Veterinary Vertex
Veterinary Vertex
AVMA Journals
Sedating Horses Safely
20 minutes Posted Nov 12, 2025 at 6:00 am.
Sponsor Message: Canine Nutrition
Welcome And Guest Introduction
Emmett’s Path To Equine Anesthesia
The High Risk Of Equine Anesthesia
Study Rationale: Trazodone And Xylazine
Findings: More Sedation, More Xylazine
Clinical Takeaways And Future Recovery Research
Extending Small Animal Strategies To Horses
Award Win And Research Mindset
Career Advice And Picking Impactful Projects
Personal Rapid-Fire: Pets, Coffee, Wellness
Closing And Reader CTA
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Show notes
Send us Fan Mail Horses and anesthesia make for a high stakes mix, and the numbers prove it. We open the barn door on a new study of oral trazodone in healthy adult horses that boosted sedation but, at a low dose, unexpectedly increased xylazine requirements at induction. Our award-winning guest, Dr. Emmett Swanton, walks us through the why behind the work, what the data actually say, and how to turn mixed results into smarter, safer protocols. We dig into the global context first: equine pe...