Evaluation of Three Balanced Anesthesia Protocols in Horses at the Francisco de Asís (Soracá-Boyacá) Clinic

Abstract

In balanced anesthesia, drugs from different pharmacological groups are associated in order to enhance the desired effects of some and others, which is achieved by their simultaneous use in low doses, minimizing the risks of anesthesia. There are many protocols evaluated in horses but there are still others to evaluate. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate three balanced anesthesia protocols in healthy horses in order to determine the anesthetic properties achieved with each. Four horses were used to test the three proposed protocols, leaving a resting period of 30 days between one and another. The results were analyzed by Anova and Kruskal-Wallis test to determine the existence of differences between treatments. The protocols evaluated behaved similarly; the three anesthetic phases were adequate in terms of quality and time; physiological parameters were not significantly affected, and the unconsciousness and immobility achieved were sufficient, which suggests that they are suitable for short duration surgical procedures in horses.