Xylazine for sedation of horses

Abstract

Extract

The introduction of chemical restraint into horse practice brought significant advantages in handling fearful and fractious animals as well as allowing the practitioner to carry out procedures which would normally arouse considerable resistance from the equine patient. Phenothiazine derivatives were widely used for these purposes prior to the introduction of xylazine hydrochloride, a drug which was synthesised in Germany in 1962 by Bayer, A. G., Leverkusen, tested underthe code name Bayer Va 1470 and marketed under the trade name Rompun. In view of the increasing use of xylazine in equine practice it seems worth-while to review the literature on the pharmacological action and clinical use of this agent in horses.