Detomidine For Reducing Fireworks Anxiety in Horses

Equine Science Update: By: Mark Andrews

Detomidine gel could be a useful tool to alleviate horse’s anxiety during fireworks according to a recent study.

Fireworks seem to be an increasing problem for horse owners to deal with, no longer limited to just one or two nights a year but becoming a more regular nuisance.

Detomidine has proved a useful sedative for allowing minor surgical procedures to be carried out in the standing horse and is widely used for enabling management tasks such as clipping, farriery, dentistry and wound dressing. A recent study by Francesca Dai and colleagues looked at whether it would help reduce anxiety and fear in horses exposed to fireworks.

Sixteen horses that had experienced acute anxiety and fear associated with fireworks noise in the past took part in the study, which was carried out on New Year’s Eve.

Eight horses were treated with 30 μg/kg detomidine gel (a little less than the licenced dose for sedation – 40 μg/kg ) and eight with a placebo. Treatment was repeated, if necessary, after a minimum of 2hrs.

Response to treatment was assessed by the owners. The horses’ behavior was also recorded on video and assessed by an expert who was unaware of which treatment each horse had received.

The work is published in Frontiers of Veterinary Science. The authors report that, when fireworks were present, 75% of the horses given detomidine were scored by their owners as having a good or excellent treatment effect on anxiety and fear. Interestingly, 50% of horses given the placebo were scored as having a good response.

Overall, horses of the placebo group showed more restlessness, vocalization, and signs of colic. Horses given detomidine showed a significant decrease in walking behavior.

Researchers suggest that the effect was not simply due to sedation – as (for at least some of the time) horses were eating.

The only adverse effect reported was sweating in one horse after the first dose of detomidine.

The authors conclude that detomidine can be used for alleviating horses’ fear during fireworks. They suggest that further research with larger treatment groups is needed to confirm the results.

For more details, see:

Use of Detomidine Oromucosal Gel for Alleviation of Acute Anxiety and Fear in Horses: A Pilot Study

Francesca Dai, Julia Rausk,  John Aspegren,  Mirja Huhtinen,  Simona Cannas and Michela Minero

Front. Vet. Sci., (2020) 7:573309.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.573309

(reprinted with permission)