Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horses getting sick after being sprayed with amitraz - what to know
By Auer, D E et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·1984·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Illness in horses following spraying with amitraz.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three horses became sick within 24 hours after being sprayed with a diluted amitraz solution, which is a chemical sometimes used for pest control. They showed signs of being overly calm, depressed, uncoordinated, and had severe belly pain due to constipation. One horse also had swelling on its face. Thankfully, all the horses recovered after receiving supportive treatments, including fluids, pain relief, and medications to help with their constipation. After some time, they returned to their normal selves.
People also search for: horse amitraz poisoning symptoms · horse colic treatment · why is my horse depressed after spraying
Abstract
Sickness occurred in 3 of 4 horses within 24 h of being sprayed with an 0.025% w/v aqueous suspension of amitraz. The latter consisted of a portion of an amitraz aqueous suspension made up some 3 weeks previously, to which some freshly prepared spray fluid had been added. It seemed likely that the amitraz in the older solution had broken down to the highly toxic N-3, 5- dimethylphenyl N-methyl formamadine derivative and that this was in fact the main cause of the untoward effects observed. The horses displayed typical clinical signs of tranquillisation, depression, ataxia, muscular incoordination and impaction colic lasting up to 6 days. Subcutaneous oedema of the face occurred in one horse. The syndrome was accompanied by mild dehydration and acidosis. All horses survived after persistent symptomatic treatment including the giving of intravenous fluids, enemas, analgesics every 3 h, multiple doses of paraffin oil per os and dexamethasone intravenously. Following the eventual relief of constipation the horses scoured profusely for 24 h before their condition returned to normal.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6508668/