Reported morbidities following 861 anaesthetics given at four equine hospitals

POSTANAESTHETIC morbidity prolongs convalescence, thus increasing costs to the client, and can lead to death. Most information available on postanaesthetic morbidity in horses relates to musculoskeletal disorders, such as postanaesthetic myopathy or fractures (Richey and others 1990, Young and Taylor 1993). More recently, the prevalence of postanaesthetic colic after non-abdominal procedures has been estimated retro spectively (Senior and others 2004, 2006, Andersen and others 2006). Information relating to other types of post-anaesthetic morbidity is scarce. This short communication describes a multi-centre prospective study conducted to esti-mate the prevalence of and identify risk factors for reported morbidities in horses undergoin g non-abdominal procedures at four equine hospitals in the