A recent global study by the Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Equine Fatalities Community Interest Company (CEPEF CIC) has shown a significant decline in horse deaths related to general anaesthesia over the past 20 years. Analyzing data from 47,000 procedures across 93 veterinary centers in 23 countries, the research found that mortality rates in healthy horses undergoing elective procedures dropped from 0.9% to 0.6%, with cardiac arrest-related deaths decreasing from 33% to 12%. Improvements are attributed to safer drugs, advanced anaesthetic techniques, better monitoring, and enhanced perioperative management, especially for compromised patients such as those with colic, whose mortality rate fell from 7.8% to 4.2%.
Despite these advances, general anaesthesia in horses remains riskier than in smaller animals due to their size and behavior during recovery, where fractures and post-anaesthetic colic are leading causes of death. Researchers emphasize the importance of careful anaesthetic management, including sedation before recovery to reduce panic and injury. While progress is promising, questions remain about optimal recovery practices, such as the use of ropes or ventilation. The study reassures horse owners that modern veterinary care has greatly improved safety, particularly in referral hospitals, but stresses that anaesthesia still carries inherent risks, especially for unwell horses.
