Paracelsus, a 16th century Swiss physician and alchemist, once said, "Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy." Similarly in horses, determining what medication dose is therapeutic vs. detrimental, and knowing which drugs can poison some horses while helping others, are among the challenges practitioners face when selecting medications for sick or injured animals.

And, try as they might to avoid them, veterinarians from time to time will manage medication mishaps: They or their techs might inadvertently reach for the wrong drug, or one of their clients might accidentally administered an inappropriate medication. Emma Adam, BVetMed, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVS, an equine practitioner performing research at the University of Kentucky Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, shared some tactics for managing equine medication mishaps at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif.

Adam touched on how veterinarians should handle adverse drug reactions and accidental administration of the wrong drug in the field, in addition to listing precautionary measures veterinarians can take