Would you call the vet out on a saturday if...

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Bute is like paracetamol for humans and is absolutely the right thing to use if your horse is uncomfortable due to a high temperature.


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Absolutely.
I wouldn't sit and watch a baby cry in pain i would give it calpol, so why would i not give a horse which is in obviously uncomfortable bute?
A vet's opinion has been sought, so OP has done everything possible.
CotswoldJ i hope your horse is feeling more like himself soon, the worry is awful.
 
another why of trying to get the meds into him is putting a good gulg of molasses over his feed or apple juice. hop he his better soon if not eating normal feed keep on tempting him with anything as long he his eating something that will keep his strenght up try a tonic pick me up something like echinenica or vi-sorbin or immui-plus!
 
Results are in - its a nasty virus. White blood cells are 2 versus the normal range of 5-14.

So TLC, bute to control temp and coaxing to eat.

Anyone have any tips or hints? Spaniel ihow is your boy doing? Does the mint cordial really work?

Also this boy has only been out 3 times since may, how on earth did he catch this? !!
 
Someone I know mixes icing sugar,custard powder & water to a thick smooth paste, adds the bute & syringes that into her horse. It seems to work really well & the horse makes no attempt to spit it out or resist. I also know someone who uses smooth apple sauce.

I really hope he feels better soon x.
 
i make a paste as that is easier to syringe and isnt as easy to spit everywhere. I use smooth apple sauce.
I found sugar and mint cordial didnt make it thick enough and so i got covered far too regularly. Molasses or treacle was just too sticky. Plus he likes apple sauce! I rinsed out the applely syringe over his small tea just to make sure he'd got every last grain!

Viruses are in the environment - most human flu is brought over in the winds from china! therefore, just like humans, they don't need to go out and about to catch stuff. being in contact with lots of other people just make transmision faster.

Hope he gets better soon - poor pony!
 
Ahh knew I forgot something at lunchtime - need to get some jam / sauce for the powders tonight.

Discovered that we only had strawberry jam wth bits in, which would not improve application.

Thanks for the apple sauce tip, as he spat out the last strawberry treat I gave him (was a rare american twizzler). Will look out for the non-chunk sauce varieties
 
baileys no 1 makes a nice mash
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its all my mare would eat when she was poorly.

i think the self medicating was aimed at me as i said to give him bute as its what i would do because i no dam well thats the first thing the vet would tell you to do
 
Cotswold he rallied round a bit until last night as I said in my other post. This morning I got the vet back out as his temp really spiked and he was totally not interested in food in any guise. Suspicion is now secondary infection but at 30 he is unlikely to fight the virus as well as your younger one. God knows where all this has come from, horse never goes anywhere apart from his own paddock and stable and we have no new horses in. im flummoxed.

Today we have scanned lungs, heart, guts and peritoneum plus taken a peritoneal tap. The tapped fluid was slightly yellow but nowhere enough to cause concern to the vet so he has had a/bs and bute again and will be on those for a week. if there is no change vet is going to test for Lyme disease and a few other things.

Oddly though when i took him for a short walk just now he was keen to eat grass. Its just hay and bucket feed he is iffy about.

The peppermint cordial did work until today by the way and I shall think of you tomorrow as Im trying to syringe in trimed' and bute and apple sauce! Oh and vet suggested echinacea.
 
Oh Spaniel I'm sorry to hear about your poor boy, a peritoneal tap is quite serious
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You probably think I am a complete worry wort in comparision!

Temp was much better today - however had to make own apple sauce as note to self failed on the jam / sauce front. So I carefully cooked apple sauce, which he promptly rejected without meds. Then tried maple syrup and anything else hanging around, all rejected.

Then mixed up powders as normal... syringe prompted exploded as he had crunched it and I may have applied too much force, so I covered myself and the utility in paste!

Then I realised as I wormed the herd on sunday I have lots of panacur syringes. So I washed these out and mixed up another batch of antibiotics. After sniggering at me, dad comes to help and on filling the 3rd syringe he tried to get the air out - cue another explosion and dad splattered.

My boy was quite well behaved with 3 syringes of nasty gunk, but dad has to do it, as he won't let me reach!!!
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I really feel sorry for anyone going through this daily palava!
 
LOL, I did think of you this morning! Got inventive now....I cut the end off a big syringe so its just a tube and plunger.

Todays recipe is a teaspoon of apple sauce, a sachet of bute then another spoon of sauce for the first syringe. That went in quite nicely. Second third and fourth syringes are another teaspoon of sauce, as much slightly watered down trimed as possible and then a dribble of peppermint cordial!

By syringe number three he was trying to hide in the corner but I did manage to get everything in minus a few dribbles up my arm!

Temp is down a bit again this morning so I wrapped him up in his siberia style NZ and turned out for half an hour while I sorted the bed out.

He managed to graze and then actually picked at his haynet when he came in so seems a little brighter so far today.

Wish your Dad luck....if I come across any new techniques you will be the first to know!
 
Best wishes to both of you & your neds.

CotswoldSJ I hope you don't think I'm heartless laughing when I know you're so worried but the picture your last post briought to mind had me in stitches!
 
Nari if you'd seen the pair of us in dark fleeces totally splattered with white paste you probably would have laughed your socks off!

My boys temp this morning was 37.5oC so either normal or slightly down depending on which book you are reading!!

I did think about cutting the end off, but not convinced that the thicker paste isn't easier to spit out (although less syringing attempts required!). I don't think apple sauce is working for him, so going to try the peppermint cordial!
 
Vet said he would be happy anywhere between 37.5 and 38.5 and would expect to be nearer 37.5 at this time of year.

Given we were at 39.4 yesterday Im chuffed to bits!
 
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