Tips on getting a horse to eat antibiotics?

[illy89]

Just got my horse back from having a tie back op and she has been given 5days worth of antibiotics but i can't get her to eat them! Any tips or feed i can buy which masks the taste/smell?

Thanks

 

[devilwoman]

My friend has to mix the feed with some apple squash/juice when she has antibiotics in her horses feed. My horse is such a greedy cow she just eats it

Hope your horse recovers well x

 

[flying solo]

A touch of apple cider vinegar mixed with chaff and his meds always helps with my pony Good luck

 

[Daisy11]

TRY APPLE JUICE , garlic , slice of bread , honey , failing that syringe it down

 

[Montyforever]

Ditto the apple juice, covers any taste Honey is very fussy and i can get her herbs into her with apple juice no problem if not cut up pieces of apple and put (if tablets) and stick the pills into the apple, they never notice BUT Since we sedated her using that method, Honey wont eat apples

 

[tangoharvey]

easy.....get a carrot, and a corkscrew (!) and corkscrew out the core of the carrot, put the antibiotic in hte core, and feed said carrot to horsey!!

 

[claireandnadia]

Nadia has pernamax tablets and I have to make a hole in the apple of pear and put them in there. Works a treat.

 

[Louby]

mix with half a cup of warm water and syringe if all else fails

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I would defo syringe, my horse is fussy I have to syringe panacur guard cos he won't eat it in his food.

Drugs are too expensive to waste trying methods you don't know will work for your horse, and you need to know your horse has had its medication. Once you've put it in whatever you're trying its too late.

Good luck.

 

[Maesfen]

If you have pills, it's always easier to grind them up first then either add water/juice and syringe them down (but be warned, it might make them funnier to be wormed with a paste afterwards) or add to the feed with sugar beet or juice.

 

[illy89]

Thanks everyone. She has a massive sachet of powder so can't put it in an apple or carrot. Will give the apple juice trick a go and failing that use the syringe!!

 

[odd1]

i have to syringe any sort of medication down my horses throat, i just mix it with a bit of luke warm water and squirt it down the hatch

 

[S14Tobin]

I really struggle getting bute down mine, and as he's on it daily now, I really need to! best thing I found was a jar of cheap runny honey, and mixing some powdered garlic in it... gross, but worked! I feed garlic anyway, so he wasn't suspicious, however, would you fancy it in a sandwich? no.. me neither....

 

[Countrygirl]

An old lady once told me the only way she could give her horse any form of drugs was by mixing it in custard and syringing it down - apparently her horses loved the custard!

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

Black treacle is good for masking the smell / taste of sachet antibiotics I find.

Only downside is its a bit like tar and rather messy to use.

I tend to disolve a good dollop in warm water and then poor it over the feed.

 

[MagicMelon]

Brown bread - spread with apple sauce and sprinkle powder on it, make into a sandwhich. Fed my picky pony bute like this many a time.

If its a pill then I just push it into an apple.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I really struggle getting bute down mine, and as he's on it daily now, I really need to! best thing I found was a jar of cheap runny honey, and mixing some powdered garlic in it... gross, but worked! I feed garlic anyway, so he wasn't suspicious, however, would you fancy it in a sandwich? no.. me neither....

Depending on what you are giving bute for, the alternative is danilon, my horse eats it every day in his food no prob, he WON'T eat bute. Danilon is sweet, I know cos I've breathed it in when opening the sachet

 

[S14Tobin]

Depending on what you are giving bute for, the alternative is danilon, my horse eats it every day in his food no prob, he WON'T eat bute. Danilon is sweet, I know cos I've breathed it in when opening the sachet

Thanks He's developed srthritis at 11 (pastern joints), so not sure why they went for Bute first, seems to have done the trick, whats the difference? sorry, threaD HIJACK!

 

[NOISYGIRL]

Thanks He's developed srthritis at 11 (pastern joints), so not sure why they went for Bute first, seems to have done the trick, whats the difference? sorry, threaD HIJACK!

Both antiinflamatory I think and pain killer, Danilon supposed to be better for the organs long term, might be worth you looking into. Mines 31 with arthritis so has one a day, keeps him going Not sure if cost comes into it, I pay about £50 quid a box of 60

If you can get a prescription from your vets you can get it cheaper online, I've never bothered, but the cost seems to be going up all the time so might go down that route soon

 

[wilsha]

put in in carrot? mix with feed?

 

[silu]

My horse had bad lung infection last year and was on, wait for it, 100 human antibiotic capsules a day. Not a hope of getting him to eat the capsules or emptied into his dinner despite all the suggestions people have already given you. Definately the syringe route altho it took hours pouring the powder out of the capsules into the syringe. However he responded very quickly and 100% after 3 weeks. I have a tin of treacle with 3 spoonfuls out of it if anybody would like it!

 

[SillySausage]

i have to syringe any sort of medication down my horses throat, i just mix it with a bit of luke warm water and squirt it down the hatch

Same! The only way it will go down!

 

[threeponies]

My vet told me that the acid in apple juice can stop the active ingredients in antibiotics working- mixing the powders with glycerine is a better way to do it. Black treacle mixed with hot water poured onto a feed works for my ponies, you only need about a tablespoon of treacle.