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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Mostly used for gastrointestinal, muscular, or ocular pain, but if misused, especially with dehydrated horses, kidney and digestive tract toxicity can occur similarly to Bute,” Moore noted.Because of the deleterious effect chronic NSAIDs can have on horses, it is important not to “stack” them, or give more than one at the same time.That Calming EffectThe list of tranquilizers, sedatives, and supplements intended to calm a horse is extensive and includes some which can be purchased online or at your local tack shop. For example, Acepromazine, known as “Ace,” is commonly used as a tranquilizer to keep a horse calm and relaxed by depressing the central nervous system. It is available as an injection or in granular form. If given incorrectly, it can carry a risk of injury or illness for the horse.“Tranquilizers can be used to keep horses quiet for training purposes or for stalled horses due to injury, but it can be difficult to control the dose when given orally,” Moore said. “The difficulty with chronic administration is you don’t know how much you’re dosing your horse or how the horse is metabolizing it. Since it is highly protein-bound in the bloodstream, a horse with low protein may develop side effects more quickly or react to a lower dose. Side effects include prolapse of the penis, which is more of a problem in stallions, and low hematocrit, a measure of red cell percentage in the blood. At very high doses, the horse will develop ataxia and profuse sweating.”As every horse is different, and the correct dosage needs to be calculated based on the horse’s weight and other influences, Moore stressed the importance of having a vet oversee any tranquilizer use. It is also important to inform the veterinarian of any acepromazine given to your horse, as it can affect the outcome of veterinary procedures, such as dentistry that requires sedation.Drug CompoundingCompounding is the manipulation of a drug outside its original, approved form to make a different dose for a specific patient, whether it’s mixing two drugs together or adding flavoring to a commercially available drug. However, mathematical errors can occur. Last July, Equine Canada issued a notice asking their members to use compounded drugs with caution citing that because these medications are not available as a licensed product, they may contain different concentrations compared to a licensed product. There have been several instances where the medication contained too little
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