Thank you for sharing this! For me personally, going this direction is scary when it seems so many people are adamant about stall rest. I’m waiting on my vets response about potentially putting him out to pasture and letting him heal that way, as long term I do feel that would be best. He’s developed ulcers from the stress, and has dropped quite a bit of weight (which was so hard to get on him in the first place, so it’s discouraging to see it evaporate so quickly.) And it’s not even just his mental stress, it’s mine as well. I’ve been constantly worrying about how to manage this situation better and nothing I try seems to work unfortunately. It is nice to hear an experience where someone didn’t stall rest, so thank you.
3 Likes
A rehab barn definitely sounds like it could be a godsend, even if very pricey. I haven’t ruled it out quite yet, but would like it to be a last resort!
1 Like
Trazodone unfortunately just didn’t seem to even phase him! His vet was quite surprised by this, even when we upped the dose. The first week he seemed doze-y, and then after that it’s as if he wasn’t even taking anything. He’s weaned off of it now and others at the barn have commented how he seems no different. 
I so wish it could have helped however
1 Like
I am definitely weighing all those options. It’s so hard to go against the standard “flow” of what is normally done, but it’s also hard to imagine trying to keep this up for much longer.
He is already basically at a ‘retirement’ barn 
There’s only 10 horses, all of which are used for casual trail riding. His two best buddies are actually 35+ yrs old. The two of them sometimes do go out separately so that could be an option.
2 Likes
What are people’s experience with Reserpine? I’m wary of its side effects, especially as he already has ulcers and has lost weight.
Marvin has been on it for the past 2 months. His coat is shiny and he’s not had any weight loss. He’s also on SmartGIUltra as I have him enrolled in ColicCare with Smartpak.
His manure is probably a bit softer than normal but other than that, I’ve not noticed any side effects.
Truth be told though, I’d only had him less than 48 hours before he injured himself so I’m not entirely sure what his normal is. But he is a sweetheart so far.
1 Like
Reserpine works if you can stay committed enough to find the dose. Rule of thumb from the pre drug testing days was to start at your best guess dose. Increase it every day until the horse breaks with diarrhea then hold on that dose. For me, I couldn’t stomach making a horse systemically ill to make it quiet. People today mostly use it at a lower dose but it is a bit like Trazadone. For every horse the owner thinks it helps, there are three that don’t respond.
1 Like
First, I’d try reserpine. Works great for some, not as well for others, but can be a lifesaver.
The other thing which worked for a friend who had a similar situation - try getting him a shatter-proof mirror for his stall. Some of them love it and feel like they aren’t alone. Worked like a dream for my friend.
3 Likes
Ya I’m not sure I could stay committed- we’ve dealt with colitis where he almost didn’t make it and the diarrhea from that was trauma inducing
1 Like
I’ve thought about a mirror! Unfortunately even with a horse right next to him and they can touch noses through the bars he still gets worked up 
silly horses
1 Like
Have you tried clicker training in his stall and while hand walking? If he is like my pony, his mind is busy looking for the next lion…
I didn’t do stall rest for my pony, just a 1/4 acre turnout with a quiet senior friend. He healed fine from a torn suspensory, still sound on it years later.
Our horse was on reserpine for 3.5 months of his layup. I’m sure it helped but we got to the point where even with adding ace, hand-walking became unpredictable and borderline dangerous. He came off the reserpine within a few weeks of his stay at the rehab facility.
He did not develop ulcers, for which I thank my lucky stars everyday!
1 Like
What doses did you try? I have a 1400lb horse who only needs 12-15 tablets (1200-1500mg) and a 1100lb horse who needs 30-35 tablets (3000-3500mg). Vet directed I’ve used as much as 40+ tabs twice a day plus ace or sedivet on a horse on strict stall rest with a fracture—this last horse had to go to a rehab because even the 40 trazodone plus ace wasn’t enough to keep her quiet. A change of environment can do wonders.
1 Like
I tried it for a few weeks, alone and with Ace. I felt like it just made her more likely to jump into me than away from me when she blew up–like she wasn’t paying attention to where her feet were.
1 Like
Regarding explaining what we are trying to do.
You might think I am crazy, but I did use an animal communicator the one time I had one that was going to be on long term stall rest and I felt it was important for him to understand what was happening. After their “talk” he was so much more comfortable on stall rest. Still had his moments, but there seemed to be an element of understanding. Not sure if I am explaining this well, but given all the expensive drugs and such we use during stall rest, a call might be worth a try. 
3 Likes
I really doesn’t love stall rest and I avoid it as much as I can for my horses. Partially because I don’t have traditional stalls at home and all of my horses are on 24/7 turnout, so trying to put together a safe set up to keep one horse stalled would be a nightmare. And then partially because I also put a lot of weight on my horses’ mental well being, and I have never had a horse that could mentally handle long periods of stall rest.
The last time I attempted stall rest with one of mine was after colic surgery, and I had to send her to another barn because I knew she would freak out if she was home but couldn’t be with her friends. She seemed okay in the stall at first, but gradually her health declined; she stopped eating, lost a ton of weight, got systemic bacterial infections that we couldn’t find the source of. After 8 weeks I decided to bring her home, throw her out in the field with a quiet buddy, and pray. Thankfully she made a full recovery, but I will never put her through that again.
Obviously consult with your vet, but I am a firm believer that turning an injured horse out in a quiet setting is often much more beneficial than keeping them in a stall where they are stressing. Of course accidents can happen and there is the potential for a horse to reinjure itself or worsen its injury while outside, but honestly that could be happening now with all the pacing and weaving your horse is doing inside.
5 Likes
Sorry to hijack, but for those who suggest using traz - how do you dose it? If my horse so much as sniffs half a pill, he won’t touch whatever I’ve hidden it in.
1 Like
I went through a lot of generic Fig Newtons when my horse was on trazadone. I also became really good at slicing them open evenly 
It worked fairly well for my guy when reserpine did nothing. After a while it did give him noisy breathing which went away a while after we stopped it.
I did small paddock turnout since all the other horses in the boarding barn went out. I think keeping his routine helped.
He was getting upwards of 20 tablets of 150mg trazodone- really didn’t keep him from pacing and my vet wasn’t keen on upping the dose much more than that as it can increase side effects. He was having the muscle tremors and I didn’t want him to develop other side effects
1 Like
I dissolved the trazodone in water and syringed.
4 Likes
