...drugs...

...how to get your horse, who doesn't even like ginger nuts or garlic, to eat a massive dose of powders in his dinner...
again, stay calm, and carry on...
Horses are naturally suspicious of everything new, it's how they stay alive.

 

Tom, being of robust physical proportions at 17hh needs not a small amount of drugs in his dinner to get him healing from the inside. (Actually it is likely his slight extra weight saved him from a worse wound, remember it only missed puncturing his lungs by millimetres, the fat saved him).  If that's not an advert for pizza, I don't know what is.

 

2 sachets of Bute morning an night, and one and a half sachets of anti-biotics too.  And these aren't small doses either, his anti biotic powders are like an Angel delight, without any delight!

 

The Bute is easy: it's a small amount of powder and can be administered in a few cunning ways: dig out a cavity in an apple or large carrot, fill the area, replace the 'lid' and feed by hand?  This failed to work for Tom, he can smell suspicious powders at twenty paces.  So good luck with that but next, fill his feed with tiny pieces of delicious apples and carrots with a handful of treats chucked in for good measure and fingers crossed, this kind of worked but I had to chase Tom around with the bucket until he got fed up and over the course of an hour almost finished it.  Changing buckets and locations also helped with Tom.  If all else fails, try a syringe.  The vet can give you a plunger without the needle, simply add the Bute powders into it, mix with water or apple juice and shove it down his throat like a wormer.  I didn't say it would be pretty.

 

The Anti-biotic powders can only go in the dinner, try spreading the dose over a few meals too.  perhaps the makers of these drugs can make them carrot flavour?

 

So, after three days into a two week course of powders, he's Bute goes down to a single sachet morning and night.  This is a pain killer and anti-inflammatory, fingers crossed and deep breaths everyone.

It's Friday now, he's doing fine, he's bored at not being allowed out in the field with Henry. His fly rug is on and the wound underneath has sealed over nicely.

Tomorrow we plan on turning him out again with Henry, which considering the depth of the tear he had in his shoulder Monday morning is nothing short of amazing.

I have warned him: any shenanigans, and it's back to the corral!  I define this as galloping, bucking, rolling, leaping, jumping, rearing, messing about and generally being a Trakehner.  It'll be hard, but I'll be keeping my eye on him.

QUICK NOTE ABOUT EQUIPALAZONE:
If you've already had your horses' boosters done this year you'll have done this, but if you haven't, you'll be asked to sign a section in their passports, linked to the drug Bute and how it mustn't get into our food (well don't buy Tesco's or eat horses, then you'll be fine), signing your animal out of the human food chain.