Modecate anyone used?

Please don't even consider giving this to your horse. It has been used to provide long term sedation in horses, but it is extremely unpredictable; some horses freak out or fit and because it is long acting there is very little that can be done to undo the problem.
 
It is sometimes used for horses on box rest who are getting very worked up/box walking. can be effective and useful if used under veterinary advise.
Greedyguts - those are not very common side-effects. Modecate has its place in certain veterinary cases.
 
Our vet prescribed modecate for my competition horse who could not cope with box rest as she was so fit for eventing it was so hard for her when she had an injury and confined to her box for three months. He did not do this lightly everything else we had tried. The injection lasted six to eight weeks she was much calmer which allowed her to rest there was no lasting effects when the drug started to wear of and none since this was 15 months ago now. What circumstances are you thinking of using it for ?
 
Glenruby- I would completely disagree with you. Modecate is not a drug that vets should be prescrbing; the VDS would not defend any vet who did.

They are not common side effects, granted, but I am aware of 2 horses that this has happened to this year. I think if vets were realistic with owners about what can actually happen then very few people would opt for this medication.
 
She has bruised her tendon and really needs to rest for a month, she is event fit and is now stuck in her stable and box walking, she will not let me give her Sedalin and ACP is having limited effect, the vet then wants me to get on her without turning her out which means im going to die!!!

This is why I asked on here as I would like to make an informed choice!

So any info would be great
 
Yes certainly there are only a very very small number of cases in which it could be used. Im not advocating its use, rather just saying it could be considered in certain circumstances.
 
We where in the same position ACP was having little effect. I can only say for my horse it helped. I didn't have to get back on as it was a slow rehab walking in hand first for a month then ridden walk etc. Research modecate on the web as much as you can , talk again to your vet then make a decision. All the best with your horse and hopefully a full recovery.
 
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Please don't even consider giving this to your horse. It has been used to provide long term sedation in horses, but it is extremely unpredictable; some horses freak out or fit and because it is long acting there is very little that can be done to undo the problem.

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Agree!! It is an extremely powerful drug and once injected there's NO going back!!
Oh, there are drugs given to humans to counteract any side effects, but what is the horse world coming too??
Lobotomys next I expect!!

Mta... sorry to sound so harsh but this drug does have equivalents that can be given daily rather than a long acting injection which cannot be removed.
 
Having watched the utube vid, no way would I allow anyone to give that to an animal of mine, that poor horse it looked so confused and scared.
We've had horses on box rest for over a year, and sorry, it's your job to be able to give it sedalin or find someone capable enough to do it like your vet. Of course they get excited when allowed out of the box, but you have to be prepared and sedate them a little to start with so that over several days they get accustomed to normal life again. You gradually reduce the dose as the time progresses.
I'm really shocked anyone would administer anything as brutal as the drug mentioned above, it appears to be a case of using a sledgehammer to break an egg to me...
 
This is exactley why I asked, now I will speak to my vet tomorrow and tell him she just will have to cope, her tendon is almost back to normal size with no swelling after only a week!! Woohoo,

I really cant get near her mouth, she is seriously head shy for things like this!! Even the vet said its not worth trying!

Thanks so much everyone!!!!
 
I have used Modecate with success on horses on box rest. this was with veterinary supervision.

I was told about the possible side effects. and I was also told that these side effects generally come from overdosing.

I was told that if the horse should suffer from side effects that the drug for Parkinsons will act as an atedote.

It is NOT licensed for horses.

However it has made a huge difference to some of the horses we have used it on. But we adminster it in small doses at a time and monitor the horse carefully. Its effect lasts for different lengths of time depending on each horse.

Please do not instantly dismiss it out of hand. I am still waiting for the you tube video to load but I have noticed that at the side it does say that the horse was OVERDOSED with modecate.
 
Why not try a valerian based calmer. ACP never worked with my horse but he really chilled out with a herbal valerian calmer. I used a Hilton Herbs one and I certainly saw a huge difference in my horse. No other calmers have ever worked with my horse but this certainly made a difference.
 
For the sake of accuracy, the video does point out that the horse was given 2 1/2 times the recommended dose of the drug. Sure we're all aware that all sorts of medications would have serious side effects if this sort of mistake were made in administration? I presume anyone giving their horse any medication - including herbal ones - knows the risks and takes them into account?

Video is very powerful. I'm sure if I'd taken a video of the horse I saw have an anaphylactic reaction to his innoculations a lot of people would think twice about vaccinations. This is not to say there isn't a real danger, it's just that there aren't a hundred other videos on there of horses that may have been helped by the medication.

Also, a surprising number of medications are used "off label" for horses. This means they are not tested and approved for equine use through standard regulatory channels. Often, quite frankly, because it's not worth it for the drug companies to spend the vast amounts of money necessary to do that. However, this is not the same thing as a medication being contraindicated for a specific use or species, where there is evidence of harmful effects.

I'm not a fan of this drug for "common" use (I think it's a bit more commonly used than people think and it's certainly been available in North America for years) and I am very sceptical of people using it for riding and training purposes. BUT I have seen it used quite often for box rest and rehab. It all comes down to weighing the risks, doesn't it? If you have a horse that might seriously hurt itself/others or completely undo its rehab and more standard practices have failed, why is it so awful to look at the big picture? If the horse can be made more comfortable and less anxious during its recovery surely that's a potential bonus? ACP (and valerian for that matter) has risks and side effects too - why is that a better option? Simply because of the withdrawl time?

Sorry, I'm not championing the medication or damning it for that matter, just saying one video on youtube is probably not a basis for a scientific decision. Perhaps it would be better to discuss the matter further with the vet and with other people who have either used the medication or decided against it and found another solution.
 
We use the same vets, and "O" (if you know who I mean) wanted to give that to Ron but the other vets persuaded me otherwise. I haven't tried it, stuck to 20 ACP tablets a day - which worked a treat.
 
Have seen it used with success for very stressy horse on box rest.

Problem with sedaline is if the horse is already worked up it doesn't have any effect.
 
It's funny I posted about this a few months back, when I was seriously struggling with Josie on boxrest. My vets suggested this, didn't tell me any of the side effects, but said it was a very useful drug.

I trust my vet though, who normally errs on the side of caution.

Dont know if I'd use it now, after reading this. I just stuck to the ACP too, and learnt to hold on to her tighter!!
 
I have today had my horse injected with Modecate and I will keep you informed of his progress. This decision was not taken lightly as I have tried many forms of calmers and the only other suggestion after speaking with my vet was to either give this method a go or sell him?? Well I've had the horse for 6 years now (so he cant be all bad) but have struggled with control out hacking or in new situations, shows etc, getting too hyped up not listening to my aids.

I believe anything is worth a go and to be honest I dont want to sell my horse. He is great on the ground but in the saddle he can be a total nightmare, a 16.2hh ID, he is a big strapping lad and really could do with a Man or a heavier person on board. But I will give this one last chance and will give him the benefit of the doubt.

He is schooled regulary at home and I have lessons with an instructor where I find he actually behaves very well being in "his" environment.

fingers crossed, I may have found something that works.

Oh, by the way I have been told they do have an antedote in stock should I experience side effects, the only other thing I have been told is that it actually may not take effect at all.

Watch this space.
 
Modecate is clearly a very emotive topic on here...posts previously have resulted in similar comments.

GreedyGuts said:
Glenruby- I would completely disagree with you. Modecate is not a drug that vets should be prescrbing; the VDS would not defend any vet who did.
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:eek: Be careful about speaking on behalf of the VDS unless you work for the VDS. If you do, I apologise for my post...I suspect you don't though otherwise there would have been issue made to all practising veterinary surgeons NOT to use this product. And to my knowledge there hasn't.

I think you should maybe give the veterinary profession a little more credit to be able to assess which cases this drug CAN be useful for and which it is totally unnecessary in.

They are not common side effects, granted, but I am aware of 2 horses that this has happened to this year. I think if vets were realistic with owners about what can actually happen then very few people would opt for this medication.
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I think your opinion is not very realistic. two cases this year that were more than likely over dosed. Did each case have trial dosing done as most vets would recommend? And if so, were reactions seen in these cases at the low levels?

lui23456 said:
She has bruised her tendon and really needs to rest for a month, she is event fit and is now stuck in her stable and box walking, she will not let me give her Sedalin and ACP is having limited effect, the vet then wants me to get on her without turning her out which means im going to die!!!
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YOUR safety comes first and in most cases, acp maybe enough here. If you can get her to take it, I'm sure the vets would prefer you tried that first. However, if you can't then itappropriate for your vets to consider modecate as an option.

This is why I asked on here as I would like to make an informed choice!
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You will get a wide variety of opinions, which is great. But remember some of those are NOT based on fact, while many are. There seems to be a lot of unnecssary panic around modecate TBH. I would get your vets to discuss the side effects and their experiences good and bad fully and THEN make an informed decision.

KIMBY said:
We where in the same position ACP was having little effect. I can only say for my horse it helped. I didn't have to get back on as it was a slow rehab walking in hand first for a month then ridden walk etc. Research modecate on the web as much as you can , talk again to your vet then make a decision. All the best with your horse and hopefully a full recovery.
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Excellent advice IMO.

TayloredEq said:
I have used Modecate with success on horses on box rest. this was with veterinary supervision.

I was told about the possible side effects. and I was also told that these side effects generally come from overdosing.

I was told that if the horse should suffer from side effects that the drug for Parkinsons will act as an atedote.

It is NOT licensed for horses.

However it has made a huge difference to some of the horses we have used it on. But we adminster it in small doses at a time and monitor the horse carefully. Its effect lasts for different lengths of time depending on each horse.

Please do not instantly dismiss it out of hand. I am still waiting for the you tube video to load but I have noticed that at the side it does say that the horse was OVERDOSED with modecate.
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Again a very balanced post.
The extreme effects can be induced with high levels, of that I have no doubt.

I can only speak from personal experience of its use in horses, and I have found it to be very useful in occasional instances. I don't use it a lot, but it does have it's place in my opinion.

Posting up random youtube videos to scare is not helpful IMO. I would never mask negative effects of a drug from a client, I suspect the VDS would frown more than a little on that, but there are situation in which it can be used safely.

Best of luck,
Imogen
 
Thanks Imogen, having discussed this with my vet and reading this forum before hand I have to say I was in doubt. But my vet was very reassuring on her visit that there was nothing to worry about, she had previously worked around alot of racehorses in her previous job and prescribing this on a regular basis with no side effects to her knowledge.

Today I have ridden, schooled first which was fine, went for a canter up the field and pulled like a tank, so day 1 no change, but then I have been told it will take a few days to get into the system. x
 
Paula Mitchell said:
Thanks Imogen, having discussed this with my vet and reading this forum before hand I have to say I was in doubt. But my vet was very reassuring on her visit that there was nothing to worry about, she had previously worked around alot of racehorses in her previous job and prescribing this on a regular basis with no side effects to her knowledge.
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This has also been my experience.

Today I have ridden, schooled first which was fine, went for a canter up the field and pulled like a tank, so day 1 no change, but then I have been told it will take a few days to get into the system. x!
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:D I'm glad to hear you've had no scary side effects so far!!
 
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