Is there any other way of Giving Horse Pergolide ????Ideas please

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treacle86

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Hi giys , just wondering , My 12.2hh pony has cushings and is on 2mg pergolide tablets each day , he is doing great , but it is getting so difficult to get his tablets into him !! he is getting very difficult to catch , despite having treats , titbits , taking his friends away etc , penning him into smaller paddock , headcollar left on etc .

then when i get a hold of him, he refuses to eat anything i give him by hand , mints, softmints, feed , apple , carrots anything , he snuffles it and throws it outa my hand , hes getting wise to every trick .

I have been using a little pipe thing to pop the tablets in and then open his mouth and blow them right into his mouth , into back of his throat but he is getting so difficult doing this too, he wrestles us and throws head about , and is now trying to bite etc , when we eventually get them in he is getting very agile and able to spit them out again !!!!
grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

is getting quite distressing for both him and me , as he needs him medicine but he is starting to hate it , and hate us for trying to give him it !!! little ratbag !!!

So basically just wondered if anyone knows , if i can give pergolide any other way ,ie , injection into neck etc ??? or maybe a double dose type thing , so it was only every other day he had the ordeal , etc , any ideas be great .

Have spoke to my vet but he is on holiday at the moment so will have to wait and hear back from him .

So any ideas meantime that i can think over and discuss with him be great .

thanks xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Can you give him a small feed, crush the tablets and put it in? (including a few bits of apple and other tasty things) maybe a bit of speedibeet water if anyone on your yard will give you a bit or peppermint or apple juice to disguise the taste?

Good luck!
 
Use the treats to get the pill into him.
If he likes apple, cut a chunk, pop the pill inside and feed..
I use a tenny tiny bit of sticky bun. It seems to disguise the taste somewhat.
 
Does he like bread? If so, grind it and put it in a sandwich. You can use treacle, jam or sugarbeet to stick it in. We use this method for giving bute, ventapulmin and pergolide to donkeys!
 
Ditto the sandwich, does not usually fail. My pony has his pergolide put in a chunk of carrot I bore a hole in with a screwdriver and poke the tablet down.

If he is not taking treats off you at all it may be difficult, but I would try the sandwich trick with jam, I have put in some nasty tasting medicine in them and they have ate them.
 
We're having similar problems with my little mini-Shetland, except she's more of a size that I can successfully wrestle.
I've tried allsorts, but after a few days she has worked out what's happening and refuses the treat. My latest 'treat' is to insert tablet into a small piece of garlic bread. That's worked so far. BUT I've also managed to put her off apple, carrot and other succulent treats. Putting it in feed doesn't work at all as she won't eat any of her feed if she suspects it's in there. Bread and sandwiches don't work with her either and i'm fast running out of ideas.
 
With the smaller shettie could you crush the tablet, dissolve it in water or similar and use a syringe like you would with a wormer? (Suggested it with the smaller one as you mention she's of a wrestling size ;))
 
Thanks QueenBee, I think crushing and putting in a syringe is going to be the next option. I used to give it her in a tiny amount of apple sauce.
Treacle, sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread. Just agreeing that it's becoming a nightmare. I wonder if the tablets taste really awful?

Sue
 
If they like bananas they're very good for hiding tablets. Strong flavour and smell to disguise the tablet and nice and squishy so they get swallowed without chewing.
mind mine will do about anything for a banana but some don't like it.
 
My shettie did go off his feed for a few days when he first went on pergolide, and he his naturally a picky eater. But since he has been on the pergolide he is extra picky he will not touch any chaff and now does not like too much speedi beet, so he has dampened down fibre nuts.
But I have not found giving him his tablet a problem but he only has 1/3 of a tiny tablet, I just bore the hole in either carrot/apple push the tablet in and he eats it from my hand.
I do make sure this is his only treat so he looks forward to it and it,s the first thing he looks for when I go to check and feed him.
 
We put ours into the middle of a polo mint. Seems to work. The mare is VERY fussy with feed,and if the pergolide had an awful taste, I am sure she wouldn't take it.Seems to prefer the spearmint polos to the usual ones,oddly though!
Good luck.
 
Thanks everyone for all the ideas , i have been alternating between wrestling him and doing the pipe blower thing , and giving him little treats with and without the pergolide , so he doesnt alwasy associate a hand given treat with his nasty medicine!!

am giving him various bits of fruit and polos , sandwhiches etc .

xxxx
 
Please be careful about crushing it with water and syringing it - check with your vet first. My friend did this with bute sachets and it caused horrific mouth ulcers.
 
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