How Much Ketamine To Sedate A Horse

Introduction

The vast majority of veterinarians are well-trained professionals who love animals and strive to provide excellent care to them. Thankfully, most vets aren’t like the former veterinarian in this story. This vet—whose name isn’t worth naming here—was known around the profession as a good doctor with a bad habit of overmedicating his patients. He was often quite secretive about what he was giving animals, occasionally lying to his clients and colleagues alike. One day, though, he went too far; sedating a horse with ketamine is fine, but doing so at levels that cause life-threatening side effects? Not so much. Luckily for both the horse and the vet, everything turned out okay in the end…

0.1 – 0.2 mg/kg IV

If you are going to give your horse a sedative, IV administration is the best way to go. The reason being that it’s the most effective and fastest acting.

However, it also comes with some drawbacks:

It’s more expensive than IM or SC administration
It’s painful for your horse (and therefore stressful)
It can be dangerous if not done correctly

0.04 – 0.05 mg/kg IM

How to give IM:
Give the dose of ketamine by injection into the muscle as soon as you can, but at least within 30 minutes of discovering that your horse is in pain.
How to calculate IM dose:
First determine how much ketamine is available for injection. You’ll need an accurate weight measurement of your horse (at least half the dosage should be given in one spot). If you don’t have access to scales or a vet who can help with this process, then try using this formula: 1 gm = 10 kgs x 0.01 mg/kg = 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight. This means that every 100 pounds (45 kilograms) equates to about 45 milligrams (0.045 grammes) of Ketaject® Injection available for intramuscular administration; if we divide this amount by five (the recommended maximum dose), we get 9 grams per person per day!

Sedation and analgesia in the standing horse 1. Drugs used for sedation and systemic analgesia - Michou - 2012 - In Practice - Wiley Online Library

0.05 – 0.1 mg/kg Sedation, IM or IV

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that is used in the equine industry. It has an ED50 of 0.1 mg/kg IM or IV, and is administered via either route depending on what your veterinarian prefers and whether they have access to IV catheters. The drug can also be given intramuscularly (IM), but it’s much less effective than if it’s administered intravenously (IV).

When administered intravenously at a dosage of 1 mg/kg, ketamine produces sedation and analgesia within 1-5 minutes; this effect may last up to 15 minutes.

Ketamine is an anesthetic medication that works by blocking nerve impulses. When administered intravenously at a dosage of 1 mg/kg, ketamine produces sedation and analgesia within 1-5 minutes; this effect may last up to 15 minutes.

Can be given through many methods, with IV being the most effective

It can be given through many methods, with IV being the most effective.

IM is less effective and less common than IV.

IM is the least effective method of administration, so it’s only recommended as a last resort.

Conclusion

Ketamine is a commonly used drug for sedating horses. It can be administered through many methods, with IV being the most effective. I hope this article has helped you to understand how much ketamine you need in order to sedate your horse.