I have to give one of my horses Adequan shots and they ate none too happy about it. First shot went ok but not great. Second shot was only half successful. I’m thinking if horse could be a bit sedated that might make things a little easier.
Has anyone done this? What did you use?
If I were to do this, I’d go with dorm.
But IRL, I’d just twitch the horse. Or lip chain. Standing for injections isn’t “optional.” A few times with a twitch and they learn that their opinion about it is immaterial.
Well, several approaches possible.
Twitch or restrain
Consult with your vet about using acepromazine dosed orally, or other medication options
Train horse to tolerate and hold for IM, SC and IV injections and blood draws
#3 takes an investment in time, to result in a calm and cooperative animal. This is my preferred method, so that any injection is simply another handling behavior.
Recent thread on this:
Yes, option #3 is my preference for sure, thanks for the link I’ll check it out.
I recently bought a mare that came to me with the caution “she is REALLY bad about shots”. I warned my vet of this–and explained that I don’t actually know what “really bad” means in this case–and he has been working with her (and me) on it.
The first time we exposed her to a needle (for a blood draw), he put a chain on her upper gum and had me tug on it gently and repeatedly while he stuck her. This wasn’t popping the chain or pulling. I was using my thumb to sort of massage the chain at the corner of her mouth. He called it “talking to her” with the chain and she didn’t even flinch when he inserted the needle. This was out in a run-in shed.
For her spring shots, they sedated her (for dentistry) first, using the same method as above, but it did not go as well. She jerked her head and swung her body when she got stuck. Nothing horrible, but not something that I’d want to deal with every time as a vet. This was in a stall.
For her boosters, the vet had me bring her into the ring, put on the lip chain, and then he walked her away from me and the tech. He kept some gentle pressure on the chain and the shots were perfect. She didn’t even flinch. We decided that perhaps being confined was part of the issue, so the plan is to keep doing shots in the arena as we can.
Her previous owner talked about twitching her and having battles. I really think the calm method my vet is using is going to break her of the needle phobia within a year.
Something else to consider is your own injection giving technique if you are the one giving the Adequan. I had a gelding that was getting Dex shots for a while and I noticed that when I gave them, he flinched, but when the vet or the BO did, it was fine. I concluded that I was doing something wrong. 
I have a gelding that has had so many injections over the years that he’s started to have a bit of an attitude about it. I started giving his adequan on his rump vs. his neck and he’s fine with it. Barely even acknowledges that I’m there.
Ace, under the tongue, or in the cheek. Make sure you use oral syringe only, no needle - it can get lost quite quick in the tongue :eek:
The way I see it, injections are too damn expensive for it to miss, only go half in, spill, etc. For some of the competition horses that were really fussy we used to give them Ace under the tongue, wait a bit and come back and inject with Hytril/Adequan/Whatever. Pat, give treat, and turn out in small paddock. Worked well. Not all horses are going to be okay with shots and with client horses you can’t really give a CTJ, neither the time or place. Sometimes a little chemical nudge is best for all parties.
Horse is equally unhappy about shots regardless of who gives them, and is not a candidate for CTJ type of approach to this issue (or any issue, really).
I’ll postpone the shots for a bit as my vet is out of town so couldn’t get me a sedative until next week anyway. In the meantime, I’ll start on the clicker training (which I’ve already used for other things) and see how we can progress.
beowulf, I wouldn’t even try a needle in the mouth - yikes! I see so much potential for something going wrong…
Oh, and a related question…
Do you always swab with alcohol first, or could you use diluted betadine?
Using a twitch or a lip chain isn’t (or shouldn’t be!!) a come to jesus. At all.
It should be very business like. Put on twitch or chain. Wait for the glazed look. Inject. Undo twitch or chain. Give horse a little rub on the lip, and praise. Give a treat if you want.
No problem if it’s not a method you want to employ, but if you think there’s some big battle involved, then we’re not talking about the same thing.
You would be surprised… once had a client ask me to help her sedate her gelding for sheath cleaning, asked me to hold him… Vet had left her a “baggie” with oral sedative already drawn out and wrote “ORAL ONLY”, however, you have to leave the needle on the syringes otherwise the sedative leaks… Client went to give the oral dose and I had to stop her - she thought you left the needle on.
I can see where one would make the mistake, but had to correct that quickly before it became a big vet bill! And the client was far from an idiot! Just a very literal person…
I wasn’t referring to your post, Simkie. I am open to what will work and help, but not what will make my horse more stressed out. So whatever works with the least amount of drama is good and I will try. I’m going to give it a try with positive reinforcement and clicker training and see how it goes from there.
If she doesn’t kick/paw, I find some horses prefer IM shots in the pecs and or butt instead of the neck.
We typically do not scrub with alcohol or betadine. If it makes you feel better, give a swipe with an alcohol pad or cotton ball.
Just keep in mind that the smell of alcohol could be another thing to desensitize/countercondition as you train for the needle stick. (The smell, and the sensation of cold, are two stimuli that are part of the alcohol swab.)
Try blindfolding or using blinkers and/or a lip chain. Makes it much easier. Plus I don’t hesitate with the needle. Wipe it with an alcohol wipe and stick and go. Fast and easy before the horse gets a chance to react. Don’t need a sedative to get the job done.
If you twitch, which is not a big deal at all, twitch and wait for a few minutes before injecting.
To get them used to the alcohol I wipe out ears with it to get dust out and also use an alcohol/water mix to help them cool off.
I find if i cover eye on side I’m giving shot on ,horse is less reactive. If needed I use lip chain. Horse is expected to standstill whether he likes being jabbed or not.
You can train her to stand for shots. This is the only time I use treats. Get a syringe and press the tip lightly on her neck in the shot spot and give her a treat. Do this a few times, and increase how hard and long you press the tip on her neck. You can also pinch to simulate the needle.
2 things :
Technique, technique, technique.
Practice makes perfect.
I used to try to go really quick and horses wouldn’t react much at the beginning but then, some would be smarter and I had to go faster and faster… or would even react prior to being shot…
Just a quick update . . . I started working on clicker training yesterday and again today. My chiropractor who is a vet came out yesterday for an appointment and I asked her advice. She gave me some pointers that are different from how my old vet taught us years ago. The old way was fine with a horse who didn’t care a bit, but this way is better. For one, she said that for fussy horses she uses two needles - one to draw and then a fresh/new one to give the injection. I asked if just doing a draw would be enough to dull it and she thought that if a horse is really fussy then it could be a contributing factor. As long as she was here she did the injection and her method on fussy horses is to grab a bunch of skin on the neck and then just pop the needle in real quickly and administer (old vet would put the needle in first and then attach the syringe which is what we were doing). It was fast and with almost no fussiness and was over before horse even realized what had happened. So it was a good experience.
For clicker training yesterday, I just had the needle (in the cover) and presented it and click/reward for touching it. Then I could actually lead by just holding it out and horse would seek it! Then I rubbed betadine on the neck and did a click/reward for facing forward and standing still. Then I rubbed the covered needle on the neck and click/reward. Today I did the same briefly and then used the syringe (no needle) to sort of quickly “poke” the area where the injection would go. I only did it when the head and neck were positioned as I want them and then click/reward. Short and sweet sessions and I feel like they are a good approach.
Thanks for the help, everyone!
@Pocket Pony , can you explain a bit about using two needles? Do you mean that the vet uses one needle to draw up the medication from the dosing vial, then changes to a fresh needle to give the injection?
Does your vet do an alcohol wipe or betadine scrub? I know there are different thoughts on that.
Good job on the clicker training. Sounds like the horse and the muscles are relaxed. Sometimes we have a horse who will stand, but still tenses up the neck muscles. Makes it a bit more difficult, and we may need to change the neck position, or reposition the horse, to soften those muscles.
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