Horsetalk.co.nz Study to cast light on risks of general anaesthesia and standing sedation in horses Horses are 10 times more likely to die from anaesthesia than the likes of cats and dogs. Researchers, in a worldwide initiative, are gathering data that can be used to help lower the risk. Veterinary staff who specialise in anaesthesia and analgesia at Scotland’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies are leading the study, dubbed the Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Equine Fatalities (CEPEF4). Its focus is equine mortality associated with general anaesthesia and standing sedation. Anaesthetists and equine clinicians around the world are being invited to participate through an online questionnaire, through which they can provide information on horses undergoing general anaesthesia and standing sedation.