acepromazine | Horse Racing Free Tips

Q&A With Leader In Equine Anesthesia

Dr. John Hubbell is considered one of the most experienced equine anesthesiologists in the industry. Currently the chief of anesthesia at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., Hubbell was interviewed by The Horse to learn more about equine sedation and anesthesia.

Hubbell told The Horse that the sedatives in use today include xylazine, acepromazine, detomidine, romifidine, and butorphanol, which were developed between the 1970s and 1990s. Prior to the introduction of these drugs, physical restraints were often used in many medical procedures.

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Hubbell reported that the sedatives used today take effect within three to five minutes. Adult horses often remain standing, even when heavily sedated.

With today's lessened reliance on physical restraints, the safety of the horse and the people surrounding him is heightened.

Though anesthesia is the safest it's ever been, there are still risks associated with laying the horse down on its side. Horses that are older (over 17 to 20 years old), those that are large, and those that aren't used to being handled are at the greatest risk of anesthesia complications. Horses in the last two categories, especially, can be difficult to help stand after anesthesia.

Hubbell said procedures that use short-term anesthesia, where the horse is recumbent for 20 to 30 minutes, do not present as many potential issues as procedures which require horses to be under anesthesia for more than 90 minutes.

There are no breed-specific dosing protocols, but Hubbell has found that American Saddlebreds and draft horses often need smaller doses of detomidine or xylazine as compared to Appaloosas, Arabians and Mustangs.

Hubbell has also found that the atmosphere in which he's performing the procedure will affect how much sedation is required. He noted that horses which have been handled regularly and that are taught to behave often require smaller doses of sedative.

Kathy Walsh Penalized $3,000 and 30 Days for ‘Ace’ Positive

Longtime trainer Kathy Walsh, who currently has no horses actively racing according to Equibase, was fined $3,000 and suspended 30 days stemming from a June 28, 2020, acepromazine metabolite positive at Los Alamitos Race Course.

But Walsh, who has been a licensed trainer since 1970 and an assistant since 1962, will pay only $1,500 and serve seven days through Feb. 13, 2021. The remainder of the penalty will be stayed pending a one-year probation without any Class 3 or lower violations because Walsh entered into a “settlement agreement and mutual release” over the matter, according to a Feb. 5 ruling issued by the California Horse Racing Board.

Acepromazine is a Class 3 Penalty Category B sedative.

The horse that triggered the positive was the 0-for-16 gelding Git On Your Pulpit (Lucky Pulpit), who ran second, beaten half a length, at 3-1 odds in a $20,000 maiden-claimer. He was disqualified and placed last for co-owners Walsh and Marietta Gelalich.

That start was Walsh's last recorded entry on Equibase,although Git On Your Pulpit has made three mixed-meet starts at Los Al this year, winning a 1,000-yard maiden race Jan. 21.

Walsh, a MGSW conditioner from a family that was prominent for decades in racing in the Pacific Northwest, has 1,231 lifetime wins and is a member of the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.

The post Kathy Walsh Penalized $3,000 and 30 Days for ‘Ace’ Positive appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bet To Lose? Irish Trainer’s License Suspended Six Months Over Acepromazine Positive

The Irish Horse Racing Board has suspended the license of Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Charles Byrne for six months over an acepromazine positive, reports the Racing Post.

Byrne's trainee Viking Hoard was eased in a handicap hurdle at Tramore in October of 2018, and regulatory vets noticed the horse has a slow heart rate. A post-race test showed the horse had a “dangerous degree of sedation” in his system during the race, evidenced by the presence of over 100 times the International Screening Limit of Hydroxyethylpromazinehydroxide (HEPS), a metabolite of acepromazine.

Viking Hoard was heavily bet to lose on that day, but no evidence was found linking Byrne to those wagers. Byrne admitted to leaving the horse alone on two occasions for a total of approximately 25 minutes after arriving at Tramore, which the IHRB characterized as “neglect of the trainer” which may have allowed an unidentified third party to administer the drug to the horse.

“The damage was financial in the case of affected punters, and reputational in the case of the racing industry,” read a statement from the IHRB. “This case illustrates the specific and additional challenges and dangers to the integrity of racing posed by the widespread ability to back horses to lose races for significant returns. The desirability of this practice or how it might be better controlled within the available regulatory resources is worthy of further, constant review.”