Bute without bucket feed - creative solutions?

Morgan123

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Any creative ideas on this? Two of the elderly horses I look after need daily danilon or bute, but are looking well and not fussed by wanting to come in for bucket feed, which is good because they're also argumentative at the gate and I prefer them not kicking eachother if they're not hungry! I'd quite like to be able to go and check them and give them, for example, an apple with a sachet of bute in it or whatever. But that sounds messy and like I'll end up with butey apple juice everywhere.
Any ideas? I was wondering about tipping the bute into those empty pill capsules like people do with prascend, and putting that in an apple, but that sounds messy too and like I'll waste a lot of bute putting it in a sachet. And it migiht make for some excellent yard gossip if people find me in the tack room with lines of white powder.
Then i had an even messier idea about making homemade treats with a sachet of bute in each one?? I like that idea but they'd have to either be heated or cooled to set, and that might do something bad to the bute.
First world problems. wow I'm overcomplicating this when I could just take them a bucket.....
Anyway. any ideas?
 
Any creative ideas on this? Two of the elderly horses I look after need daily danilon or bute, but are looking well and not fussed by wanting to come in for bucket feed, which is good because they're also argumentative at the gate and I prefer them not kicking eachother if they're not hungry! I'd quite like to be able to go and check them and give them, for example, an apple with a sachet of bute in it or whatever. But that sounds messy and like I'll end up with butey apple juice everywhere.
Any ideas? I was wondering about tipping the bute into those empty pill capsules like people do with prascend, and putting that in an apple, but that sounds messy too and like I'll waste a lot of bute putting it in a sachet. And it migiht make for some excellent yard gossip if people find me in the tack room with lines of white powder.
Then i had an even messier idea about making homemade treats with a sachet of bute in each one?? I like that idea but they'd have to either be heated or cooled to set, and that might do something bad to the bute.
First world problems. wow I'm overcomplicating this when I could just take them a bucket.....
Anyway. any ideas?

Administrating Medicines
Bute - Danilon - Pro Dynam


copied from HCAA



either Yogurt to give the bute/ Danilon
also diluting the Danilon in warm water and squirting it into mouth.
Diluting the Danilon is speedy beet juice
Give him a sandwich with Diabetic jam
is he likes chocolate you could try diabetic biscuits crushed and mix danilon in
sugar free apple juice
Mix with pureed baby food, like apple and carrot, and syringe into back of mouth. My mare loved the flavour so much that after a few days she was practically opening her mouth for me to syringe it in!
You could make your own puree by peeling and cooking apples until they are mush.
Get a bowl, big glob of molasses, little splash of water + drugs, mix it all up to a thick black gloomy paste and syringe it. I find the antibiotics (presume Equipalazone/ Norodine/ similar) take 2-3 50ml syringes full as there's just so much of it but with enough molasses they don't mind
Cut the core out of the apple and stuff it in there then give them the core after the apple to take the taste away
In molasses in their feed
Toasted marmite sandwich, the strong smell of the marmite disguises the smell and taste of any meds, is good for them and my 2 love it. (the marmite)
Warm bran mash with apple sauce mixed in it.
 
Either get liquid pain killer called Rheumacam brilliant stuff, I never use the powders now. Mine is so much trouble getting anything down him lol. I used to mix with water and teaspoon of mint sauce (the jars for your lamb dinner) I used to give antibiotics with this method too or apple juice. Use an empty worming syringe as the end is bigger otherwise the powder gets stuck in the nozzle
 
Thanks all :-)

I don't really want to syringe them because they don't really like it and I want to do it loose in the field without a headcollar: any sort of liquid, paste or mash requires either a feed bowl (which was the issue in the first place) or a syringe.

I might try the sandwich idea, that's probably simplest, or coring an apple.

Thank you!
 
I've tried coring a small apple, putting the powder in and bunging the ends with the core - great I thought, greedy horse will love this. WRONG - as soon as the apple split between his teeth he spat the whole lot out, mostly over me :( Jam sandwich might be better as the powder will stick to the jam.
 
I use mini wholemeal bread rolls - cut in half spread each side with something sticky they like (I use molasses) sprinkle the Bute onto the sticky stuff and sandwich together; has never failed even with nasty tasting drugs.
 
Baby food Apple sauce in syringe they should like that! U can practice b4 adding Bute so they know it's tasty and want it of free will!
 
Porridge oats, some water and a tiny bit of treacle. Mix it all together with the bute and roll it into a treat shaped ball. I think it used to take 2 or 3 to get a whole sachet down them and I've never known a horse say no!
 
Mine had drugs for melanomas (a trial that didn't work) in a marmite sandwich - wouldn't touch jam but loved the marmite.

Mixing it with baby food also works well. If you buy the baby food sachets, rather than jars, all you have to do is rip the top off the bute sachet, squirt a bit of baby food in and mix it all up (I used the handle of a teaspoon). Then, when you get to the field, open up the bute sachet completely and let them lick it off. You don't get any (well, not much) on your hands.
 
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I used to cut an apple in half (he would drop lots if I gave him a whole apple) then cut a little square out, pour bute in and plug it up with the piece I'd cut out.
He was only on half a sachet per day so I could fit it all in one apple, I think you'd need two apples for a whole sachet otherwise the taste might be too overpowering!
He always ate them happily, but he was VERY greedy!
 
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