Dermossan - Health & Supplements - Health & Supplements - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 4/5/2011 2:42:13 AM

It will soon be time to vet my Appy and she is a horrible patient. The vet we've used the last two years has speculated she was either very sick when she was young or was treated very roughly when given shots/having blood taken. Regardless of cause it is a fight to get anything done with her. She is a sensitive horse anyway and when doing groundwork I rarely have to touch her to get her to move away. She finds the whole concept of a strange man with sharp objects coming at her to be offensive and even though she is small she is hard to control. We had a vet come and do a farm call for us the last 2 years as we didn't have a working trailer at that time, but now that we do have one we are wanting to take her to our regular vet. His office sits back off a highway a bit and I'm terrified she will get away from me. A friend who works for a vet told me Dermossan might be a good option for her. I'm wanting something that will mellow her out, but not so much to make her clumsy. Oral Ace hardly does anything for her. Has anyone tried Dermossan? If not do you have any recommendations for products like Quiet Ease and Knock out powder? I put up with her nuttiness when we ride, but this is a matter of her, my, and the vet's safety so I don't want to take any chances.

samsara

Posted : 4/6/2011 3:54:00 AM

I used a calming agent once. I can't remeber if it was B-Calm or Quietex... I think it was Quietex. I had a horse who didn't trailer well at all. He would load ok but wasn't a very good rider. It was a paste I gave him. He did calm down but didn't get too dopey or clumsy. I got him loaded into the trailer and 5 minutes later he exploded. He cracked the fiberglass roof of the trailer and got a pretty nasty gash on his leg. There was blood everywhere. It was terrifying for both of us.
I've never tried Dermossan though. Maybe it's different. I'd try it a few days before hand when you're at home and see if it helps. I think some of your issues could probably be worked out with some good ground training and desensitizing but, when you gotta go to the vet you gotta go to the vet. good luck!

danastark

Posted : 4/7/2011 3:05:41 AM

Our POA has issues with the vet, farrier or anyone carrying something like a stick ..... he has 5 brands so that may have something to do with it[:@] Smart boy, but it does make things difficulty when he needs necessary care. It's a 3 ring circus to try to get him sedated..... he knows the guy with the big needle isn't up to any good...... Silly as it sounds though, the way to calm him down is through his stomach...... he loves black licorice, granola bars, carrots, etc. and if we distract him, he doesn't notice so much ':)'

Took 3 shots this last time to keep him sedated enough for teeth and sheath........ haven't ever tried any of the over the counter stuff.....

The vet doesn't have any kind of enclosure? Could they do the work while she's still in the trailer?

AppyMom

Posted : 4/9/2011 12:44:25 AM

HEY another appy mare owner! I take it she has what I call 'Appy-tude'. Mine is a very calm girl thank God. I had a blind QH (she passed away last April) who got freaked out by loud noises. Fireworks and thunderstorms were an absolute nightmare for her. We used Quietex with her. It helped some but not as well as I would've liked. If you need a to get your horse calmed down a lot I don't recommend it.

WishRemembered

Posted : 4/13/2011 12:42:33 AM

Thanks for your input everyone. I may see if my vet can recommend a feed through I can try. She definitely has Appytude and when it comes to distracting her with tasty bits she gets tight lipped if she's nervous. I'm hoping through enough ground work to get her to where she worms easily and will let me wash her face. I can pet all over her face, but she's had rain rot for 2 years that I'm unable to treat. I may try the quitex for use at home and see if I can find something a little stronger for the vet visit.