ACE is the Place!

Acepromazine or acetylpromazine (more commonly known as ACP or Ace) is frequently used in animals as a sedative and antiemetic. Its principal value is in quietening and calming anxious animals. The standard pharmaceutical preparation, acepromazine maleate, is used in veterinary medicine in dogs, and cats. It is used widely in horses as a pre-anaesthetic sedative and has been shown to reduce anaesthesia related death. We keep some on hand for the horses but were also given several doses for Max for while he was recovering from his surgery. It really did work for that, although once he wasn't Ace'd enough and had strength to eat his 'Elizabethian collar' while he was wearing it. He's so talented, maybe we should have him tested? We brought some along to give to Max so he would be quiet while we were gone during the day on rides. No one likes a continually barking dog. Campers do complain about this, and there were a couple dogs that barked constantly. One barked all night long, someone asked if we heard him. I thought they believed it was our dog, so I offered the truth: Max was inside, sleeping on the couch with April until I woke him in the morning. While we were at our camp-site Max barked, too. A peculiar woman was camping near us - she was petite, a Mandolin player, an off-key singer and musician, had one horse, small Palomino named 'Montgomery Gentry' and three dogs: a Border Collie mix, a Beagle, and a Schipperke. She had a dually that was 'painted' with rainbow colored duct tape, a slide-on camper and an old blue bumper-pull stock trailer. She parked on the corner of two lanes and numerous rigs had trouble getting past her set-up. The dogs were tied to her truck and stayed mostly under the truck or trailer. On this morning the beagle got loose and she asked him to hold her horse. He had been in the process of ACE'ing the dog so Max would be quiet while we were out on the trail. She got the Beagle under control, retrieved her horse from him and he then noticed he still had a pill in his palm. He mistook it for his daily aspirin and swallowed it. He immediatley realized it was Ace. Uh oh. We finished tacking up and went for a ride with our two friends. About an hour after that he started feeling the affects of the Ace dosage. It is for a 50 lbs. dog, but it still had an affect. After some time in the saddle he said he had to get off, or he would topple off. We moved a little up the trail to find a flatter place to stop, but didn't make it to the top of the rise. He had to get off NOW. He staggered to the side of the trail and sat down. That didn't last too long. He keeled over and slid down the muddy hill, resting his head on a rock and tree stump. I couldn't help but laugh at his predicament. I guess this shows my mean-streak. Honestly! He enjoyed a nice nap, in the dirt with the moss-covered rock as his pillow. While he was resting a group of riders were making their way up the hill towards us. It was Helen and Jan, employees and ride leaders from camp, along with a few other riders. Helen asked if everything was alright and could they help. Really, I don't think they could help with anything here, unless they carried Ace-antidote with them! He felt he had to get it together at this point and climbed up on Skip. We continued on the loop with the group, watered the horses at the Toby Creek, then followed them back to camp for a serious nap in the trailer with air conditioning. I still think it is hilarious! Honestly!