Trotting Coach Fined $9,800 for Unauthorized Horse Treatment
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Professional trotting horse coach Tobias J Gustafsson, 42, has been sentenced too a SEK 100,000 fine (approximately $9,800 USD) by Svensk Travsport’s obligation and disciplinary committee for administering treatment to a horse without veterinary authorization.
Gustafsson treated CE WHO’s She, a trotting horse, for a swelling in her right back knee by puncturing the bulge with a cannula, draining fluid, and injecting penicillin. According to the judgment, these actions were performed without a prescription or delegation from a veterinarian.
Svensk Travsport stated, “Such an intervention requires extensive preparatory investigations, strict hygienic conditions and a technically correct execution. Tobias J Gustafsson does not have the authority to perform the procedure.”
The horse afterward developed a fever and an increased infection. A veterinarian later drained two liters of fluid from the swelling and inserted a drainage tube. The horse recovered after receiving proper veterinary care, being fever-free at a follow-up visit on June 27 of last year.
“It was wrongly acted by him and he takes his responsibility for it. He should have contacted a veterinarian before taking any action,” the judgment reads.
Gustafsson confirmed he will not appeal the decision, stating in a text message, “An unnecessary action by me. expensive punishment but I just want to put it behind me and move on. I put so much emphasis in that my horses should feel good and my customers should appreciate our job so unnecessary for such a thing to happen.”
The fine stems from violations of Swedish Travsports competition regulations and Svensk Travsport’s anti-doping regulations. Gustafsson currently has 64 horses under his training. The judgment can be appealed within 14 days.
