to sedate or not and the new dom something sedation.

asommerville

asommerville

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my 5 year oldgetying his teeth done by the dentist for the first time on thursday - hes usually done by the vet as hes really nervous and suspicious, the last dentist refused to do him. i have a new guy coming up who said he'll be fine, wont need sedated this guy is a qualified dentist....trouble is he's never met the horse :-P the vet said he'll need sedated (he doesnt like the vet either) and to try this new dom something stuff. has anyone tried it? whats it actually called? wondering if im being a drama queen but i know my horse and dont want him frightened! soooo should we try him without the sedation first and if it doesnt work the dentist can do my mare while the wee ones sedation kicks in? also is it true it needs to go under their tongue?
 
the 'dom' something sedative is dormosedan and don't make the mistake of giving like a normal oral paste, it needs to disolve under the tongue. As with all oral sedatives if the horse is already hyped up it won't take effect, the body system fights it. You know your horse at the end of the day, if you think he needs it then giving it, it's not going to negatively affect the dentist.
 
Dormosedan - yes, goes under the tongue.

Personally i don't like sedating unless i have to so i usually try to see what the horse is like without sedation first as long as i can keep it from panicking and ensure (as far as possible) no one is in a position where they are likely to be hurt.

IME it depends on the horse and the dentist! In your position I would make sure I had a tube of dormosedan to hand, try the tricky horse first (as you suggest) in the calmest circumstances possible and if it is quickly apparent it's not going to happen then get the sedative out. Word of warning though, if the horse gets stressed before you sedate then it will take a lot more sedative to get it chilled enough for the vet to do their work and then take a lot longer to wear off so proceed with care....

Good luck!
 
It might be worth a try but if it's not going to plan and you're unhappy about continuing with the process make it very clear to new dentist that you want to stop. I always have my lad sedated for the dentist, it's the one thing he won't tolerate and even when sedated by the vet can still put up a decent argument against it. Soon as its finished completely asleep until sedation wears if off. I just don't see the point of stressing him over it and him having a complete tantrum and it progressively getting worse each time. Good luck, hope it all goes smoothly.
 
Its brilliant stuff. I first used it on our stressy warmblood who hates vets when the dentist came. It knocked her out as well as an injected sedative.

The second time the dentist came we tried her without and she was fine.

The dentist came again today to remove a wolf tooth. We expected trouble and I used the Dormosedan (the vet was also on hand if necessary as other were being done)

Once again it put her out so well the tooth came out without any problem, no need for any additional sedation. Worked within about half an hour.

The vet was interested to watch as she does not often see it used. She was impressed with how well it worked on this horse. In fact it worked better than the injected sedative used on another horse as that wore off a little fast.

Only down side is it did take around 4 hours for her to wake up completely, whereas the injected stuff is usually gone quicker.

It has my vote now.
 
will ask the vet and see what happens - at least ill have it to hand. god knows how ill get it under his tongue!hes petrified about 'different' things near his mouth. Is it in a syringe? ill need to get the clicker and a dummy syringe out for a couple of days! thanks for the advice!
 
Our girl is also bad with things around her mouth.

I got it in by putting her bridle and bit in. Took a bit of a fight and I dont think I got it under her tongue more inside her lips.

Its absorbed through the mouth so I think its OK anywhere as long as they dont swallow it. Basically point the syringe forwards from the bit rather than back as you would with a wormer and it seems to work.
 
Sounds like a lot of hassle to me.

If the horse was with me I would give ACP, on an empty tummy, hour and half before the dentist's arrival time, making sure the yard was peaceful. Leave the horse alone with a little hay, (ACP does not affect the chew/swallow reflex).

Result should be a relaxed amenable horse.

Having never used the gel type sedatives, can I be advised of cost, how long do they take to work and do they inhibit the chew/swallow reflex, ?
 
They take half an hour to work and use exactly the same drug as IV sedatives.

The only difference is they take longer to wear off.

The effects are the same as sedative injected into muscle (something we have had to do in the past)

Horses should not eat until they have woken up properly, so yes I assume they do affect swallowing.

However for those of us with horses which fear vets and needles they are a godsend.
 
Dermosedan will cost in the region of £40 depending on your vet. It absolutely does have to go under their tongue if you want it work, don't think you can get away with squirting it into their mouth like a wormer. You also need to take care you don't get it spat into your face, as it is very powerful stuff, it is in a different league to sedalin which is weak as dishwater. My vet said if a jab works well on your horse, then this gel paste will also do the trick.
 
i spoke to the vet about it and hes said its about £20 and in his opinion its the same hassle for him to come out and inject him as he is so scared of the vet. we have tried sedalin before but its pants :-) ive got an empty syringe so ill practice with a wee drop molasses hes not getting done till thursday anyway
 
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