Veterinary aspects of competing and training polo horses

History

Originating from India,¹ where its name ‘Pulu’ came from, polo spread during the first millennium from India towards the Middle East, following the path of Mongol invasions. A 600-year-old polo field can still be seen in Ispahan, now a public park, where Shah Abbas the Great played polo. Discovered by British tea planters² in the region of Manipur (north-east of India) in the middle of the nineteenth century, polo was rapidly adopted by the British army and brought to England where the first match was played in 1869, from where it expanded to the USA, with the first match played in 1876, and where it became extremely popular. During these years, rules were progressively developed and adopted. Immigrants from the UK brought the game to Argentina,³ the first match being held at the estancia of Negrete close to Buenos Aires in August 1875. Probably due to the unique feature of unlimited fields to play in association with a strongly developed equestrian culture and to the presence of horses suitable for the game, polo became extremely popular in a very short period of time in this country and remains today one of the Argentina’s favorite sports. This country is today the undisputed leader of the game.

The first half of the 20th century was the peak period for modern polo. It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1936 and Argentina won the gold medal in 1924 and 1936.

Organization of the sport

Polo federation

In 1980, the Federation of International Polo ⁴ was created, and in 1987 the first world championship was held in Buenos Aires. Medium goal world championships are regularly organized throughout the world. FIP has more than 13 000 members worldwide (Table 53.1).

Table 53.1

Polo players’ world repartition

	NUMBER OF PLAYERS	MAJOR COUNTRIES
Europe	5097	England	2790
North America	3154	USA	3138
South America	4855	Argentina	3130

Each player is given a goal handicap by their national federation. The handicap reflects the level of the player (from -4 to10 goals). There are currently only eight players in the world who have a 10 goal handicap, all of them being Argentines.

When a team is assembled, the handicap of each team member is added to each other. The resulting team is classified as low goal (0–4), medium goal (6–14) or high goal (20 and above). In order to even the chances for a particular match, if two teams of different handicap are playing a handicap tournament, the team with the smallest handicap is awarded goals at the start of the game.

The calculation of these awarded goals is made by multiplying the difference between the two teams by the numbers of periods that will be played, then dividing the result by six. For instance, if two teams with a difference in handicap of four goals are opposed, the amount awarded to the team with the lower handicap is four times the number of periods, this being divided by six. For instance in a seven periods match, calculation will be as follow: (4 × 7)/6 = 4.66. Any fraction is counted as a full goal. The final number of awarded goals in this example will be five.

Polo match rules

A match is composed of two teams of four players in each team.⁴ A match is divided into 6–8 periods called chukkers of seven and a half minutes each, the clock being stopped every time the umpires intervene. Two umpires (mounted referees) will follow the game riding, while the third man attending the match from the side of the playground will help the umpires in case of disagreement or uncertainty between the mounted umpires, in which case the ‘third man’ has the casting vote, allowing a definitive decision.

Outdoor polo is usually played on a short-cut grass field, 275 m long by 180 m wide. Long sides are delimitated with long narrow boards that keep a rolling ball in the playing field while the short sides include a 7.5 m wide goal and are not boarded. Adjacent to each side of the fields are decelerating areas where horses can slow down and turn before returning to the game. Players use a stick to hit a 8.5 cm wooden or plastic ball; the aim of the game is for the ball to pass between the two posts delimitating the goals; there is no height limit to the goals.

Polo rules are complex, the aim being protection of both players and horses. When the ball travels, it creates a virtual line. No player can cross this line if this might endanger other players, including the one that has just hit the ball. In order to take the rolling ball, a player has to follow the line, and it might be necessary to ride off the line an opponent player to do so (Fig. 53.1). If the line is crossed, a penalty can be awarded to the opposing team. This rule has an immediate consequence on the horses. Polo horses have to accept contacts at rapid speed and be prepared to push an opponent’s horse off the line of the ball (Fig. 53.2).

Fig 53.1 ‘ ‘Foul’ ‘ penalty as player B crosses the line in front of player A, endangering him.

Doping regulation

After the accidental death of 21 polo horses that had suffered selenium intoxication ⁵ in 2009 in Florida, the USA started an official program of horse drug and medication testing. Doing so, they joined European countries, including the UK, Ireland and France, that had drug and medication testing programs underway for polo ponies. Doping control for polo horses is based around individual state regulations and is not mandated by the Federation of International Polo.