Seddighi reported that sedation was deeper and longer-lasting in the intravaginally administered gel group than in the IV group. | Photo: Michelle Anderson

So much for achieving the desired calming effects without resorting to a sharp needle.

Reza Seddighi, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVAA, an associate professor specializing in anesthesiology and pain management in the University of Tennessee’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences,  in Knoxville, reasoned there might be another route to sedation—at least when patients are mares.

At the 65th Annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 7-11, in Denver, Colorado, Seddighi shared the results of a study  in which he and colleagues compared the efficacy of administering detomidine gel intravaginally, to intravenously, (IV) or sublingually. Their findings included data from two previous studies