There are some questions that horse owners can ask to help in this process. It might be beneficial to know if there is a licensed pharmacist associated with the practice. If the company also compounds drugs for use in people, it is more likely to have been inspected by the state pharmacy board. Remember, however, that this is no guarantee, and that some veterinary exclusive compounding pharmacies do an excellent job and may be more suited to providing drugs for your horses. If possible, check with state officials to see if the pharmacy is registered in the state and if there have been any complaints lodged against the pharmacy.
Compounded drugs are equivalent to prescription drugs.
In addition, it is against pharmacy regulation to advertise compounding practice in lay journals. They especially cannot advertise the availability of specific drugs that they might compound. Compounding pharmacies can produce all kinds of things that should be FDA approved. However, since horses are so low on the list of regulatory priorities, it is unlikely that the government will take any immediate, or even long-term, action. Thus, the horse owner is left unprotected from individuals willing to take advantage of the situation.