Cannabis and horses

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flirtygerty

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Bear with me here, I'm clutching at straws, my 17 2hh TB is phobic about dentists and needs sedated, last time, it took 3 injections, then he fell onto the vets legs, trapping him, horse was done on the floor, something I wish to avoid this time.
Has anyone tried cannabis on animals and what was the result, I know people say it totally chills them out, relieves pain etc, etc. This TB needs his teeth checked and I'm already dreading booking the EDT, who is a star with nervous horses, my TB goes beyond fear, seeing a syringe sets him off, so if I could chill him out beforehand, surely it benefits everyone.
Have I finally lost the plot even considering this?
Thoughts people, just be gentle
 
I don't think it has the same effect as humans. I've never fed it too any of my pets but when I was younger a friends dog got hold of some. Cue a night spent in the vets trying to get him stable. As my people in hale the smoke they can stop as soon as they want, whilst when you ingest it you had to wait a whole for the effect and if you have too much you 'whitey' cue lots of being sick and generally wanting your mum!
I think there are better methods than trying to get him high.
 
Does the gel adminstered orally not work with him? Or guessing his size you'd probably need a bit! Is he quite nervy anyway as a vet told my friend that the adrenaline produced when in flight counteracts the sedative anyway. Hope you manage to find something to work
 
It's actually quite commonly used in South Africa for horses suffering from African Horse Sickness. The theory is that it keeps them calm, keeping their heart rate and stress levels down, but doesn't compromise their system any further. I've never witnessed it first-hand but I've heard that the results seem to be very positive. Although, with a virus like AHS, treatment options are very limited so I'm not sure that there aren't better alternatives which are more readily available in first world countries. Perhaps have a look on an African Horse Sickness Facebook group, lots of members will have had first hand experience.
 
Thank you for your kind replies, both the vet and EDT agree my lad has had a horrific experience with having teeth done, to warrant his reaction, he's normally a dope on a rope, he fights sedation and ended up battered and bruised by going down under sedation, I am working on his reaction to his ears being touched, he immediately goes to giraffe mode, yet is happy to have his bridle on, I know a previous owner had him ear twitched and my vet tried to do his teeth by grabbing his tongue, I now have a smashing EDT, we just need to work on this lads fears, I really am open to ALL suggestions
 
flirtygerty said:
Thank you for your kind replies, both the vet and EDT agree my lad has had a horrific experience with having teeth done, to warrant his reaction, he's normally a dope on a rope, he fights sedation and ended up battered and bruised by going down under sedation, I am working on his reaction to his ears being touched, he immediately goes to giraffe mode, yet is happy to have his bridle on, I know a previous owner had him ear twitched and my vet tried to do his teeth by grabbing his tongue, I now have a smashing EDT, we just need to work on this lads fears, I really am open to ALL suggestions
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Maybe if you cant do anything with the horse roll a big fat one for yourself. Might do you more good than the horse.
 
Google PAX FOR HORSES,my friend has a horse who was really terrified of the vet ,she used it for a few days before the vet came to do the horses vaccinations ,and the horse was no problem.
You dont use Pax on the horse you use it on your self ,I think it is also known as the peace hormone,it costs about £20 .
 
Have tried Dermosedan gel. I have had very good results with it on horses that are difficult to handle and those that become very stressed. It seems to have a different way of sedating them they look spaced out and happy rather than cross and worried which some can with conventional sedation. It comes through the vet but as it. Is oral you can administer it before any vets/dentists arrive on site.
 
My friend's eventer needs to beintramuscularly sedated to be then IV sedated to be shod. The oral stuff just doesn't work if a horse is genuinely scared.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Don't know about cannabis and horses but have you tried using valerian as a calmer? It is reputed to have similar chilling out properties.
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I've never heard of that, how does it work, I need to be able to feed it in a sarnie, this horse is so paranoid, you have anything in your hand other than what he knows to be safe and he;s stressing, I even put his wormers in a sarnie he's so wary
 
AdorableAlice said:
A solid set of stocks would keep horse and handlers safe. Could you take him to a suitable facility.
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Not an option, he rears and panics, he stands happily with the gag in, it's only when the EDT produces a rasp he panics he is so tall when he goes up he has in the past banged his head on roof beams that I couldn't reach with a step ladder, he is that bad, I'm aiming for it being a tolerable experience for him
 
romulus said:
Have tried Dermosedan gel. I have had very good results with it on horses that are difficult to handle and those that become very stressed. It seems to have a different way of sedating them they look spaced out and happy rather than cross and worried which some can with conventional sedation. It comes through the vet but as it. Is oral you can administer it before any vets/dentists arrive on site.
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This doesn't touch the sides of my chap, nor does Sedalin. Start up clippers and he turns into a nut job. At least he is okay about vet doing iv tho.
 
shergar said:
Google PAX FOR HORSES,my friend has a horse who was really terrified of the vet ,she used it for a few days before the vet came to do the horses vaccinations ,and the horse was no problem.
You dont use Pax on the horse you use it on your self ,I think it is also known as the peace hormone,it costs about £20 .
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How would that help with all due respect, it's the horse that panics, not me, it's just painful to watch, he is in such a blind panic nothing I say or do comforts him, or calms him down, I can do anything with him, except when it comes to the dentist
 
romulus said:
Have tried Dermosedan gel. I have had very good results with it on horses that are difficult to handle and those that become very stressed. It seems to have a different way of sedating them they look spaced out and happy rather than cross and worried which some can with conventional sedation. It comes through the vet but as it. Is oral you can administer it before any vets/dentists arrive on site.
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Thanks for that, I will look into that, it sounds like apossibility
 
Fides said:
My friend's eventer needs to beintramuscularly sedated to be then IV sedated to be shod. The oral stuff just doesn't work if a horse is genuinely scared.
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He is beyond scared, he totally loses the plot, he has such a gentle nature and it's horrible seeing him so distressed, all the trust we have goes out the window and there has to be a solution
 
Obviously I would not want to advocate the use of anything illegal but I do know someone who has given cannabis extract to their old dog as a form of pain relief and to lift his spirits and apparently it worked very well.
 
SO1 said:
Obviously I would not want to advocate the use of anything illegal but I do know someone who has given cannabis extract to their old dog as a form of pain relief and to lift his spirits and apparently it worked very well.
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Right now I don't care if it's legal or not, I just want to make having his teeth done easier for this boy, I'm putting off making the appointment because of my TB's reaction, but he needs his teeth done
 
Valerian is a herb, which can be used as a calmer and is known to be effective in horses, it is not 'legal' for competition but it not illegal in the same way that cannabis is. I am sorry I can't remember who packages it for horses but I'm sure you can google it. I'm sure you can put it in a sandwich and expect that the horse would quite like it - it smells a bit like Marmite.
 
May the gel then IV sedation? If he is already semi sedated he may tolerate the vet injecting?? Horrible when they are clearly terrified but its something that has to be done.
 
as he is ok with the gag have you tried getting him orally sedated and having a big sheepskin roll on the noseband of the headcollar so he does not actually see the rasp? unless of course the movement would then make him worse? otherwise all i can suggest is you get the dentist to spend time putting the gag on and his hand in his mouth until he relaxes with that and stroke him with the rasp so he learns its not always going to be scary but obviously that would take time that you may not have
 
I really wouldn't be giving an illegal drug to your horse - you could find yourself in serious trouble, and potentially lose your horse altogether. Hard though it must be, I can imagine, I would find an alternative way of dealing with the problem.
 
Not sure if it could help but my mare really dislikes manual rasping while she is OK with the electric tool. I think it is the motion of someone moving a rasp in her mouth that she doesn't like. She also gets a double dose of sedation injected all at once (I just tell the vet in advance that she needs double the amount). She can still rear under sedation with manual rasping but good as a lamb with the power tool.
 
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Talk to your vet about Diazepam (valium). A friend was given it on prescription to try to calm down her stressy horse. I am sure vets are able to prescribe it, although it is a controlled drug now.

If he will take tablets, you could feed those in a sandwich. I take Diazepam for fear of flying and it's amazing, stops me from having a total and utter meltdown, and makes me really drowsy. I'd be inclined to see if you can give him a dose or two of those before the vet arrives, he might just be calm enough for the vet to IV sedate him.

Worth a try.
 
flirtygerty said:
How would that help with all due respect, it's the horse that panics, not me, it's just painful to watch, he is in such a blind panic nothing I say or do comforts him, or calms him down, I can do anything with him, except when it comes to the dentist
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You wear it not the horse- it affects the horse, have seen it used and very impressed with it as a non evasive calmer. Even if you could just calm him enough to IV him.

Domo gel is the same as the IV drug just administered differently.

Out of interest what desensitivising activities are you doing with the horse? Personally I would be grooming with syringes and everything to get the horse used to it.
 
Cannabis doesn't work.
Domosedan does, alot of people make the mistake of not administering it properly, it can't be used like a wormer, it has to go under the tongue. My lump of a mare had her wolf teeth taken out under domosedan, was out of it for about 3 hours afterwards.
 
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