Using a paediatric inhaler on a horse

[Patches]

Patches has been exposed to a dodgy bale of hay that was clearly very mouldy (smelt vile!). Hubby still fed some of it to her! (BAAAAD Hubby)

She has a runny nose as a result of the fungal spores. She's working fine, not coughing or blowing, but her nose is running profusely.

Last summer she had five weeks off work with a cough/chest infection/virus which all the horses had. I have some fun rides booked for next month and Patches is rather fit at the moment as per the vet's instructions post hock treatment for the start of spavin.

So, after a discussion with the vet, it's been decided to start her on antibiotics and an inhaler for a short course to try and help her lungs settle after the exposure to the fungal spores.

I have two separate inhalers to use, Salbutamol and Beclometasone. Ten puffs of each a day using a paediatric volumatic dispenser.

Question is how? It seemed obvious when the vet gate it to me but it has a mouthpiece for a child to blow the inhaler in from. Patches is good, but she's not going to suck on that!

So, after rambling, how do you adapt it for use in a horse?

 

[Patches]

Thinking about it....do I just tape a bag to the mouthpiece end and hold it over her nose?

 

[Lucy_Ally]

Can you puff it up her nose? A friends horse had COPD (or whatever it is called now!) and he had a nebuliser thing where he had a mask and was strapped to a gas canister!

Sorry that probably wasn't much help!

Ps, no point in putting it anywhere near her mouth as horses cannot breath through their mouths.

 

[Patches]

Nooo....I realised that error after I typed it, but was running to school with kids.

I meant just hold a bag over her muzzle. Not sure she'll let me puff it up her nose. She's so funny and suspicious. I'd have to twitch her I think else she'll not hold still. Would that work?


ETA. I did put nose not mouth. Just re-read my post. It's was the initial post in the thread where I put she won't suck on the inhaler thingy...that was a joke...honest

 

[Lucy_Ally]

Mmm, yes she may get funny after the first puff. Vets never think things though very well do they?!

Like you say, probably your best bet would be to use a bag and fasten it around her nose. An old fasioned nosebag would be ideal, puff all the dose in and leave her for a few minutes to breath it in.

These are veterinary nebulisers so is there a blue peter style way you could fashion your own?!

http://www.wyke-equine.co.uk/equine_nebulisers.htm

http://www.genitrix.co.uk/products/aeromask.htm

 

[vicijp]

Ive always used them with a spacer thingy (same as human). You can get a rubber attachment for the end that encases the nostril.

 

[Patches]

Oooo I like the second one Lucy. I could just do with that!

I'm hoping that I might not have to do it for many days. I spent an hour and a half completely emptying her very plush straw bed last night, washing the mats off, cob webbing the stable (which I do once a month anyway) and generally clearing her area of dust as best as I could.

She's now on shavings with good quality hay (new batch delivered from new supplier on wednesday) which I've soaked.

Vet's just concerned that she might be susceptible to chest infections after them all being quite ill with the virus last summer. All the other three just coughed, but Patches had it settling on her lungs and producing vile gunk from her nose.

 

[Patches]

Arrr.....there is an infant attachment. I never thought about that! D'oh. It's a clear silicon jobby thing. I'll try that.

I have visions of her flinging her head about and knocking it on the floor, breaking it. She hates being messed with. Proper madam.

Problem made worse by having no one on hand to help me. Duncan's running about like a headless chicken this morning as he has a dental appointment and needs to get certain jobs done before he leaves.

 

[kildalton]

Best of luck. We had to use one on my daughter's horse, and she wouldn't have ANY of it. Normally she is very good, but she was really dangerous. She doesn't mind things in her nose, but it was when the inhaler made the whoosh sound, she freaked. We gave up in the end.

 

[Patches]

Hmmmm I found out how much she hated it this morning.

First suggestion from Lucy to spray straight up her nose....REAR vertical, legs flailing.

Second suggestion to use the silicon/rubber infant attachment over nose....REAR vertical, legs flailing and hubby dangling from twitch we'd employed.

Quick call to vet.....stood outside, sprayed inhaler into the chamber on the volumiser thingy. Hubby held twitch on and let her settle. Walked into stable, placed over nose....she breathed in and I saw the valve move up and down. SUCCESS.....or not quite. I hadn't realised you're supposed to cover the other nostril up too!

Oh well. We have it all to do again tomorrow. After all, practice makes perfect!

 

[kildalton]

Good luck !!!

 

[Scarlett1980]

i'd call your vet and ask exactly how they propose you get her to use it!

if all else fails i swear by winergy ventil-ate supplement. worked a treat on mine, vet recommended it to me and it cleared her up in four weeks.

 

[Patches]

Four weeks!!! Eeek. I need to keep her fitness up.

Just spent £1800 on having her hocks treated. It's paramount that she stays in full work now to maximise the benefit of the treatment. Runny nose couldn't have come at a worse time in all honesty.

Might put her on a breathe easy supplement whilst I'm at it. She was fine to take the inhaler after I was informed I didn't have to spray it into the volumising chamber whilst stuck on her nose.

Fingers crossed we'll get on top of it before it settles into an infection on her chest. She's not unwell in herself and was jumping perfectly well on Wednesday without coughing or snorting.

 

[Dougie]

we get clients to use the silicon bit, usually works fine. pherhaps fill chamber as vet suggested before entering stable(covering the end

)

 

[Santa_Claus]

little pony who used to be at yard has to have inhaler twice a day over spring summer due to a form of hayfever/dust/grass allergy!!!

The 'contraption' he has is the normal little inhaler attached to rigid plastic 'chamber' then on end is what looks like oxygen face mask (for small children not yet used to action of the inhalers).

Put mask over one nostril and block other nostril with hand! he used to it by time he left yard and one person could do it by themselves but initially he needed at least two people even though he is only 11h!!