Vet sedation for transport to vet

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acw295

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Hi all
I have another thread going about my pony's lameness and upcoming surgery.
I just wanted to know if anyone else has had any experience of vet sedation for loading a difficult horse?

Molly is a nightmare to load at home and given her injury we want her loaded as quickly and quietly as possible so vet is going to sedate her. We use sedalin for clipping but she needs a whole tube to have much impact and can still throw a rear so too risky to use that. It is a short trip - probably not much more than 20 mins.

Molly's approach to avoid loading (at home) is to rear, spin and gallop off to her field going over/through anything in her path. She ignores chifneys, pressure halters, lunge lines and people. Once loaded she travels beautifully and loads herself to come home (she is not scared at all, she just wants to stay at home - I guess it is a form of extreme napping/separation anxiety).

My worry about loading her is greater than my worry about the surgery!
 
I had to travel an unhandled neurotic and dangerous 4 year Shire x a few years back. My wonderful vet arranged for the local horse ambulance/knackerman to bring his low load trailer which also swivels and has supporting moveable screens in it, to collect the horse and take it to where it was going. The horse was heavily sedated and man handled onto the ramp which was only a couple of inches off the floor and into the box. He was topped up again inside to ensure he knew nothing of the journey which was 40 minutes.

I would be asking your vet and/or the hospital she is going to for assistance and recommendations. Your local racecourse would be another one worth asking as they always have fully equipped ambulances on site for racing. They would have contact details for the operators.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I had to travel an unhandled neurotic and dangerous 4 year Shire x a few years back. My wonderful vet arranged for the local horse ambulance/knackerman to bring his low load trailer which also swivels and has supporting moveable screens in it, to collect the horse and take it to where it was going. The horse was heavily sedated and man handled onto the ramp which was only a couple of inches off the floor and into the box. He was topped up again inside to ensure he knew nothing of the journey which was 40 minutes.

I would be asking your vet and/or the hospital she is going to for assistance and recommendations. Your local racecourse would be another one worth asking as they always have fully equipped ambulances on site for racing. They would have contact details for the operators.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, that's interesting. Good to know you've had a good experience and it worked. I just need her quiet enough to walk on, but without enough go that she can gallop off when presented with the ramp.
My vets that are sedating are the same as those doing the surgery (my local vet happens to be a large tier 3 hospital) and it's only about 10 miles away. They just suggested using the sedation and a regular box.
 
I had to travel a heavy sedated horse two and half hours to hospital when it was colicing .
Her behaviour at home was so violent it broke the metal bars holding its stable onto the brick course at the bottom .
We manhandled her onto the lorry ( she was good to load ) and then drove without a stop as quickly as we could I have never been so happy to have cameras in the horse area .
Do you think a heavy dose of sedaline would do the trick ? Domosedan gives you a deeper sedation for a shorter time than sedaline so that might be better if loading is the big issue, or you pay the vet to come and give IV sedation .
 
Goldenstar said:
I had to travel a heavy sedated horse two and half hours to hospital when it was colicing .
Her behaviour at home was so violent it broke the metal bars holding its stable onto the brick course at the bottom .
We manhandled her onto the lorry ( she was good to load ) and then drove without a stop as quickly as we could I have never been so happy to have cameras in the horse area .
Do you think a heavy dose of sedaline would do the trick ? Domosedan gives you a deeper sedation for a shorter time than sedaline so that might be better if loading is the big issue, or you pay the vet to come and give IV sedation .
Click to expand...

Vet is coming to do IV - she needs a whole tube of sedalin for clipping and she is still really strong and naughty at times so I don't want to risk it as if her adrenaline gets up she will fight it. Domosedan I can't get under her tongue reliably unfortunately (she doesn't take wormer by mouth as she rears). I'm not painting a very good picture of her but she is actually lovely - just with a couple of crazy quirks.
 
Soli was sedated travelling to vets after his injury. Vet had come out and sedated him to do the initial first aid and get a big bandage in. Then while still sedated we loaded him. The only issue we had was getting his front feet in the ramp. He had a massive bandage on one leg and just couldn't quite work out how to do it. So we placed each foot in the ramp and had a person each side at the back supporting/shoving and in he went. The journey was horrible as there was a blizzard and not weather I would. Penalty drive trough. The vet sat right behind us in her car all the way. As he was still sedated he travelled without moving. I was worried about it wearing off but theee was plenty time, about a 25min journey.
 
Hi, quick update. Molly went in today-the sedation worked perfectly. She was injected and immediately walked towards the lorry. She stopped once on the ramp, but then straight on. By the time in tied her up she was out for the count and not a peep out of her until she came round at the vets. Huge relief and I am so glad we did it that way, no drama! Just need the surgery tomorrow to get through now.
 
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