Does anyone here use this to take the edge off their horse? I realize it is not a tranquilizer. It was recommended to me to have a calming effect on my very reactive horse. I know it’s cheap and people use it for dogs all the time period likes and dislikes? I’m not looking for advice on how to desensitize my horse. Thank you in advance
What is it that your horse is doing, and in what environment, that you would like the edge off of them?
I don’t have a problem with better living through chemistry, but it does depend on the situation.
I used it when my horse was on stall rest/hand walking and it was getting dangerous. It worked pretty well. (He got his pills stuffed into fig newtons) Eventually we did seem to have a side effect. He had noisy breathing. He sounded congested but all the breathing tests were normal. By that point we were ready to stop anyway and his breathing returned to normal.
You would have to experiment some to find a dosage that helps. And we did have to increase dosage over time as he seemed to get used to it. I’m not sure I would do much riding under its influence. I might use it for a particular situation but not long-term unless needed medically . (He also did not sweat that summer for the first time, but I have no idea if that was related or not)
I’ve used it for stall rest for a horse prone to kicking the walls. It works well imho
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I’ve used it on two different horses. The one mare I had was very reactive and high, high anxiety. We had done all sorts of medical diagnostics and found nothing. I had tried many other calming routes without much success. She was just a highly reactive and nervous mare…but to the point that she would have major melt-downs and injure herself or you. During one of the medical workups, trazadone was suggested. It was a game changer for my mare! It took her anxiety level way down, and she was much, much safer to work around. She was on the lowest dose and it worked wonders! I did try it on another reactive horse during the winter when he was being super squirrely…it mellowed him a little, but did not have the same effect. But he wasn’t the anxious type.
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A horse I was helping rehab was on it for a while. I’ve also recently ridden him again due to owner being out of town and he has been off it for a while now. I can’t say I noticed any difference with him being on it. He is a pretty laid back dude though. My vets have always preferred Prozac.
I’m using it right now for a suspensory rehab on a high energy OTTB and it’s been working great! I put the pills right in his soaked alfalfa.
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It is pretty potent in humans, imo
I was on it while in the hospital for a horse-related TBI. They sent me home with some. I honestly didn’t notice a difference whether I took it or not. Did you notice a large difference?
It really depends on the person. I’ve given patients 100 mg with no effect.
This!^^^ The horse does not have a mean bone in its body but gets very anxious in new situations and gets fixated on something if it scares her. The horse does not have a mean bone in its body but I need something to use when I introduce the horse to something new until she gets used to it. It’s not something I will use every day, only if I take her somewhere new until she’s comfortable with the routine. So, I want to use it for anxiety. I will be riding her on it, but lighy.
I would investigate physical issues and push for more turnout, first.
hi… ive been searching about trazodone for my horse that sounds a lot like yours that the trazodone worked well on. ive had the vet out too many times doing medical work ups to figure out why he is so anxious and why those behaviours turn into frantic aggression in only certain situations. ive got the trazodone now but havent used it yet because im wary of the sedative effect.
anyways, did you ever figure out why your horses was having those major melt downs, wondering if it would give any insight as to why my guy is so nuts sometimes and vets cant figure out why
Hmm, I take 100mg to help me sleep and I dont find it potent at all.
So the one I tried in on that was being squirrely and having meltdowns and it didn’t seem to have much affect on, progressively got worse.
By December 2020 he was very explosive at times, but unpredictable in when and what would cause the explosions. By Feb 2021, we had an appointment at NBC for a neuro workup…and after a bit more testing to rule things out, he was ultimately diagnosed with EDM. We did a necropsy and they did the brain biopsies and he was confirmed to have EDM…bilateral cerebellar degeneration and a few other areas of issue.
He was the one that the trazadone didn’t really have much of an impact on…mellowed him a little, but didn’t stop the blow ups.
thank you for your response even four years later. I’m so sorry to hear about the horse.
my guy goes absolutely bonkers in the winter at only certain things that he is fine with any other time of year which has me very frustrated. I’m interested to see what effects the trazodone will have on him.
xxx
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How much Trazadone have you folks used on say a 1000# horse? TIA!
