# ACP - dosage and timing



## RachelFerd (10 February 2009)

Any input on the best way to get the most effect from ACP tablets would be appreciated.

Mare is on restricted exercise regime, and has a tendency to snap out of ACP sedation very dramatically - and completely lose the plot!

She is normally a quiet ride, but she is normally out 24/7 and ridden daily - she has now been in on box rest for 12 weeks, so can't blame her for being an idiot - just want to avoid her doing any further damage to herself. I chose to start restricted exercise rather than restricted turnout due to the ground conditions, but if i can't get her walking out vaguely sensibly I will have to re-think. Today she cut one of her hindlegs whilst she was cantering backwards into a wall  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I have a big jar of ACP 25mg tablets, and am currently feeding her 8 tablets (hidden in an apple) and allowing her around 50 minutes to go under. Does anyone have a better or more effective way of doing this?


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## Louby (10 February 2009)

My horse was cross tied for 12 weeks then a further 6 weeks box rest so I know how you feel.  I was supposed to walk him in hand building it up to an hour a day.  Not a chance, he was on his hind legs and with a fractured leg I was told it could just shatter.  We used Sedalin and at first it worked, infact so much I had to reduce the dosage a lot as he was totally out of it and the following day seemed off but after a few days he knew it was walkies and used to get that hyped up, it just didnt work.
We eventually turned him out in a small area but he freaked and we gave him full dose sedalin when he finally went out alone in the field but he just gallopped up and down.  Thankfully he made it in one piece and it all seems a distant memory now but I really feel for you as at the time it was awful.
Sorry not much help but I think you may struggle with ACP as when there adrenalin kicks in they just dont work for lots of horses.


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## Marchtime (11 February 2009)

Sedalin is a paste form of ACP. I find it much easier to administer. It must go under the tongue. Problem with ACP tablets is you cannot confirm they have definitely eaten them. Sorry.


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## criso (11 February 2009)

Bringing a horse back into work from box rest myself.

I only had to use acp twice on the first week even after 3 months of total box rest due to owning the quietest TB in the world and that was only because I gave him some molassed chaff to carry the supplements he was on.

I used between 6 and 8 for a 560kg horse and it took the edge off. I left it an hour and then did 20 mins of walking.
However if something startled  him the adrenaline does seem to override it but with the ACP he then calmed back down again quickly which he didn't without it.
Sedalin does seem to kick in quicker and seems more consistent in its effects possibly because of way it is absorbed being a paste, I intend to get some when we get to the turnout phase.

Good luck


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## RachelFerd (11 February 2009)

Sedalin is too expensive for me to use on a daily basis - its over £10 a tube! ACP is about 10p per tablet, and is essentially the same active ingredient. I have previously used sedalin for hand walking her, and have had the same issues with her snapping out of the sedation very rapidly.

I have no problem ensuring she actually gets the dosage - they are tucked into an apple and I watch to make sure they go down (which they do.)

That said - she was ok today and remained calm for the duration of the time she was out of the box - hopefully she will get into the routine and we will get through it all calmly!


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## kellyeaton (11 February 2009)

what dose of acp is she on ?


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## proudwilliam (11 February 2009)

I thought that ACP was not available now ?


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## Pebble101 (11 February 2009)

My friend had to give her horse ACP when he cut his coronet badly and it was plastered (it was not in a place that could be stitched).  She was convinced that the tablets did not work very well whereas the sedalin paste did.

I said she was imagining it! However another post on here suggests the same.  

One thing that stuck in my mind, there was a warning on the tablets about caution when feeding them to Welsh or Welsh crosses.  She didn't ask why as her horse is a TB.  I am curious as two of my lads are part Welsh and I have never been able to find out why the tablets carried this warning. 

If anyone could enlighten me......


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## criso (12 February 2009)

It is exactly the same active ingredient but they are just absorbed differently - in the same way that taking a painkiller that dissolves in water will act quicker than the same ingredient in a tablet.
A paste will be absorbed and enter the bloodstream quicker and in one go whereas tablets may release slower and unevenly if the horse happens to crunch some on the way down.

And adrenaline will override in both cases, I find it just takes the edge off no more.

Never heard about a Welsh thing though, there's nothing on my bottle.  All it says is what it contains with a recommended dose for my horse written in biro by the vet.


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