Vet trick: if you massage the gums where the bit does, horses will lick, chew and swallow. So get a handful of your meds+sweet syrup concoction and shove it in there and massage away. Messy but can be less of a fight.
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If my horse refuses to swallow I stick the empty syringe back in his mouth and hold it across his tongue like a bit. His reaction is to start chewing and trying to spit it out which moves the previously administered content back in his mouth to where he has to swallow.
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This makes so much sense, I’ll definitely keep this in mind, thanks!
She’ll be on medication until the end of July although it will taper off a bit during the month. Crossing my fingers as she seems to be fine eating it mixed in, thanks!
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This is why I asked what does “she can’t have grain” mean.
The opposite of “she can’t have regular feed or she’ll get fat” isn’t usually “she can’t have anything but hay”. 1c beet pulp shreds is about 300 calories give or take. It can absorb about 4x its volume in water. Adding some thing delicious tasting can hide a lot, for a lot of horses.
Yup. I’ve not done it for dosing, but if you stick your thumb / finger in that spot and rub the gums a bit the horses will almost always lick, chew, swallow
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Maybe try soaked alfalfa pellets to mix everything in? That wouldn’t be grain and the soak nicely with some hot water…I think you can also do a timothy pellet (but my guess the alfalfa pellets would be more appetizing…and maybe okay for the gut too?).
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Her surgeon specifically requested for me to cut down to just hay and try to syringe medicine vs mix with feed. Previously, she was on 5-6 flakes a day with a bit of balancer AM & PM for vitamins while in full work and being in turnout a lot but still was gaining weight. No metabolic issues either but won’t touch beet pulp in the past so was hesitant to buy a whole bag & have her not touch it.
What’s the reason for the hay-only recommendation? Healing takes lots of nutrition, and hay doesn’t provide enough
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Timothy cubes or pelkets in a mash are hay and could be a useful carrier of meds.
I think many horses are going to get resistant to a syringe after a bit. I would try hay cubes in a mash and maybe add some sugar free flavoring. I actually have a tub of beet pulp pellets with cinnamon intended as a treat.
I also agree that the horse might benefit from a vitamin mineral supplement. I’m not clear on what the medical issue is. So no idea if hay only is about colic, sugar level, etc.
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Can you mix the pills w unsweetened apple sauce? Syringe the combo?
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Very easy keeper that gains weight even when in work. The hay she’s on is fairly rich (tested regularly by 2 different companies) & I have a ration balancer recommended by 2 different nutritionists to make sure she’s getting any necessary vitamins etc that may not be in the hay.
Another thing to try with the syringe is to use the smallest size that you can and makes sense with the amount you have to dose. Those 60cc catheter tip syringes are just so wide. Or get a dosing syringe, so you still have a lot of volume in the syringe, but the part that goes in the mouth is narrow.
That made a huge difference with one of my horses. I was able to use a 20 cc syringe and it made things much easier.
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