06/30/2026
Horse Country clients!
We have what you need- 💊💊💉⭐️
We’ve all heard- the NAV is back at it this year with a planned fireworks display for Friday night (maybe Saturday too). This will be right over the heads of many of our horses and while they’re pretty accustomed to the “booms” around here- this is just *too much* for many of them! (Also there is a reason we call July 5th “National Laceration Repair Day” 😬)
Here are some things to consider!
🎆Trazodone is commonly recommended, but horses vary A LOT in their dosing needs. Some see pink elephants at the lowest dose and many need a much higher dose than our initial “starting dose.” It’s REALLY helpful to know your horse’s ideal dosage ahead of time so you can get it right with plenty of time to have it safely on-board before the horse-eating sky-fire monsters arrive.
🎆If trazodone isn’t your horse’s “drug of choice,” you’ll need to know this ahead of time and have another plan. We do use other oral anti-anxiety meds, but they may be subject to laws regulating their dispensing, so this is something we need to work through in advance.
🎆Acepromazine DOES NOT control anxiety. It simply makes the animal’s body move slower- leaving them the same level of terrified, just unable to act on it (ever have that dream where you need to run from danger but your legs are lead?). This is probably not the kindest choice.
🎆Dorm gel or IM sedation may be the best option for some. It’s important to keep in mind that these meds still take 30-60 minutes to take effect. We are big believers that drugs like xyl@zine and detomidine have no business in tack trunks, so don’t ask us for bottles please! We care about the safety of our community so gels or single-dose dispensing on rare occasions are the options.
🎆The time to prepare is now. If there is a huge run on trazzies and no time to order more, we’re going to be out. While we can typically order things for overnight delivery, shipping companies are notoriously unreliable around holidays so we can’t count on the ability to restock in a day.
🎆While you should *absolutely* call on emergency if your horse is injured, calling on emergency for sedation during fireworks probably isn’t going to work! By the time we get there, calm the horse, and sedate, the display will likely be over- leaving a stressed out, hungover mess of a horse (and maybe a similar situation for you)!
🎆Sometimes a few flakes of alfalfa are more effective than any of the pharmaceutical options! Consider having some of “nature’s sedative” on hand. Don’t worry- alfalfa is typically low in NSC so it’s usually safe for even our metabolic patients, and if a flake of alfalfa causes GI distress in your otherwise-healthy horse, well maybe we do need to talk!
💥💥 Stay safe out there ponies!💥💥
