How to give Metformin??

[ponypalooza]

I was instructed to give 20 pills BID of Metformin to my horse. I would LOVE to hear how others have given this drug. It does not melt in water and is very difficult to work with. Thanks for any advice.

ps, I have tried slowly mixing with half fake syrup/half water mixture and that works the best for dosing. But Im concerned about the glycemic response with the fake syrup’s sorbitol.
I have tried mixing it with U7 and it doesn’t mix well plus she HATES it.
Its only been 5 days and there has been a dramatic effect on her appetite and general well being. I need to find a better way to get it in her since its for life.

[SecondInCommand]

Do you have any options to get it compounded into a more horse-friendly format?

[Simkie]

Can you crush it in a coffee grinder and add water to make a paste? A few drops of peppermint oil might aid in the taste. Or Kool Aide powder?

[Bem55]

It does soak in water - you just have to soak it all day. Otherwise I stuck it in a NutriBullet type thing with a bit of water and crushed it up

[MissAriel]

Have you tried just tossing the whole tablets in a handful or two of soaked beet pulp? I don’t know about metformin, but lots of tablets have a thin film coating that can help disguise the taste of the active ingredient. We have a mare that scarfs down whole tablets or capsules in her beet pulp just fine, but puts up a fuss if the ground powders are mixed in the feed.

[Peggy]

Pretty irrelevant, but…

Melting isn’t the same thing as dissolving. And the wicked witch probably did neither.

Carry on…

[walkinthewalk]

I am forum acquainted with a couple folks who have had great success breaking fig newtons in half and stuffing pills in them:)

[ponypalooza]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I love the fig newton idea. She would have to eat an entire bag each day.
So I figured out something that is working so far. I grind the pills in a coffee grinder, enough for a week. I soak about 7 pieces of alfalfa cubes. I use a small food chopper and chop up feed pellets with water. (I use Tribute’s Kalm n EZ 14/8/20 14%nsc) and I will probably move to their ration balancer. It becomes like a somewhat “hard” bowl of oatmeal. Then I weigh out 22g of drug and mix that in. Then I mix that with the hay cubes. She ends up getting a normal sized meal, which hasnt happened in…ever. She is thrilled and so am I.

[candyappy]

@ponypalooza

Thank you everyone for the responses. I love the fig newton idea. She would have to eat an entire bag each day.
So I figured out something that is working so far. I grind the pills in a coffee grinder, enough for a week. I soak about 7 pieces of alfalfa cubes. I use a small food chopper and chop up feed pellets with water. (I use Tribute’s Kalm n EZ 14/8/20 14%nsc) and I will probably move to their ration balancer. It becomes like a somewhat “hard” bowl of oatmeal. Then I weigh out 22g of drug and mix that in. Then I mix that with the hay cubes. She ends up getting a normal sized meal, which hasnt happened in…ever. She is thrilled and so am I.

Glad it is working. Can I ask why she is getting Metformin? That is used in people with type 2 diabetes ??

[ponypalooza]

The horse is getting Metformin because of insulin resistance. Im sorry to say that she stopped eating the drug and I am back to dosing her.

[luvmyhackney]

Crush it and mix with applesauce then dose her. You can use sugar free jello mix as well to make it tasty. Makes it a bit more pleasant.

That stinks she quit eating it.

[Lieslot]

Crush & syringe?
With SMZ’s I have to crushed them, then added to hot water with dissolved sugar free pastel mints, soak halfway up syringe, add a small amount of maltrodextrin or xanthan gum as a thickener plus a drop of agave syrup, shake until thickened and syringe into mouth. My horse would literally chew the syringe, so yummy he thought, lol.

Interesting to hear horses are given Metformin nowadays for IR, this is a new one. Is this given lifelong just as in humans in that case?
I’m so not up to date anymore .

[Amber_Ridge]

Do not use fig newtons or applesauce to give them the pills. You shouldn’t add any type of sugar to their diet. I put my pills in a plastic bag and crush them with a hammer, and add to soaked timothy hay cubes and ration balancer. Has worked just fine.

[gumtree]

I don’t play games. I grind any meds that don’t dissolve quickly in water in a coffee grinder. Pour the powder in a dosing syringe, mix, shake with water and give. Might add some syrup, grind a peppermint up with it etc. Done in a matter of minutes and I know they got the entire dose prescribed.

Pistol grip dosing syringes come in different sizes. Round ball tip, sneak it in to the side of their mouth squirt and “tickle” the back of the tongue with the rounded tip. Which, makes, helps them swallow.

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