My separation anxiety dog gets Trazodone. It really is just like an Ativan – no personality change, just not anxiety-ridden.
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Well that was entirely unnecessary…
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So was your comment
Just QFP. Nothing else to say to you.
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I may be in the minority here, but I find you can usually teach a horse certain behaviors are not acceptable (ie exploding under saddle, pulling away on the ground) IF you never allow those behaviors to manifest without consequence from the beginning of training. I have also found that horses can learn good coping skills and
can self soothe their anxiety IF new situations are presented slowly and gradually so they have time to feel anxiety and then overcome it without becoming overwhelmed. For example–the horse trailer. Often anxiety producing especially when it moves–however, if one takes the steps to introduce the trailer slowly before ever riding in it, then short rides with a seasoned buddy, then short rides solo, etc the horse can build its confidence and learns to cope. This can go for any new skill or experience. Some horses are more laid back than others and some are more anxious. Teaching them all how to manage anxiety and relax themselves will enable them to approach more and more new situations with confidence. I feel like drugs are a shortcut and prevent the horse from developing their own skills to manage new experiences safely and confidently.
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@Trekkie, I am mostly with you there. But regarding shipping, I do wonder with some horses if just a few positive experiences enabled by Ace or Trazadone to take the edge off would be easier on horse as well as human in the long run? I don’t really blame them for being anxious trailering alone because I think it’s an objectively scary experience to be taken away from your friends and toted around alone in a loud and bouncy box, no matter how short the ride. I haven’t tried that approach yet but I’ve thought about it.
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There’s not some clear dividing line between “anxiety medications” and sedatives. Essentially all anxiety medications that do anything at all can have sedating effects, and trazodone still certainly can cause drowsiness and motor impairment and in humans, falls under the category of “do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how this medication affects you.”
I wouldn’t say that just because vets sometimes prescribe trazodone (usually I’ve seen it used for horses on long term stall rest, not ones going to horse shows), that it can’t adversely affect a horse’s ability to know where his feet are. And medicating a horse to keep him quiet at a show is not “treating an anxiety disorder,” it’s an attempt to mask a prey animal’s normal fear response to an unfamiliar situation.
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Trazodone is definitely a sedative…I have a prescription for it for insomnia! It is commonly used for that in humans. Not saying I wouldn’t use it when appropriate…I give it to my dog during fireworks and it works great.
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All I can say is I trust my vets and they are sports medicine vets. I’m just talking enough to bring the anxiety level down
I should also add that I have never given drugs to a horse for this purpose but I certainly would if the situation and circumstances warranted it.
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I wasn’t criticizing you, and totally agree. I mean, when I had a bad loader, the vet had me give him a tube of Dorm! I’d never get on a horse with a tube of Dorm in them. Drugs definitely have a place and time, especially with rehab.
It didn’t work, anyway. That horse blew through it and jumped through a 12’ hedge on that dorm trying to load train (kindly and patiently!). He was later diagnosed with DSLD/ESPA and the trailer jarring must have been painful so he just shut down. He had loaded fine when younger.
Poor dude, he was trying to tell me it hurt, looking back. I can’t wait until we have better ESPA diagnosis options…I knew something was wrong but vets couldn’t find anything back then.
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Fordtractor so sorry you went through all that. What is ESPA? And no offense taken😁
ESPA (Equine Systemic Proteoglycan Accumulation) is another name for DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Disease) now that veterinarians are better understanding what causes it, namely, a buildup of proteoglycans which eventually causes connective tissue breakdown.
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I’m a big chicken and wouldn’t sit on a horse that had any likelihood of wild behaviour lol. The occasional spook, stop and stare, or sidestep? Sure, horses are horses. But if has the slightest tendency to be explosive it’s not the horse for me.
I have ridden horses on Ace for rehab and once or twice when a trainer needed something ridden after time off for weather. Some feel more normal that others. But, based on the way some of them feel, I would not want to jump anything on a horse who was tranquilized. I did once get talked into hopping over a few cavaletti and the horse tripped pretty badly. YMMV
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Nice gratuitous fat shaming - sad that you think it’s an insult but I’m not surprised, coming from you.
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Ugh. Thanks for the explanation.
Just curious as to what is the dosage safe for riding? I’ve used it on my horse for anxiety in his stall and weaving and the dosage is pretty high- he’s lazy enough I don’t know I could get him moving on that dose!
I have a warm blood that if I gave 8 to in the evening and 8 the next morning she’d be drunk. And then I have a 15 hand quarter horse cross that I could give the same dose to and it wouldn’t affect it. Every horse reacts differently. Best to talk to your vet.
Interesting! We give mine more for the weaving when needed and I could definitely not ride on it! It was almost as if he’d try to weave, then forget he was weaving and then halfheartedly try again before he forgot again!
I am completely baffled and horrified by this take that “thin people have more of a right to drug their horses.” Like, what? First it was okay to drug kids’ horses, then nervous adults, and now people because of their weight?
All of these takes about drugging…no one is saying don’t drug to get a horse back to work or for the horse’s own comfort, or even for a rider’s safety transitioning from stall rest back to riding at home, but no one has convinced me it’s necessary for competitive purposes as a “need.”
The comment about people’s weight is appalling.
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