Evaluation of intramuscular anesthetic protocols in healthy domestic horses.

Objective: To assess anesthetic induction, recovery quality and cardiopulmonary variables after intramuscular (IM) injection of three drug combinations for immobilization of horses.

Study Design: Randomized, blinded, three-way crossover prospective design.

Animals: A total of eight healthy adult horses weighing 470-575 kg.

Methods: Horses were administered three treatments IM separated by ≥1 week. Combinations were tiletamine-zolazepam (1.2 mg kg), ketamine (1 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment TKD); ketamine (3 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment KD); and tiletamine-zolazepam (2.4 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment TD). Parametric data were analyzed using mixed model linear regression. Nonparametric data were compared using Skillings-Mack test. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: All horses in treatment TD became recumbent. In treatments KD and TKD, one horse remained standing. PaO 15 minutes after recumbency was significantly lower in treatments TD (p < 0.0005) and TKD (p = 0.001) than in treatment KD. Times to first movement (25 ± 15 minutes) and sternal recumbency (55 ± 11 minutes) in treatment KD were faster than in treatments TD (57 ± 17 and 76 ± 19 minutes; p < 0.0005, p = 0.001) and TKD (45 ± 18 and 73 ± 31 minutes; p = 0.005, p = 0.021). There were no differences in induction quality, muscle relaxation score, number of attempts to stand or recovery quality.

Conclusions And Clinical Relevance: In domestic horses, IM injections of tiletamine-zolazepam-detomidine resulted in more reliable recumbency with a longer duration when compared with ketamine-detomidine and tiletamine-zolazepam-ketamine-detomidine. Recoveries were comparable among protocols.