Sunday, January 27, 2013

I knew it was too good to be true


It took Hank three servings of antibiotics on top of his food to decide he didn't want to play that game anymore. 
No problem. I was prepared to go back to my syringe-full of medicine method, newly improved and perfected 
thanks to the very smart readers who commented on this post. Forget everything I said and did then, 
because the following method trumps that and then some.



My new technique is similar, minus the coffee grinder, the applesauce, the cheese spreader, 
and the great big stinkin' mess I made all over my kitchen.
The champagne flute wouldn't even be necessary were I not trying to photograph the process.



I cut the tip off the syringe and widened the opening to about a half inch - big enough to drop in the pills.



I pour in just enough room-temperature water to cover the pills.




...then I stick my finger over the hole and shake the syringe until the pills stop rattling - about 10 seconds is all it takes.

Using the least amount of water possible seems to be the best approach.
The thicker the mixture, the better, so it doesn't spill out of the syringe on the way to the barn
or out of the horse's mouth once you squirt it in.




Then I squirt in a little molasses. It sort of looks like Bosco, don't you think? 
Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers Bosco.



Where would I be without my chopstick? It's the perfect tool for stirring molasses 
into dissolved pill paste through the top of a cut-off syringe.



With my coffee grinder/applesauce method, I would end up with a full syringe of stuff that was difficult 
to administer in one squirt because my finger-span isn't big enough reach the bottom of the plunger when the syringe is full. 
With this method, there's less stuff and no muss or fuss.

Hank is doing fine, by the way. The swellings on his lower abdomen are barely there, though they seem to have relocated 
to his chest area. Our vet is not convinced we're dealing with dryland distemper/pigeon fever. We'll re-evaluate once the antibiotics run out.

20 comments:

  1. I immediately thought of pigeon fever when you said his chest was swelling. I know you'll keep us all posted.

    Looks like you have a good handle on the meds situation. (You could medicate an elephant successfully with that method! LOL.)

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  2. Simple is good. We like simple. Glad to hear that Hank has improved.

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  3. Where on earth would he have gotten pigeon fever? He hasn't been near any other horses, has he?
    I hope that's not what it is. Goodness, we had terrible cases of it around here last summer.

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  4. I have administered meds to cats, dogs, squirrels and other small animals...it never occurred to me how the heck you would give a horse a round of antibiotics. Whoa Nelly...that's pretty dang cool!

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  5. Makes me think: When teaching kids to do division, always teach the long, complicated way first. That way they are overjoyed when they learn the shortcut.

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  6. looks like a very straight forward approach to administering the pills. good for you and Handsome Hank. Oma Linda

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  7. BOSCO!!!!!!! Right up there with Ovaltine.

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  8. Poor Hank. I hope that whatever it is he's coping with goes away soon! (I mean the swelling, not you and your syringe).

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  9. Oh the things we learn on the internet!

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  10. P.S. now you can send your sister her wine goblet back!

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  11. This method is definitely neater. Hope the antibiotics work on whatever Hank has.
    I had to Google Bosco! Just one more thing we didn't have at our house.

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  12. That actually looks good enough to eat! :) I loved Bosco!

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  13. Oh Hank! Well, they always figure it out sooner or later. Hope he likes the new "Bosco" style meds.

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  14. Wow this looks like the hard way! They make a pill pusher! Just put the pill in the pill popper insert to back of mouth and push.

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  15. The smaller the volume the better. Much improved method. Hope he is all better soon.

    I know Bosco. Don't know that I ever had it, but know it. But the memories are kind of fuzzed out now anyway :)

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  16. You are very stinkin' clever! I wouldn't have thought the pills would dissolve that quickly.... go figure!
    I'll have to google boscoe :-/
    I know you feel uneasy about any health issues; but since you've noticed some improvement, we'll be positive that the antibiotics will knock it out!!!
    You're a great Mom, you know that?
    Keep is posted on Hank's ever changing palette.

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  17. Just googled Bosco. How in the hell did I miss out on that tasty treat!! Stupid health-food nut parents..... we missed out on all the good stuff!

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  18. Hank is turning you into an everyday MacGyuver!

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  19. Just wanted to say that my senior gelding would get those swellings in the wintertime. They were tender enough that he let me know he didn't want me touching them. No other symptoms. I never pursued it, because it seemed inconsequential. The were symmetrical on each side of midline, I think. He is gone now, and he did have one weird illness where he just lost weight and was intermittent lame, and when they drew his blood, his liver numbers were astronomical. They asked if he could have gotten into some kind of poison...um, no. We did 10 days uniprim antibiotics, he improved and lived another year. Very strange, but thought this info might help. Hope Hank is well by now. :)

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