Dubai's ruler was given a six-month ban from long-distance horse racing after his horse tested positive for banned substances, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum's horse Tahhan ran in two endurance races in January and February and 'in both events, the horse was ridden by Sheikh Mohammed ... who is the person responsible', said FEI in a statement on its website.

He was also fined 4,500 Swiss francs ($4,250).

Most endurance races are up to 160 km (100 miles) long.

Shaikh Mohammed accepted that his horse Tahhan tested positive for a hypertension drug and the steroid stanozolol, the governing body said.

'Consistent with the FEI's strict liability approach to anti-doping rule violations, the panel has found Shaikh Mohammed responsible for the doping of his horse,' a tribunal panel said in a ruling published on the FEI's website.

Shaikh Mohammed's horse trainer, Abdullah bin Huzaim, admitted giving the horse drugs without Shaikh Mohammed's knowledge before the desert races at Bahrain and Dubai.

Bin Huzaim was banned for 12 months and fined 4,000 Swiss francs ($3,750), plus 1,500 Swiss francs in costs.

In the statement, the Dubai ruler, who is also the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, said he had no knowledge of any illegal substances being used. He can appeal.

Shaikh Mohammed told the panel in a written statement that he had an ownership stake in 700 endurance horses and could not be expected to be aware of each one's medication protocol. He is also one of the world's most successful owners and breeders of thoroughbred racehorses.

Sheikh Mohammed's wife Princess Haya of Jordan, who presides over FEI, stepped aside in this case, Malina Gueorguiev, spokesperson for the FEI, told Reuters by telephone from Geneva.