Just heard on NPR

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

albahurst

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
1,729
Reaction score
1
Location
Kansas
I just heard on NPR that the drug, Ceftiofur (hope I spelled it correctly), will no longer be available from vets for animals starting later this year. This is the drug, Excede, I believe, and is an excellent drug for treating some serious bacteria- like Strangles. This drug was approved for horses just last year, if I recall correctly. It is one we have used here and has been a life saver, literally. Although there are other medications out there, Excede has been shown to be very effective in treating some very serious bacterias, when many other drugs have failed. The report says it should be for people only.

Has anyone heard this news?? Please chime in!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've been searching to find anything to support this, but simply can't find anything definitive. It seems that there was some concern in the Thoroughbred industry that when the drug was broken down, some components may resemble anabolic steroids....a big no no in the industry. It was an extremely small study of only a handfull of horses, so I don't know that it holds much validity. Please keep me posted as it is a remarkable drug for those nasty bugs...
 
Even then, here in the UK at least, any drug that is legal can be used, with the owners consent, on any animal, so long as the owner is aware it is not licensed for use in that animal, and is thus not guaranteed (as if there were ever!)

Working as I do with a Vet College as my Vets, it is very rare for the drugs used to be licensed for use in horses- all I do is sign a disclaimer. This makes them able to

use the very best drugs on the market, anywhere.

I suppose that this sort of thing could be made illegal by individual state law, but I am pretty sure that Veterinary practise law is universal, so any Vet can, in theory, use any legal drug (so long as a disclaimer is signed.)
 
Even then, here in the UK at least, any drug that is legal can be used, with the owners consent, on any animal, so long as the owner is aware it is not licensed for use in that animal, and is thus not guaranteed (as if there were ever!)

Working as I do with a Vet College as my Vets, it is very rare for the drugs used to be licensed for use in horses- all I do is sign a disclaimer. This makes them able to

use the very best drugs on the market, anywhere.

I suppose that this sort of thing could be made illegal by individual state law, but I am pretty sure that Veterinary practise law is universal, so any Vet can, in theory, use any legal drug (so long as a disclaimer is signed.)
Right. Vets have the same ability as doctors to prescribe drugs "off label", meaning giving them for conditions they are not licensed for or to species not licensed for (for example, human drugs can be prescribed for most animals too).

I also love Excede - used it on a respiratory infection going through the herd this fall, and it knocked it right out - really like the regimen of one shot, then another shot 3 days later, versus once or twice daily shots with other antibiotics. Had kind of a hard time getting it though - several of my vets didn't know it could be used in horses. The breeder I got several of my horses from had recommended it - finally did find a vet who would ok it. It's expesive, but so worth it, at least to me!
 
Had kind of a hard time getting it though - several of my vets didn't know it could be used in horses. The breeder I got several of my horses from had recommended it - finally did find a vet who would ok it. It's expesive, but so worth it, at least to me!
Is it really all that expensive, when its a two shot series; rather, than 1 or 2 shots (doses) per day for 5-10days depending on the drug. Not to mention less sticking of the horse.
 
Depends - the vet that finally prescribedit does't actually carry it, so I had to buy a whole bottle - 100 ml at almost $200. So if I could've just gotten 2 shots, wouldn't have seemed so bad, but getting the whole bottle kind of sucked. Even with 5 days of shots for penicillin, at about $8 per 100 ml, that's only about $3-4 for a treatment series, versus $12 for Excede. BUT I agree, it's worth it not to have to stick the horse so many times - so I bought the bottle and keep it on hand.
default_yes.gif
 

Latest posts

Back
Top