To evaluate the analgesic effects of orally administered gabapentin on horses with chronic thoracic limb lameness. How long did you keep your horse on it? What dosage? And did you titrate up and taper down? Any other details you want to share I’m trying to collect as much info as possible about actual gabapentin usage. It came up in my recent NQR thread and I think it might be useful for my horse. He has 5 year NQR Hx after a spider bite. Simple math is required to calculate the dose of a particular medication for administration to horses and other equines. This article reviews the forms of equine medications, and the calculations that you can use to get the dose right! Methods: Following baseline measurement of lameness, horses were administered each of four treatments orally in grain: treatment G, gabapentin (20 mg kg -1) twice daily for 13 doses; treatment F, firocoxib (171 mg once, then 57 mg once daily for six doses); treatment GF, gabapentin and firocoxib at previously stated doses and frequencies; or All horses tolerated the PO administration of gabapentin, and no evidence of side effect (e.g. somnolence, depression, sedation, or ataxia) of the drug at either dose (5 or 10 mg/kg bwt) was observed. The apparent low bioavailability of oral gabapentin in horses suggests that gabapentin may need to be administered IV or at very large oral doses to see a positive effect on chronic musculoskeletal pain. Abstract The provision of effective equine analgesia remains a challenge in equine practice. It relies upon a number of processes including recognition and assessment of pain severity, understanding of the type of pain (visceral, musculoskeletal, neuropathic etc), knowledge of available drugs and their mechanisms of actions, consideration of drug side effects and interactions and basic Limited scientific information exists regarding the effective and safe dosing of gabapentin in horses. Based on clinical experience and anecdotal reporting,1 the most commonly used dosage of gabapentin is either 10 or 20 mg/kg2,3which by itself is often inef-fective at controlling pain from laminitis or osteoarthritis. Gabapentin has been used to treat chronic pain in people and small animals. To date, no study has reported its use in horses for the treatment of chronic painful conditions. The clinical effectiveness of gabapentin as an analgesic in horses with chronic lameness was evaluated in a double-blinded crossover study. What does gabapentin do for a horse? Higher oral dosing and longer treatment regimens of gabapentin may be indicated for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain in horses. Equine Gabapentin Dose is a powerful medication that effectively manages chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and seizures in horses. It provides fast and long-lasting relief, allowing your horse to regain its vitality and quality of life. Gabapentin is commonly administered to dogs and cats to treat chronic and neuropathic pain (Beckman 2013). Furthermore, pain reduction following orally administered gabapentin in horses has been described in several clinical reports (Davis et al. 2007; Dutton et al. 2009; Readford et al. 2013). Gabapentin has a relatively low bioavailability, but no apparent adverse effects following oral administration in horses 75, 76. Further work is needed to assess the clinical effect of gabapentin more objectively in horses with clinical pain. This review aimed to clarify gabapentin use and pharmacokinetic aspects to promote conscious use in dogs, cats, and horses. In dogs, gabapentin was beneficial in the treatment of epilepsy, as well as chronic, neuropathic, and post-operative pain, as well as anxiety. The repeated administration of high doses of gabapentin may provide better analgesia in horses than current clinical protocols. Objective: Administration of gabapentin at 40 and 120 mg/kg PO q 12 h for 14 days will not alter serum biochemistry findings or cause adverse effects. Our results suggest that horses tolerate gabapentin up to 120 mg/kg PO q 12 h for 14 days. The analgesic effect of the dosage regimens evaluated in our study warrants further research. Six horses with chronic lameness referable to musculoskeletal pathology were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 5 and. 10 mg/kg body weight of gabapentin, and placebo administered PO three times daily for 14 days. All horses received each treatment separated by a 2-week interval. Gabapentin has been used extensively for the treatment of pain of nerve origin in horses, and, more recently, for the treatment of other painful conditions including laminitis. It has been used at a dose rate of 5mg/kg to 20mg/kg, although the author has only been convinced of clinical effect at the top end of that range. This textbook includes basic principles of large animal surgery and anesthesia, how to apply those principles to cases and situations, and discover ways of finding answers when you don’t remember the information, are presented with cases that aren’t “textbook” and/or things don’t go as planned. In the study, gabapentin was administered at a dosage of 20 mg/kg, which is considered safe in horses. 3 At this dosage, gabapentin did not improve any measure of lameness in horses with chronic musculoskeletal pain in the thoracic limbs.
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