And of course, we’re leaving out the consideration that the only form of romifidine currently available in the US is from a compounding pharmacy, so who even knows that the actual concentration of the drug is accuate for purposes of calculating a withdrawal period.
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They shouldn’t, but they absolutely do. This is a very, very common practice. I don’t agree with it or condone it, but very common nonetheless.
I’m shocked that anyone would have a farrier give an IV injection to their horse or any injection. My vet gave me a couple doses of ace for a horse I had recently bought that had severe anxiety over the farrier. That gave me breathing room to work with him while not neglecting his foot health. What I learned from that was he really needed a pinch of bute because of foot pain. The anxiety was from feeling pain. Dealt with the cause vs masking the reaction.
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That’s honestly ridiculous. When the owner can buy dorm gel for 50 bucks. From THEIR VET. And a farrier that sedates on their own accord is a fool.
Signed the daughter of a vet that practiced for 50 years.
And if an owner allowed that. They’re equally foolish.
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And this whole avenue is a red herring. A high dollar horse is being sedated by the Farrier without knowledge.? With That drug? BS.
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I don’t disagree. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen all the time.
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Understood. But this is the board that preaches TRAIN YOUR HORSE. Or use an appropriate vet prescribed medication. If they need assistance to LEARN. Like Dorm. And also see something say something. Why would an owner either be unaware or condone that ? Just because it’s common doesn’t make it right. And silence is acceptance.
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I’ve never seen it in my many years of experience, including at the track. Maybe we’ve always used the right farriers.
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Long enough to jump two o/f classes. This is just disgusting. But not surprising at all.
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The legality of it does not vary in this state.
Illinois.
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Exactly
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I remain completely confused about when suspensions start. In one edition of the magazine there will be reported cases that kick in for the show where the offense happened the following year and cases that don’t. Why? Why is this discretionary? What are the boundaries for the exercise of discretion?
I have never known a farrier to personally sedate a horse with an injection but, again, maybe that’s just the circles I run in. Most will demand you call a vet out to do this. Some will let you do it yourself and look the other way about that but I don’t know any who would themselves do the injection.
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I don’t know any farriers who would inject the horse with anything without the trainer’s knowledge and approval.
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The federation has the ability to determine when the suspension will take place. I’m sure there are behind the scene discussions taking place to assist with allowing some folks to participate in high profile competitions. Just as there have to be some discussions about repeat offenders who don’t get severe penalties.
Why should there be a completely discretionary set of decisions with no papertrail for the members to understand the thought process? Or even published guidelines to guide the decisionmakers? That’s kind of crazy.
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You might need to define the phrase “very common” in this situation.
I have never seen it or heard of it after a lifetime in the horse business. I’ve certainly seen a horse sedated for the farrier.
I have never seen or heard of a horse sedated by the farrier. Not once. Not ever.
And if I did, that farrier would never set foot on the property again. That is way, way, way outside of the farrier’s lane, in my book.
Signed, another person whose parents were both vets who practiced for 50 years.
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Good grief, people. No where did I say that I approved of farriers sedating horses or that I would ever allow one to do it to one of my horses. In fact, I pointed out multiple times that it is both unacceptable and illegal.
But, in ~30 years of horse industry experience across three states and almost every breed/discipline/level of barn under the sun, I have known of far more farriers who carry sedatives in their trucks than those who don’t.
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I think part of the confusion here comes down to terminology. From a veterinary standpoint, there’s a clear distinction between tranquilizing a horse (with something like Ace) and sedating a horse (with something like Sedivet). It’s also important to note that Sedivet isn’t just a sedative—it also offers pain relief.
That raises the question: if the horse was just being difficult behaviorally, why not simply use Ace? But if pain was the reason for using Sedivet, then why was the horse competing at all? Wouldn’t rest and recovery have been the more responsible route?
Not only have I never encountered a farrier who sedates horses, I have certainly never come across one who gives IV injections. For those saying that farriers are routinely sedating horses, are you actually referring to tranquilization instead? And are the farriers REALLY administering the injection at show barns? I highly doubt that.
So the core question still stands: why was Sedivet used instead of a tranquilizer like Ace?
My sister is a vet and also finds this baffling.
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Not to me–both involve administration of a drug that affects the CNS. Both are being administered parenterally. Unless the farrier possesses a veterinary license, which some do, they are, in many states, practicing veterinary medicine without a license.
Will the state regulatory authorities do anything?
Unless one of these people kills a horse and the owner files a complaint, unlikely.
My farrier used to be a LA surgery tech, and he’d walk away if asked to drug a horse before he shod it.
(Many farriers don’t like working on sedated animals because they sometimes explode, as well.)
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Romifidine works much better than Ace. I have been doing this for 45 ish years. Not one farrier I have had over that time would touch a horse that had been given ace. We use it on horses that are getting glue on shoes when the dorm makes them too heavy (QH in particular) It is ALWAYS administered by a vet
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