Pain Killers And Whiskey
The two types or classes of drugs I use in my equine dental practice are sedatives and analgesics (painkillers). Occasionally, I use an anxiolytic (removes anxiety) for scared horses. I do not use tranquilizers, which is an entirely different class and does not provide pain relief. Two of the three drugs I use are controlled substances, requiring a DEA license and my veterinary license. In other words, actual painkillers can’t be bought and used by non-veterinary equine dentists.
When on a date with another person, you have two choices. 1) take the time to build a relationship, or 2) get the date drunk. Automatically sedating a horse without painkillers is just getting the horse drunk to make the task easier. BUT… if you want to be on the date but have a whopping headache, then take a pain medication to enjoy the date. This analogy is precisely why I only use pain medication when the horse requires it, but I never automatically “sedate” a horse.