23/01/2026

In February 2024, the Carabinieri of the NAS (Food and Health Unit) in Livorno reported the owner and trainer of Natris, a mare that had tested positive in anti-doping tests, to the judiciary: according to the military, the two had administered banned substances to increase her perfomance. The law considers this to be a crime of mistreatment, but last June, the competent public prosecutor requested that the case be dismissed because, in his opinion, there was no evidence to support the claim that there had been intent.

However, according to IHP veterinarians and lawyers, the situation is different: Natris had been administered etamsylate, an antihemorrhagic drug whose use requires that the animal not engage in physical activity because this could jeopardize the integrity of the pulmonary blood circulation. The same mare had also been suspended in July 2022 for the use of the same drug after racing in Merano.

For us, the point is clear: if the drug was administered to the mare to treat or prevent a condition, she should not have been allowed to race; if the drug was administered to a healthy mare to dope her, it is mistreatment. We therefore opposed the request to dismiss the case and asked for further investigation. The judge will decide at the next hearing, which is set for January 28 at the Court of Pisa.

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