Re: [RC] Penicillin Shots for Horses--Vets? - Heidi Smith
>>She wants me to give the shot tomorrow as she will
be out of town.
>Maybe you ought to contact a Vet and have the Vet show the owner and
you how to do it. IMHO...You should be giving this injection in the butt muscle.
Are you sure the horse was not having an allergic reaction???? Cuz if he was,
they next injection may kill him.
>My best advice to you, CALL THE VET~!! Do not attempt this
yourself
>Raven (Who is NOT a Vet, nor do I play one on TV....but...who is deadly
allergic to Penicillin)
Raven, you are right on target. Penicillin is one of the top drugs
for producing anaphylaxis, so you need to have a better idea just WHY the horse
was going bonkers after the previous injection.
Secondly, a very wise anatomy professor who had also spent years in
practice once told me that his thumb rule is to NEVER give an injection of more
than 1-2 ml in the neck muscles. They consist of thin sheets of different
muscles, instead of just one big muscle belly, so there is a good chance of part
of the injection going in between sheets of muscle (where the dynamics of
absorption are different than if the substance actually goes into a muscle),
never mind the fact that the depth of muscle there simply is not sufficient for
an injection of that size.
Thirdly, no, do NOT put the injection in the top of the buttocks.
That's an area with no ventral drainage, so should problems arise from the
injection, the results can be serious.
The back of the thigh is the site of choice, but on a green horse without
adequate restraint (in this case, perhaps stocks), I'd resort to the
pecs--although with an injection that large, I'd split it--half in one side and
half in the other.
But once again, I'd be leery given the lack of an adequate description of
what really happened with the last injection...
