Interest in novel medication administration methods is on the rise as companion animal owners seek less-painful, longer-acting solutions to medication administration. Horse owners, too, are beginning to look for other ways to medicate their mounts that don't rely on the use of needles.
Equine skin, tendons, and the gastrointestinal tract share many similarities to those of humans, so drugs designed to address issues in humans may often work on horses. However, the relationship isn't always reciprocal: once human dosages are determined, the equine equivalent isn't necessarily considered, but can often be determined, said Dr. Yunmei Song of the Centre for Pharmaceutical Innovation at the University of South Australia.
While human and companion animal medicine have become more focused on ease of administration, Song is hopeful that new drug delivery options are also on the horizon for equine medications. She hopes that these methods will make the medications last longer, easing administration and improving owner compliance – all resulting in improved equine welfare.
Song did caution that the new treatments will most likely cost more than traditional methods of drug delivery.
Horses are not often used in pre-clinical testing of drugs, so there is a lack of data on therapeutic molecules and the treatment of different equine diseases. There is limited understanding of how equine anatomy and physiology may affect therapeutically active molecules.
Though oral drug administration is preferred by many horse owners, there are drugs that are absorbed poorly by horses when delivered orally, but are absorbed well in other species. These include tramadol, acyclovir, and furosemide.
Additionally, how much food is in the horse's stomach can affect how orally-administered medications are absorbed. Because of this, drugs intended to be administered to horses just once a day often will not work well.
Topical medications used in horses may also have efficacy issues as delivery is highly dependent on the individual horse and his environment.
Even with these possible barriers, there is opportunity for new drug delivery systems to be developed that would require minimal dosing and be easy to administer. One to note is needleless injections, which are gaining traction in human medicine, but present challenges in horses because of skin thickness variability.
One new medication delivery method that has worked well is the equine inhaler, which is well tolerated by horses and reduces the severity of equine asthma. The research team expects additional medication delivery technology to be created in the future.
Read more at HorseTalk.
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