Getting horses to eat medication...

D

Dizzle

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 September 2008
Messages
2,303
Visit site
Grrr, apparently verbal reasoning is not an option! I have tried explaining that he really needs to eat the expensive granules to treat his ulcers but to no avail, he's picks the pony nuts out of the speedibeet.

He's mean to have 3 small sachets of granules a day (bute sized).

What's the best way to feed them to him to ensure he eats them all? I really need him to eat them or he won't get better!!!
 
If he is food obsessed, feed him as close to another horse as you safely can, a bit of competition can encourage them to eat up, helps if its a more dominant field mate. Feed the other horse at the same time though and supervise:)
 
daydreambeliever said:
If he is food obsessed, feed him as close to another horse as you safely can, a bit of competition can encourage them to eat up, helps if its a more dominant field mate. Feed the other horse at the same time though and supervise:)
Click to expand...

He'd kill them! Not an option, he'd really be too dangerous, he's a bit food agressive!

In regards to the molasses, would he not just leave the medication stuck to the bottom of the bowl? He's meant to eat them whole so they dissolve in the colon.
 
If you could make the granules into a paste type thing, like add them to marmite or something, then make a medicine sandwich. It may or may not work, but I know all the donks at the donkey sanctuary love their medicine sandwiches :)
 
Dizzle said:
In regards to the molasses, would he not just leave the medication stuck to the bottom of the bowl? He's meant to eat them whole so they dissolve in the colon.
Click to expand...

I've done it with anti b's and bute, so don't know about what you're using, but the granules stick to the molasses and get licked up as the horse can't seperate it.
 
Dizzle said:
He'd kill them! Not an option, he'd really be too dangerous, he's a bit food agressive!

In regards to the molasses, would he not just leave the medication stuck to the bottom of the bowl? He's meant to eat them whole so they dissolve in the colon.
Click to expand...

Oh well not an option then, it works with my friends horse with his wormer, but not suitable for all of them.

Does he have a fave treat you can diguise it in, some kind of soft fruit, like a nice ripe pear. If not call the vet and see if they can do it in a different form.
Good luck with him.
 
Jam sandwich! Works every time!

Or mix with water and syringe it down like worming paste.

In dire cases you could resort to a trick a friend of mine used to do many years ago - treat size Mars bar, cut it lengthways where the caramel meets the nougat, sprinkle on the powder then stick it back together! Horse can't get the medicine out and it goes straight down! I must admit that I wouldn't feed my horse a Mars bar due to the presence of theobromine in the chocolate which can in high levels be toxic to animals, but she maintained it was the only thing that would work for her horse. He lived till he was 29 so it didn't do him any harm!
 
Lots of food for thought there :D

Oooh if I stuck mollasses to bread and then the granules to in the middle??? Can you buy mollasses in the supermarket???

GENIUS!
 
Not sure if you can get molasses from the supermarket. We get ours from countrywide.
But I agree a jam sandwich never fails :) Good luck!
 
Haven't got a chance of getting to countrywide before at least Saturday and even then it depends on how busy I am at work...

What could I use instead of molasses???
 
Try a sandwich with either apple sauce, jam or a little bit of treacle. :) I used to use apple sauce sandwiches to get sachets of bute into my girl and she loved them (now she has the sachets in fast fibre).
 
NB. Would rather not feed molasses either.. sensitive tb! Gah, why can't my horse just be normal???
 
LMuirEDT said:
I always go for mixing it with water and syringing it into their mouths. Mine loves eating anything but it guarantees they take it all in.
Click to expand...

Only slight issue being, wormed him last month and he panicked, pulled back and fell over so I'm a little hesitant about putting in a syringe until we've done a little syringe training!
 
Dizzle said:
Only slight issue being, wormed him last month and he panicked, pulled back and fell over so I'm a little hesitant about putting in a syringe until we've done a little syringe training!
Click to expand...

Yeah that can be the other issue. As I said luckily mine will eat anything so is more than happy with a syringe in his mouth regardless of what's in it. u could try filling the syringe with something sweet eg apple sauce, watered down molasses, and mixing in the medication???

Hope u find a good solution remember trying to give a v reluctant horse some meds when I worked on a yard and it went everywhere!!!! V annoying when ur just trying to help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top