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Sedation for a baby?

3K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  drafts4ever 
#1 ·
I'm going to bring it up with my vet next time I see him but things kinda collapsed today (literally our indoor attached arena collapsed and took that side of the barn to the right side tresses out) and I'll be moving my horses. Where the horses are at right now is stable and supported but at the same time I just don't want to keep them there now. As many of you know, Lestat is currently being rehabbed from a hauling injury. His shoulder is doing much better but he still has a nasty cut on his foot that we are working on. Anyway, I had no plans on hauling him this soon but it looks like things will be moving quickly if possible.
I'll be hauling my girls in my trailer and he'll be riding in a friends trailer in a box stall with a friend's babysitter fjord pony. Because I don't want him stressing and possibly making his injury/injuries worse I'm looking at lightly sedating him for the haul. He won't be tied since he has no idea how to haul besides what he's already gone though. The only sedation I have any experience with is Ace/Rompin and we use that on a friends horse that panics during hauling.
The other option would possibly be Banamine? It might make him a bit drowsy? I'm not sure which route to go. Anybody have any suggestions on what would be safe for him, easy to do, make the haul easy on him. Even if he lies down and sleeps the whole way as long as he's not rearing and freaking I'll be happy. We're putting the other horse in with him so he has a buddy. Again, I'm going to bring this up with my vet on the right course of action but if anyone has any suggestions on drugs or pastes or anything I should put on my list of questions please please let me know.
 
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#3 ·
If he is sedated & lays down to sleep isn't there a good chance he will be stepped on by the other horse? Sedation could effect his ability to balance & enough sedation to down a horse could be risky.
I think I would remove all dividers & haul him loose. That's assuming he doesn't tie well otherwise the safest thing would be to haul him in his own stall next to his quiet friend.

Did the arena collapse from the unusual snow load you got in your area?
 
#4 ·
Maybe this is your plan, but if you can, maybe wait to sedate him until you know he's going to have a problem?

There was a thread, maybe a year ago, that was talking about Ace (not sure about other sedations) as a training aid and one of the points that came up was that it literally makes horses unable learn while on it.
My concern would be that he could have a really nice ride in the trailer this time with his buddy and lose out on learning about trailers in a good way because he's sedated.

I don't know how you plan to trailer this time but if you remove any dividers inside the trailer (and anything else he could get stuck on again) and just let both horses be loose, I bet your little guy will have a reasonably good ride.


Sorry, I don't know anything really helpful about those sedatives. I hope you get something good figured out!
That's scary about the arena. Sucks to be that barn owner! Lol!
 
#5 ·
ask your vet lol :) but i would do this... day of trailering have vet there ready for sedation. before actually sedating him try loading him with the babysitter. if he freaks at all use sedation and trailer him alone and untied ... just my 2 cents.. but if he is halter broke and trusts the babysitter i think he will still go in without any problems. and have him loose with no dividers :) goodluck
sorry to hear about the collapse :(
 
#6 ·
How old is the baby? Is the baby still with the mom?

If the baby is still at mom's side......I would use an angle haul and tie the divider to the wall so you have a box stall ........then load mom and tie her to the front of the trailer while loading the baby in beside her......have someone close the door.....unclip your lead and sneak out

If the baby is weaned than I would simply load the baby into the open box stall have some one close the door and sneak out.

Ive done this with a few babies and it works great.

I personally would not sedate in this situation

Super Nova
 
#10 ·
He's 9 months old. It's a very long story but when I hauled him home almost 2 weeks ago it was his first time in the trailer. We opened the divider and secured it like you usually would a baby. As soon as we stopped at the barn, we think, he reared and his rear end fell out under him. There was a loud bang and thud. When we slowly opened the door he was cast against the side of the trailer, his foot stuck between the doorframe, divider and wall (that tiny 4 inch gap between where the end of the divider is and where the pin slips in to hold it to the wall), hyper extending his shoulder and I ended up holding his head and neck up for 45 minutes calling vets and people to come help (it was against the doors so it fell out of the trailer when we opened the doors).
He's still on the long recovery process resulting from that and he's not supposed to be hauled but right now I don't see another option given the current situation.
 
#7 ·
I understand totally why you are worried about your guy, but everything you have told us so far lets me think that this is one sensible lad, and you probably wont have any issues.

I'm probably giving advice that you have already thought of, but my ideas.

First of all you need to be confident that he will load and travel so you don't give him reason to believe that there will be problems.

Next, can you practice loading, and maybe leaving him on the trailer for a while, just to chill out and get comfortable in the space?

If he will load and stand quietly in there with the doors closed and ready to roll, then the journey will probably be good.

If you want to make it a little easier for him, without taking him out of it at all, so he is still able to balance and and brace when he needs to, I would try some Bachs Rescue Remedy it's great stuff and works on humans and animals.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Since it's a long story please, anyone that's out of the loop please feel free to skim this, it explains the reason I'm so nervous about hauling him without anything right now. http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/traumatic-entry-into-new-home-109001/


Right now we can't practice loading because the vet doesn't want any unnecessary pulling or movement outside of his daily walks up and down the aisle way. That was the plan to practice loading after he was completely healed. He's still a bit too loose in his shoulder and the vet said he could easily injury himself more in the wrong situation so that's the main cause of my worry. If I can avoid sedation I'd really like to and if Furby is a good babysitter like he's supposed to be I shouldn't have to, I hope. I definitely don't want him down and out so he can get stepped on, I didn't think of that.

He's never met the baby sitter but the way my friends trailer is set up if he's in a box stall by himself there's nothing he can get caught on, the window slats, I think are too small to get his foot caught in, I'll double check and the door goes all the way up from what I remember. I can't take the dividers out of my trailer without a lot a lot of hassle and a few people so hauling him the first time we used my trailers trailer and opened the divider and he still got stuck so my reservations on using anything with a divider are pretty strong until he learns to stand and tie. I've never hauled a baby tied until they're at least a year old and one that's never been in a trailer besides when I brought him home and hadn't had any tie experience or handling I'm not sticking him in a divider.

I'm still going to talk to my vet about it but maybe they have a feel good drug like Calm and Cool or something. Catnip for horses?
He's too baby ADD to load and stand quietly by himself, he's distracted by everything and coupled with not being out of his stall except for daily walks for over the last week doesn't help so now he has tons of energy ready to explode if he's give the option. I just don't want to give him that option.

Before his bad hauling experience to my place he had never stepped foot in a trailer before. I'm hoping he doesn't remember how horrific it was and that this time he'll go in just fine.

I'm going to see if my friend can bring Furby out and let them meet and what not. If they get along we'll haul them together and hopefully no drugs will be needed. If not, I'm not sure what other options I have. I can call the vet and ask if I can attempt loading him but I also don't have my own truck to hook up, just my own trailer and with the arena collapsing I don't think my trainer is going to have a truck available for me to hook up.
 
#9 ·
The arena collapsed in the middle and took out 50 feet. It now looks like one of those half covered half open arenas but with a bunch of debris and roofing and planks of wood falling from what used to be the ceiling. It was an old arena and maintaining it was difficult I guess. It's kind of stories all over the place but the main thing was because of taxes, a new one or even a new roof wasn't feasible for the barn owners and they self patched everything. When it gave my friend Nic and I had just gotten back to my place from Clydesdale Sledding at the barn. We didn't dare use the arena, my trainer even said she had heard it creaking and was hoping it was just the wind. We got home at 5 and at 7ish the arena went. I guess my trainer and one of my friends heard a creak, popped their heads in and then ran when they saw the domino effect start. They got horses moved to the other side of the barn and now they're trying to figure out what they're going to do. My girls and my boy are ok, Caleigh bumped her head I guess trying to get out of her stall but it's a very small abrasion.
I called my horsey family and let them know that if they have room at any of their houses or if we can bump up the lease start point on the barn they're looking at renting that would help tons. They're looking into what they can do. I can't move my horses to my property just yet since I need to do up stallion fencing and fix up the pastures the way I want, derock and weed the nastiness.
 
#11 ·
Sorry to hear that..........I understand your concern......this was likely a freak accident......the ideal situation would be for him to heal completely before moving him and then only after you have done some work with him in regards to the trailer.....making him comfortable by loading and unloading....standing in the trailer holding him while he eats....asking him to unload quietly, then loading again and again and again.....closing the door with you and him in there.......it can be quite a process once they have had a scare.

I would be asking my vets advice and then following his instructions.......it might be an idea to have him on hand when you load him and then have him follow you and be there when you unload so he can be there in case there are some problems.

I know with sedation it can make it more difficult for them to stand and manage bracing themselves for the corners and the stopping/starting.

Its kind of a catch 22!!!

Hope you get him moved safely.

Super Nova
 
#12 ·
It's a difficult situation. When power is back to the area I'm going to ask my vet what he thinks. If its possible I'd like to move them as soon as possible and as safely as possible. I have access to a few other vets so in case something did happen I could have one on a farm call when we pull in.
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#13 ·
I have had some real similar situations.

ACE works very well to take the edge off and reduce panic and anxiety.

DO NOT use Rumpun. It really adversely effects balance. A horse sedated with it staggers on hard ground. I would never use it on a trailer.

ACE is so simple to use. that we have used it several times for something like this. We just use a 1/2 dose and give it to the horse in its mouth. They absorb every bit of it -- it just takes a bit longer to go into effect. I would do it 30 to 40 minutes before you even lead towards the trailer.

Do not wait to see if you need it. Once a horse is upset, it is very unpredictable and sometimes does not work at all on them. If you wait (which I think is a bad idea anyway) you should use Dermosodan. A Vet probably needs to administer it as most Vets will not dispense it. It is also quite expensive, but horses function very well on it -- just don't care about much or get very anxious.

I am not a fan of letting a horse with a soundness issue haul loose. I prefer a stock trailer with the horse tied loosely enough that its butt hits the center gate before the rope is tight. The lead-rope just stops the horse from turning around. An unsound horse going around and around in circles is just asking for it to fall or re-injure itself.

I have also hauled 'climbers' and horses that have been in trailer wrecks backwards, tying them to the back corner of the trailer with the center divider behind them. Tied that way with a 1/2 dose of ACE has worked very well for all of the wrecked horses I have had to haul.

Good luck, Cherie
 
#15 ·
I'll talk to the vet about using Ace.
Lestat has never been tied ever so I'm not sure on tying him even if loosely. If for some reason he were to lie down, slip, fall, freak...he'd hang himself, get tangled in a loose line if he were hauled on a loose tie.. maybe I'm just overly paranoid. I'm really not sure how to go about this. He's functional walking and he was never three legged which was a great relief, he's just a bit gimpy. Like I said, if I didn't need to haul him I would happily wait.
I don't think the vet has power right now but I'm going to give him a call anyway. Or maybe I'll call Pillchuck way up north. They should have a generator functioning.
 
#16 ·
It isn't safe to give Ace once a horse's heart rate is elevated. If you are going to give it, you need to do so while he has a normal heart rate level, which will likely mean before you get near the trailer. The correct dosage is by weight as listed on the label (or as your vet recommends.) IM takes about 30 minutes for full effect, IV just a few minutes. I have no experience with effect time when given orally, and I don't think IV is a good idea unless you have some training & experience.

Because your horse has an injury that you don't want exacerbated and for his safety in this situation, I would sedate him. I hope this move goes smoothly for you and your horse heals quickly.
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#18 ·
What if you used a shoulder guard and put small towels on the shoulder he hyper extended? That way maybe the muscles in his shoulder would be kept in place better. Kind of like wrapping your knee to support it when you tore a tendon in it. I understand your concern about trailering him again. That was quite an accident for anyone to go through horse savvy or not. I'm also not sure if I would trailer him loose. I don't know how big he is, but if he did try to rear or buck, wouldn't it be better to trailer him with a divider so he would have to stay in one place? That way he would possibly have less of a chance to get caught on something (I don't know what kind of trailer your using). Well that's all I can really think of for now. I hope that everything goes alright.
 
#19 ·
He doesn't know how to tie so that wouldn't be safe. He'd be hauled lose in my friends trailer because she has a box stall with a stallion divider so there's nothing he can get caught on. I haven't seen her trailer but from the way it's described he should be fine in there, I hope. My trailer has three dividers with bars so I can't haul him in there.
I'm not sure what you mean about a shoulder sling? He didn't pull anything on the outside. All the inside muscles through the front of his chest were pulled.
 
#20 ·
You can tie a horse that is not even halter broke if the rope is the right length. If they cannot set back on the rope because their butt runs into the center gate on a stock trailer, they have nothing to fight. Done it many times. I have not seen a stock trailer that does not have center gates at either 8 or 10 foot intervals. A horse tied at the right length cannot easily put any pressure on that rope because they do not have the room. But, it does keep them from going around and around and keeps them in a fairly stable position.

Both of our stock trailers have a gate at the front with a vertical brace in the middle of it. You can run a long lead-rope around it and tie it off to the bars on the side. That way, you can release him from a safe place if need be. It is still safer than hauling a crippled horse loose.
 
#22 ·
yeah I haven't had good experience hauling babies tied and everything I was taught about hauling was never tie a baby. Even with the right line he could very easily come up and get tangled in it. His back legs are just fine and he could lift and end up with the rope between his legs. Especially being in an environment that was terrifying to the start I wouldn't want to do that. I'd be way too nervous unless I rode in there with him and that's just not happening since it would be very unsafe.
 
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