Compared to injectable Dormo­sedan, the gel version of the drug is relatively new to the equine industry. However, in just a few years it has grown in popularity of use for mild sedation.

At the 2016 International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kenton Morgan, a technical service veterinarian for Zoetis, gave a presentation about the drug and its appropriate usage.

The reasons for its increasing popularity include:

• No use of needles.
• Ease of administration.
• Less fighting from a nervous horse.
• Good reports from farriers.
• Danger reduction.

Understanding The Drug

To begin his presentation, Morgan stressed that this drug is solely for the use of sedation and restraint, and that there are no claims that the product can be used for pain relief. The primary use is for minor husbandry procedures, with trimming and shoeing being the most common of these.

The gel version of this drug was designed so the owner could administer it at the appropriate time.

Dormosedan Gel is absorbed by the mucus membranes of the mouth, so it has to be administered under the horse’s tongue. The syringe containing the drug should simply be stuck under the tongue and administered.

A locking ring-stop on the drug’s syringe barrel ensures a precise dosage.

“It’s not designed to be swallowed,” says Morgan. “If the horse swallows it, then it won’t work because there’s very little absorption in the GI tract of the horse.

“You don’t just put it back on top of the tongue like we would for a…