stall rest & drugged turnout?

[princehf]

PLEASE HELP!! ASAP

So my horse had a torn suspensory with previous owners that never fully healed properly. He has to have 4-6 months stall rest(started in march) I hand walk him for 20 min once a day, with a few 15 min in- hand sessions(literally walking in a bridle over small ground poles) maybe 3 times a week, and I can also hand graze him for 20 min a day as well.

We are nearing the end of the stall rest period and getting more into the more active role of very light turnout and tack walking. He has been on perfect prep training day, and Shen calmer. Those two calming agents combined are only enough to keep him happy without exploding.

With that being said, I was wondering if there was a way to possibly drug him enough to keep him calm out in a small vet paddock(small grass pasture away from everything). Maybe with acepromazine injectable? How much is enough? How much would it cost? It needs to be enough that he is just focused on eating grass and gently walking around. Last time we tried him turned out he blew up when a dog barked.

[PonyPenny]

I would talk to your vet. I have Ace tablets that I used for rehab.They were pretty cheap through Farmvet. Many people use Sedivet and like the effects. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=4578a084-a1d4-4238-950e-73a17323369c&catargetid=120295250000466256&CAPCID=330539323623&CATCI=dsa-295317350131&CAAGID=27298063575&CADevice=t&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIipmZiLPv4gIVAsJkCh05gAzlEAAYASAAEgLuZvD_BwE Since both require a script, your vet would be the best to advise. Every horse is different.

[Simkie]

Definitely requires a convo with your vet. Do note that ace carries the risk of penile paralysis in male horses. Chemical sedation can be great for this purpose, but you’ll really want to defer this decision to the dvm who knows the horse.

[BigMama1]

AFAIK it’s very common to use Ace both for handwalking excitable horses in rehab and for transitioning them to turnout without a re-injury. Most people I know use liquid Ace and give it orally. TLk to your vet about options and recommended dosages / effectiveness times.

[joiedevie99]

Yes, absolutely. I would highly recommend it! There is no point in jeopardizing all of the rehab work you have done at this point. Talk with your vet and get a prescription ASAP.

[Edre]

Not only would I recommend it, but I’ve absolutely done it.

I was rehabbing a horse from a ruptured joint capsule. He was on stall rest for six months, and as much hand walking as could be managed. Walking: good. Anything more than walking: bad. (So there was no turn-out on his agenda for a very long time.)

We didn’t actually need to use a sedative while handwalking during this time (two or three times I preempted what I thought would be a bad day: terrible weather, etc, with some ace but that was it). However when we were transitioning him to his rehab paddock (which was basically the size of his stall and a half at first) we absolutely aced him. About 20-30 minutes prior to putting him out, and then when it seemed like he was becoming more alert (maybe 90 minutes?) we brought him in so for the first while, his turnout was only while under sedation. We gradually left him out longer (so the sedation wore off fully) and ultimately it was a seamless process. Took about 10 days if I recall correctly.

I used ace - and your vet can help you determine if IM, IV, or oral is more beneficial to you. I will note that it should be administered prior to anything exciting and then given time to take effect before anything “exciting” possibly happens. We had no side effects with it with my gelding. I think the most I ever used was 2ccs when we were being super cautious (and seeing how reactive my guy would be - he was staggeringly good for all of it and ended up not needing much as he kept his head, YMMV with another horse that may be more reactive/need more).

A side note: be careful about a rehab paddock being too far out of the way. My guy did not do well when he was in the back of the barn (super quiet, nothing stimulating at all) because he felt isolated. He did best when we rigged up his paddock in the standard turn-out paddock line, but his was on the end and the only other horse he was next to was a senior who never reacted to anything - they became buddies and he was a tremendously good influence.

[XXS]

I do not hesitate to use Sedalin if necessary. My money, my worries. To be overcautious in the beginning is no shame.
I prefer to ride the horse for at least 15 minutes (trot). In my experience, horses that are back to light work are less suicidal in the paddock.

[EEWinterFresh]

When my last horse was rehabbing from a DDFT tear, we had him on Resperpine. it’s administered as a powder in the food. Super easy to use (which is nice for boarding type situations,) and has a long term mild sedative effect… long enough that it actually will pop positive in a drug test for ~3mo after the last dose! Because of the super long half life, definitely not recommended for short rehab situations or when showing may be in your immediate future. My horse was a super hot head, and this definitely helped keep him calmer during the rehab process. If you need a little extra, it’s still safe to give a small dose of acepromazine on top of the resperpine.

That being said, and like you probably already know and are sick of hearing, always discuss medications and proper dosing/routes with your DVM prior to administration.

[findeight]

Might keep in mind that as they get some condition back they can get very…difficult. Once they build back some wind and muscle strength, they aren’t weak and don’t get out of breath so the need to explode with all that energy is much harder to discourage,

Thats why many like the long acting tranqs like Reserpine, you don’t get fooled by them initially looking quiet and ending up re injuring by acting the fool. Takes the guesswork and luck out if it.

[quietann]

I agree with using some sort of sedative medication. I used Ace powder with my mare post-surgery, but the liquid is probably better – and as a mare she did not have the potential problem that a male horse would.

Her medical turnout, starting about 5 or 6 weeks after surgery, was NOT located in an isolated place. She’s a busy girl, and a bit herdbound, so it was more likely she’d hurt herself if she felt alone. Her little paddock, the size of 2 stalls and gradually expanded, was right by the barn, which also meant that the barn workers were able to bring her in quickly if she started getting silly out there.