Petey has not been ridden in several months, but I have been round penning him all week. My riding partner has finked out, but I REALLY want to ride. Very windy today, but there is bright sunshine. He is not a crazy horse, but he worries that falling leaves may attack him when he is ‘alert’.
Petey weighs about 1400 pounds. Yes, he is a big boy. 
This will be IM.
I think I am missing something…
Why does the horse need bute? How does a windy day effect the dosage?
I think you may have had a brain fart. Do you mean ace? And sorry, I have not a single clue as to dosage.
AAARRRGGGHHHH. Yes. I mean Ace. Dumb. I will change the title and post.
Assuming you mean ace and this is the guy you’ve been rehabbing so you won’t be doing much? I’ve never given anything more than 1 cc if I was going to ride it.
Yeah, I’d start with less an 1cc, like 1/2 or 1/4, and ear plugs for the wind. Even 1cc has sometimes mades me feel uncomfortable on them, they just felt kind of out of it, unless you know less than that is not enough for your horse. But you could probably also call your vet and ask, to be on the safer side?
Do you know how he reacts to Ace? Some horses are more sensitive than others. And some horses just don’t really get reliable calm on Ace. I’d probably do 3/4cc but might want to try 1cc if you think he will be really up. Problem with Ace is that they can “blow through it” if they get really stimulated.
Give it 30 minutes to work IM.
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I give 1cc (25mg/ml acevet) under the tongue to my 1400 lb rehab project…sometimes it’s enough, sometimes it’s not. 
I wait 40 minutes per vets suggestion.
Wow, Jungle Monkey. That is a lot of Ace. I’m not saying that isn’t what works for your horses since tolerance and situations vary, and maybe your has a “hollow leg” for Ace, but the more standard concentration in the US is 10mg/ml, and a “take the edge off” dose for a 1200lb horse is closer to 1/4 to 1/2 cc (or 2.5mg to 5mg of actual drug). I’d consider a full cc to be more like an ambien than a valium.
OP, since he’s big, I’d start with .5cc with another loaded syringe or dosed treat in my pocket. I wouldn’t set out until the first dose has time to kick in, and still stick close to home for the first 10 minutes. If he’s still seeing dead people, find a calm spot, give him the rest and hand graze 1/2 hr until it sets in. Now you also will know what you need for next time.
Good luck
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Lol well I worked up to 3.5 cc of Ace IM for my 1500 lb horse and gave up when that had zero effect. (I actually thought the Ace might have gone bad so I got a new bottle first, but the new one didn’t work any better.) Xylazine is best for him. It’s weird because he’s not particularly high strung and when he was a little younger he was a super cheap date. Not sure what happened!
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If ace is given under the tongue the absorption rate isn’t as good as when given IM. 1cc under the tongue is like giving 3/4cc IM.
I do do agree that timing is everything. I dose then ignore the horse for 15/20 minutes before tacking up.
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:lol::lol::lol: My big Friesian cross mare would take about 4 cc IM and it still was like flying a kite when I was rehabbing her from an injury! I finally gave up. What helped the most was a small enclosure outside during the day instead of a stall for stall rest.
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Hmmm.
I’d find another horse to ride, someone else’s horse, a lesson, something.
For me this would be a de-sensitizing day, not a riding day, for a better long-term outcome for rider and horse. Without any drugs. Sometimes we have to be patient for what we want. Just thinking out loud. 
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How much ace on a windy day? ZERO. Good lord people, if the horse is not OK to ride then DON’T GET ON HIM. He should be 100% solid on the ground before you get on no matter what the weather. No wonder you all have the “anything can happen” mentality - you are poorly prepared and when you are poorly prepared, yes ANYTHING CAN AND WILL HAPPEN.
@OverandOnward has it right.
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My vet told me 2.5 cc IM for the stall or medical paddock when he was rehabbing. He got 1 or 1.5 some days to walk on the treadmill. I’d say start at 1? I’m not sure a half will do that much unless you give it IV.
I would have to agree here. I use Smart Calm Ultra and that’s it. I guess I just don’t understand the attraction to higher strung breeds that need drugs so they are safe to ride. To me, it’s not worth it. We use drugs too freely in our society to solve every problem in people and horses…I think ace is acceptable for rehab situations but I wouldn’t do it to ride. Maybe I’m old fashioned…
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I don’t understand how feeding any supplement with the intent of changing your horse’s behavior, such as Smart Calm Ultra or Perfect Prep or whatever, is in any way ethically different than giving Ace. Unless your horse is demonstrably deficient in Magnesium and you are restoring the balance with MagOx or whatever, you are attempting to tranquilize him. Whether with the magnesium, tryptophan, valerian or whatever other “natural” ingredient you are administering, you are still changing your horse’s behavior via chemistry so I don’t see why one gets to take the moral high ground over the other. Except (flame suit on) when you give Ace or another prescribed medication, you know exactly what your horse is getting. Horse supplements like people supplements is a crapshoot for ingredients.
They are similar in show legality too - if you are giving your horse that tube or supplement to alter his psychological state, using it to show is violating the USEF rules. It’s just that some substances, natural or not, can be tested and are explicitly banned, while the rest are implicitly banned. Essentially, if it works, it’s illegal even if it isn’t on the forbidden substances list.
Which isn’t to condemn the naturally occurring substances. Or to say either Quietex or Ace are a valid substitute for training and the right horse for the right job. But some days need to be gotten through with as little stress as possible for both horse and rider, so I wouldn’t throw stones.
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I agree with the note. I would be more inclined to give a tiny bit of Demosadan gel, if anything, as that doesn’t make them wobbly on their feet, like Ace can. That said, I would probably pony him. You want your first rides to be as stacked up for success as humanly possible, and that sounds pretty iffy to me. It would be terrible to have more than of rehab go down the drain if God forbid something happened, and he got loose, tearing through the farm at a gallop.
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Oh no, no, no. Don’t ride on Demorsadan. It is a fabulous standing sedative but absolutely not for riding.
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So long as their biology is normal, the “higher-strung breeds” do NOT need drugs to be safe.
They need training. The right training. And … patience. Patience, rides, patience, rides, patience …
It’s the patience that is lacking, too often. People see what the product will be like when it is finished, and they don’t want to wait, they want to use it right now. But that won’t make it finished.
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