Which calmer for horse that’s on box rest but can be walked on roads? Any advice welcome. Thanks

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Midge13

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Advice needed please for a Calmer as my horse is allowed 15 mins road walking but is still in on box rest - SDFT tear 🥲 already been 4 months. Been walking in hand. Gets a bit excited! Thanks
 
I wouldn't bother with calmers, I'd be asking the vet for Sedalin or Domesedan, Sedalin is fine for taking the edge off, Domesedan packs more of a punch but ask them which they think is most suitable for your needs.

If it has to be in hand walking on the roads can you draft in a couple of friends to make sure any traffic has plenty of warning you're there and encourage them to pass wide and slow? Needless to say lots of hi viz for everyone, a bridle and possibly roller/saddle and side reins.
 
Nari said:
I wouldn't bother with calmers, I'd be asking the vet for Sedalin or Domesedan, Sedalin is fine for taking the edge off, Domesedan packs more of a punch but ask them which they think is most suitable for your needs.

If it has to be in hand walking on the roads can you draft in a couple of friends to make sure any traffic has plenty of warning you're there and encourage them to pass wide and slow? Needless to say lots of hi viz for everyone, a bridle and possibly roller/saddle and side reins.
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Thanks so much for your reply. I feel safer on board so will make sure we only go out with friends and may ask the vet if needed re your suggestions.
 
I tried Sedalin and found that it made the horse more dangerous to walk out, not less. He still exploded but with much less awareness of what he was doing. He was normally a complete gentleman but on the sedalin he lost all his respect for where I was/not squashing me.

Vets love to prescribe controlled exercise whether ridden or in hand for box rested horses, but they are not the ones risking getting splatted while doing it. I won’t do it anymore, it’s just not safe.

Small pen turnout instead after box rest, working up to full turnout.
 
Oooh sounds scary. Thanks for reply. I’m going to try Magnitude. Also she was fine hacking with her usual mates for 3 consecutive days prior but over challenged yesterday going with a horse she didn’t know plus very busy and just too much going on. Very good apart from snorting and bucking once on driveway home. Totally my fault. Luckily I stayed on but lesson learned.
 
I'd prefer potassium bromide over a short-acting oral sedative if it was absolutely necessary to do controlled exercise.

Like Tiddlypom though, I'd rather transition using turnout - bromide would still be useful here anyway.
 
Thanks for reply. Sadly turnout not possible as she has a tear in her SDFT and 23 years old so going to take longer than normal to recover. Been advised to take her exercise very slowly or will undo her 4 months box rest. She’s been so good. I just overdid it yesterday as so busy. Totally my fault. Ordered Magnitude to help her.
 
Tiddlypom said:
I tried Sedalin and found that it made the horse more dangerous to walk out, not less. He still exploded but with much less awareness of what he was doing. He was normally a complete gentleman but on the sedalin he lost all his respect for where I was/not squashing me.

Vets love to prescribe controlled exercise whether ridden or in hand for box rested horses, but they are not the ones risking getting splatted while doing it. I won’t do it anymore, it’s just not safe.

Small pen turnout instead after box rest, working up to full turnout.
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I have found this too...a bridle with lunge line over the poll& through the bit rings and schooling whip was better for all involved, when a younger FO was trying to walk in hand TB after a tendon injury.
On "sedative" he was just dangerous and almost knocked me over several times.
Without it he was (just) manageable though in the end still ended up turned out with calm companions and lots of food because the risk to everyone just wasn't worth it.
 
If you've already ordered a specific calmer and are going to carry on in the same way you already are, I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is?

I am not being snarky in any way, literally just confused.
 
Plegicil, acepromazin, is common to use for that here. It's supposed to take the worst edge off, without making them 'sedated'. I've no idea about the accessibility of it over there, here it's a prescription drug.
 
I agree with the OP that controlled exercise can sometimes be preferable as a transition to turnout.

Ours was on box rest recently, and although the vet said said we could start small paddock turnout; we chose to hand walk for 6 weeks first. This meant she built strength in a controlled way rather than being allowed to do the inevitable gymnastic moves in the mud.

The hand walking was done in a chiffney over her headcollar (2 ropes) with a steady companion horse. Once she was calmly hand walking twice a day for a total of an hour, we gave domosedan and turned out - relatively uneventfully. We used the domosedan before turn put every day for a week (after her hand walk) gradually tapering the dose down.

If you need something to properly take the edge off, I would always go with Domosedan. I find they fight Sedalin too easily if wound up. Feed based calmers just don't seem to do much.
 
I’d start with valerian.
If that wasn’t enough I’d try a notch of sedalin.
If that fails then bromide.

I’d generally have loose side reins to a roller if hand walking something.
 
Korg said:
Plegicil, acepromazin, is common to use for that here. It's supposed to take the worst edge off, without making them 'sedated'. I've no idea about the accessibility of it over there, here it's a prescription drug.
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ACP (the active in Sedalin, mentioned up thread) can be very hit and miss whether it works at all IME - the horse needs to be kept totally quiet whilst it's taking effect, which could be tricky with a horse that is wired because it expects/wants to go out.
 
Im not convinced it is fair to other road users to be walking box rested horses down the public highway! If they cannot be walked in hand round the yard we use the horsewalker. Otherwise box rest for longer and then turnout.
 
My vet recommended science supplements ProKalm when my horse was hand walking for a ddft injury, in the end we didn’t need it because he was quite sensible, but thought I’d mention it!
 
I don’t think a general magnesium calmer will make any difference here sorry!
They only work for horses deficient anyway but I think you’d need a little more for safety.
I’d try Sedalin just a little but as Tiddlypom said it can sometimes make matters worse so I’d try it just walking round the yard or at least a safer space than the road first just to gauge reaction.
 
Try Valerian or Zylkene, have used both with some effect on a post box rest TB. I say some effect as I too gave up hand walking (in a bridle/Chifney/2 people/2 lunge lines) and turned him out for which he was heavily sedated by the vet but fought it and was an absolute *insert word of choice*. Rearing, spinning, punging, bucking - in hand and in his box, he's currently on box rest so I've ordered some valerian again
 
We use science supplements Pro-Kalm, it’s very good. Another friend also uses it with her exuberant showjumpers on competition days (3 scoops on a competition day, 1-2 the few days leading up to it) and seems to help them.
 
As I have recounted in the past, my dope on a rope horse turned into a raving lunatic after 6 weeks of box rest when I was supposed to be giving him walking exercise. I couldn't turn him out until he was doing 1 hour's work. Um, the vet didn't see him rear and buck his way down the road, after Sedalin, in full lunging kit. I sent him to a rehab yard where his behaviour came as a complete shock to the YO (good thing I was on the end of the reins!) and she got the vet to prescribe Bromide.
 
Orangehorse said:
As I have recounted in the past, my dope on a rope horse turned into a raving lunatic after 6 weeks of box rest when I was supposed to be giving him walking exercise. I couldn't turn him out until he was doing 1 hour's work. Um, the vet didn't see him rear and buck his way down the road, after Sedalin, in full lunging kit. I sent him to a rehab yard where his behaviour came as a complete shock to the YO (good thing I was on the end of the reins!) and she got the vet to prescribe Bromide.
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I tried to get bromide last year for a horse that definitely needed it. Vets couldn’t get hold of any. Zylkene Was recommended.

I know this is an obvious thing to recommend but having dealt with a very bad patient coming off box rest who the vet recommended 10 minutes road walking in hand and increasing to 1 hr in steady time increments. He used to stand on his hind legs and do the can can with his front legs …. We just ended up walking him in a large loop round the yard. Through the internal stables, round the car park and back again. He was sweet as a lamb and trogged along like a dope on a rope.
Obviously this depends on your set up whether it’d be viable or not
 
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