely to enter a horse through circumstances like feed contamination than through deliberate use.

The list is reviewed regularly, so what matters is the current version, not a screenshot, an old article, or a product claim from a few years back.

The part many horse owners don't realise

Searching the FEI database for an ingredient's familiar name and finding nothing isn't enough on its own. The FEI's guidance for product manufacturers says the database should be searched by chemical name, not common or trade names. It also says metabolites, and substances with a similar chemical structure or biological effect to something already on the EPSL, are treated as prohibited too.

This is especially important for herbs and essential oils. A plant is never just one compound; it's a mix of naturally occurring constituents, and the FEI's own guidance says those constituents need to be checked against the EPSL, not just the plant's common name. In other words, "I searched for the herb and nothing came up" doesn't mean "this herb is FEI-safe." It may just mean nobody has checked the right thing yet.

Natural doesn't mean pharmacologically inactive

This is probably the biggest misconception in competition supplements. A substance doesn't stop having a physiological effect simply because it came from a plant. A botanical ingredient, or one of its constituent compounds, can still influence behaviour and the nervous system, pain perception, inflammation, stimulation or sedation, and other functions that affect performance.

That doesn't mean every herb is prohibited. It means "natural" isn't shorthand for "competition-safe," and a plant's common name not appearing in a database search doesn't mean every compound it contains is acceptable.

What about ordinary nutrients?

Here's where some nuance is genuinely useful, because not every ingredient in a calming or performance-support formula is a prohibited substance.

Take L-tryptophan. It's an essential amino acid and a normal part of equine nutrition, involved in serotonin synthesis, and commonly included in calming formulations. Based on the current FEI information we've reviewed, we haven't identified L-tryptophan as a prohibited substance on the EPSL. The same goes for nutrients like magnesium, potassium, vitamin E and the B-group vitamins. They play normal physiological and nutritional roles in the horse, and shouldn't be confused with prohibited medications just because they support particular biological functions.

The distinction is important. Assessing a supplement for competition means looking at the actual ingredients and their constituent compounds against current FEI rules, not assuming every ingredient in a product marketed for calming, recovery or performance is automatically off-limits.

Herbal calming products deserve a closer look

This is the one area where we'd genuinely encourage horse owners to look past the front of the label. A product can be marketed as natural, herbal or botanical, but if it works because a plant contains biologically active compounds, those compounds still need to be considered under competition rules.

Chamomile is a good example. Along with valerian, skullcap and passionflower, it's one of the calming herbs that regularly appears on competition-caution lists. The US Equestrian Federation, for instance, names all four among herbal ingredients that may lead to a prohibited-substance finding. The FEI takes a different approach: rather than listing herbs by name, it looks at their active constituents. So a herb not appearing by name on the FEI list isn't the same as that herb being cleared.

This affects our own range directly. ZENpaste contains chamomile. Despite its nutritional components, including magnesium, L-tryptophan and vitamins, we've made the precautionary decision not to recommend ZENpaste for use during FEI or EA competition. Similarly, BIObute contains botanically active ingredients, including skullcap and passionflower, which also warrant particular consideration around competition.

We'd much rather explain that clearly than put "swab safe" on a label we can't stand behind.

"FEI Approved": what does that actually mean?

The FEI does not run a product approval or endorsement scheme for equine supplements. Its guidance for manufacturers is explicit that it doesn't provide a testing service or endorse any testing scheme for commercial products, and it strongly advises manufacturers against declaring that a product "complies with FEI policies."

The reason is straightforward: testing one batch isn't a guarantee about every batch after it. Raw ingredient concentrations vary, contamination can occur anywhere along a production line, and botanical materials vary naturally from crop to crop.

So when you see claims like "FEI Approved," "FEI Compliant," "100% Swab Safe" or "Guaranteed Competition Safe," it's worth asking what evidence actually sits behind them. At Equidae, we don't believe in offering horse owners certainty that the evidence or the regulations don't support.

Can you just stop a herbal supplement seven days out?

We'd urge caution here too. Blanket rules of thumb, like "stop all herbs seven days before competition" or "give it fourteen days and you'll be fine," aren't something we think is responsible to hand out without evidence behind them.

Withdrawal depends on:

• the actual substance involved
• the dose
• how long it's been given
• the route of administration
• the individual horse, its metabolism and elimination
• laboratory detection limits

It's also worth knowing that an FEI Detection Time and the withdrawal period your veterinarian recommends aren't necessarily the same thing. Where reliable detection information isn't available, putting a convenient number on a label can give competitors a false sense of security. If you're unsure, talk to your vet.

It's not only about what's in the feed bucket

Clean-sport awareness shouldn't stop at the feed bucket. Think about everything being given to or applied on your competition horse: pastes, powders, herbal preparations, creams, gels, liniments, topical treatments and feed additives all belong in the same conversation. Before introducing something new, particularly close to competition, know what's actually in it.

How testing actually works

It's worth understanding what "swabbing" involves, because it isn't a quick nose swab. At FEI and EA competitions, it means blood and/or urine samples.

• Blood is drawn from the jugular vein by a veterinarian.
• Urine is collected into a container that's been rinsed with a control wash solution supplied by the laboratory. That wash is also run through the specimen bottles and kept in a separate bottle, so the laboratory can test it as a control if needed.
• Witnessing. The rider, owner or their representative is present for the procedure, and the samples are capped and sealed in front of them. The whole process is built around an unbroken chain of custody.

The two sample types tell different stories. Blood reflects what's currently circulating, so it's useful for detecting recent administration. Urine captures both the original substance and its metabolites, and can often reflect exposure over a longer window. That's exactly why the metabolite rule mentioned earlier matters so much in practice.

Keep records, even of the boring stuff

Medication Log Books are required for horses entered in FEI competitions, and EA encourages their use for horses competing at national events too. A good record includes:

• product name
• ingredients, where available
• batch or lot number
• dose
• date given
• reason for use

Hopefully you'll never need to work backwards to figure out what your horse received three weeks ago. But if you do, you'll be glad you wrote it down.

The Equidae approach

We formulate products because we believe nutrition and botanicals have a genuinely useful role in horse management. But if we're going to talk about their benefits, we also need to be honest about competition considerations.

Natural doesn't automatically mean competition-safe. Not appearing under its common name doesn't automatically mean permitted. A normal nutritional ingredient isn't a prohibited substance just because it has a biological function. And "FEI Approved" isn't a certification the FEI hands out to supplements.

Where an Equidae product contains ingredients that warrant extra competition consideration, we'll tell you. Where we can't establish a reliable withdrawal period, we'll tell you that too. And as the rules and the evidence change, we'll update our information. When it comes to clean sport, we'd rather give horse owners the full picture than a reassuring answer we can't stand behind.

Before you compete

• Know what you're giving and applying to your horse.
• Don't assume "natural" or "herbal" means competition-safe.
• Remember a herb may need to be considered by its chemical constituents, not just its common plant name.
• Check the current FEI Prohibited Substances Database or Substance Checker.
• Keep accurate medication and supplement records.
• Talk to your veterinarian when you're unsure about an ingredient or an appropriate withdrawal period.

Check the current information

Rules and prohibited-substance information change, so go directly to the FEI and Equestrian Australia rather than relying on an old screenshot, social post or historical product claim.

• FEI Clean Sport & Prohibited Substances: current FEI Clean Sport information, regulations and prohibited-substance resources.
• FEI Prohibited Substances Database: search current prohibited-substance information. For herbs and essential oils, the FEI advises checking the constituent chemical components rather than relying on a search for the plant's common name.
• Equestrian Australia, Medication Control: EA's central medication-control resource, with links to the FEI Substance Checker, Prohibited Substances Database, Veterinary Regulations and related guidance.

Information reviewed October 2026. FEI and Equestrian Australia rules and prohibited-substance information can change. This article is general educational information and does not replace current FEI/EA regulations or veterinary advice. Riders, owners and the Person Responsible for a competition horse should always check current requirements before competing.

Sources

The FEI website blocked automated access, so FEI guidance was verified through its published manufacturer FAQ.

• FEI – FAQ for Product Manufacturers
• FEI – How to Minimise the Risk of Contamination
• FEI Tribunal decision notice (category definitions)
• Equestrian Australia – Medication Control
• Equestrian Australia – MCP Sampling Procedure Handout (2024)
• USEF – Drugs & Medications Guidelines
• Equine Wellness Magazine – Herb use in sporting horses