Help... enormous sachets of antibiotics

[Leam_Carrie]

My poor horse is under the weather and has had a temp - her bloods show infection / inflammation. She’s on antibiotics... 2 days to go... but she’s leaving more of her feed each time. There is so much powder to mix in (and she’s on Bute as well).

I’ve already bought a new bag of mix she likes, and usually doesn’t get due to sugar content, to encourage her to eat. This worked initially, but it’s attraction has faded.

How do I syringe them? I think I can buy syringes at the feed shop. Other option is buy some molasses, can I just mix it in her feed? She loves those black licks (mint / garlic) which I assume are mainly molasses.

Any tips appreciated. Thanks .

 

[bouncing_ball]

spearmint may help
or yes, you can buy liquid molasses and add it to feed (assuming not at risk laminitis or getting a sugar high)
Yes can buy dosing syringes work well for bute. Not sure large amount antibiotic would dissolve though.

A vet in france recommended adding full fat coke a cola for getting horses to eat antibiotics.

Another thing might be to take away hay before feeding / after feeding to encourage her to eat. (Not for too long to risk ulcers, but an hour before and after feeding wouldn't hurt).

 

[Pinkvboots]

Mix in a cup with a bit of water and add a few drops of some peppermint essence it's about £1.50 in the supermarket, then syringe it you might need to do 2 but my horses love it.

 

[Melody Grey]

I have syringed them as a last resort. I mixed them with warm water, not too hot so as not to destroy the active ingredients (not very scientific I know, but we were out of other choices!!)

I would say feed is a lot easier if you can manage it- have you tried peppermint essence? At least with stringing you know it's all gone down, even if it is a PITA!

ETA- have also used a little treacle in the syringe to avoid being hated for ever!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Ask your vet for a 50/60ml Dosing Syringe. These sachets do dissolve into a very small amount of warm water so it's not too bad.

 

[Melody Grey]

I used to put a bit of treacle into the syringe, holding it upwards with my finger over the end and mix half of The sachet contents with warm water inside the syringe using the handle of a tea spoon....then repeat, minimal mess

 

[Chinchilla]

It's much cheaper and easier IMHO to just buy some icing sugar and sugar and drugs altogether in a syringe and shove it down like that.

 

[Leam_Carrie]

Thanks for the suggestions. Will be buying peppermint essence. Also thinking I should add tumeric into her feed, which she likes and might help disguise the taste?

The vet said to syringe if she wouldn’t eat them (she’s been off her food a bit anyway as not feeling well). Like the idea of adding something nice into the syringe - and @MelodyGray like your low mess option .

 

[Leam_Carrie]

It's much cheaper and easier IMHO to just buy some icing sugar and sugar and drugs altogether in a syringe and shove it down like that.

So make it sweet for her, I have icing sugar. I assume it’s a very small quantity?

(I should mention she has cushings, but is on prascend, so try to keep low sugar... but right now the priority is getting in the meds... which the vets agrees with)

 

[Melody Grey]

Thanks- I need all the help I can get to keep clean! If you do choose to syringe, expect to be wearing half of it, especially until you get the consistency just right!! 🙈

 

[Chinchilla]

So make it sweet for her, I have icing sugar. I assume it’s a very small quantity?

(I should mention she has cushings, but is on prascend, so try to keep low sugar... but right now the priority is getting in the meds... which the vets agrees with)

When I was doing this (admittedly not recently) it was a fair few tablespoons irrc . It needs to be an okay consistency to get through the syringe but you can use old worming tubes if you have them.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Nurodyne ? it does come in syringes if needs be.

 

[dogatemysalad]

Bran mash works for mine.

 

[Regandal]

If you can be bothered, grated carrot mixed into the feed worked for mine.

 

[oldie48]

When the old tb had cellulitis, I had huge amounts of drugs to get in him. I used orange cordial because I knew he liked oranges but apple jiuce would also work, eerything got mixed up and then put in a syringe (actually 2 of them)

 

[Leam_Carrie]

Thank you. I can try grated carrot and apple juice as have both of those. I've never tried her on a bran mash... I have grass pellets for my Shetland which I think can be soaked.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Fresh garden mint was a life saver for my old horse, finely chopped up and stirred through a damp feed. It is probably too early for mint to be through in the gardens just yet though, but it can be bought in pots.

 

[tankgirl1]

A horse I used to know had his meds sprinkled on a mollasses butty, on white bread, he loved it and always gobbled it down!

 

[joosie]

Gosh I must be cruel... I just mix with plain water and syringe straight to the back of the throat. They don't even have a chance to taste it much less to spit it out!

 

[Remi'sMum]

Custard or apple sauce?

 

[SEL]

Apple sauce for mine....

Good luck. It's so frustrating when you need to get meds down them. The amount of times I've wished the manufacturers would do a mint version!!

 

[Goldenstar]

Unless the horse is on a swanky antibiotic I would just buy it in syringes

 

[3OldPonies]

I used to get baby food for my fussy boys. It's only got natural sugars and they loved the carrot or apple pie flavours. Mixed the meds in well and syringed it into them. Not too expensive either, one jar or 1/2 pouch per syringe.

 

[Red-1]

So make it sweet for her, I have icing sugar. I assume it’s a very small quantity?

(I should mention she has cushings, but is on prascend, so try to keep low sugar... but right now the priority is getting in the meds... which the vets agrees with)

I would just get the vet to give you an injectable antibiotic. It is the best way to make sure the medication gets where it should be. Injecting into a muscle is really not a difficult procedure, and if you learn it now then if your horse is ever seriously ill you will be equipped.

 

[Pinkvboots]

It's much cheaper and easier IMHO to just buy some icing sugar and sugar and drugs altogether in a syringe and shove it down like that.

But icing sugar is not really very good for them especially if you have one that's over weight or prone to laminitis, peppermint essence has no added sugar neither does the custard powder.

 

[Chinchilla]

But icing sugar is not really very good for them especially if you have one that's over weight or prone to laminitis, peppermint essence has no added sugar neither does the custard powder.

I know. But when we were using it, it was for a very fussy wbxtb who wasn't at risk of laminitis and who always reacted to IM injections, so for that individual, it was the best solution. (She didn't like peppermint, or branch mashes!) Might not be the best for other horses/people/situations but the vet overseeing everything can give more tailored input if needed....nobodies on forums can just make suggestions based of their personal experience and it's down to op's discretion whether they consider it a potential solution and give it a go or disregard it.

 

[tda]

I had a similar problem recently, vet gave me a twice daily dose of 78 tablets to crush and syringe in 🤔
Of you're going for straight down the throat you don't need favouring really, just a very quick hand 😁 there is a trail of gunk up my stable wall 😂 totally missed the pony
If pony is a greedy beggar we would mix molasses in the feed in stead

 

[ponies4ever]

Mine was recently on a huge amount of powder antibiotics and Bute. she's a picky feeder anyway so I was dreading it but switched her onto pink mash and suddenly she couldn't have cared less what was in it!

 

[Otherwise]

There was a thread recently recommending custard

 

[tatty_v]

I can usually get away with adding a mix that he doesn’t normally get and some garlic to mask the taste. But then he is a strange one and will happily wolf down the vast quantities of antibiotic powder but carefully separate out any granules of Danilon! Speedibeet worked well to disguise that 😊