My turn for a syringe story!

["April" <adlee@bigfoot.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>
>
> >Have you considered using a large turkey baster?
>
> Ug!  I tried that.  The clear plastic one was thin and broke the first
> time I tried it, and with the stainless steel one I couldn't see if the
> stuff went in.  Then, when I finally got it in his mouth and squeezed,
> the rubber end came off and it spilled everywhere.

LOL.  Sounds like a really bad experiment for you, Angie!

I was forced to use a baster to administer drugs to a horse other than my
own.  I frequently horse-sit 2 horses for this lady that goes out of town a
lot.  She pays really well, but I do work!

Anyway, right before she went out of town once, she had to have the vet out.
So Doc Wilson comes out 2 hours before she's supposed to leave town.  He
does a bunch of stuff and gives Mrs. Tym 240 HUGE pills, antibiotics, I
think.  The bute was in one of those convenient paste syringes.  She calls
my answering machine and says "Give Skeeter (I call him Cap'n, due to the
hook-shaped blaze that reminds me of Captain Hook) these these pills twice a
day.  I'll be back in a few days.  And, thanks!"  No big deal, right?
Wrong.

The first night I crushed the pills in a large freezer ziplock bag (they're
a bit stronger than the little ones) with a peanut jar.  That was fun!  :)
Then I mixed the powder and small chunks into some applesauce and blissfully
ran down to the barn to dump it on his food.  Uh, Cap'n didn't even eat.  He
forwent his supper because I put that nasty stuff on his food.

The next morning, I hunted for a syringe.  Didn't find one (little did I
know there was one two inches from the sink, but I couldn't find it).  So, I
did the same thing.  This time I heaped grain over the mixture to disguise
it from Cap'n.  It worked.  Sort of.  He just ate it because he was kinda
hungry.  I knew it wouldn't work all the time.

My feed store recommended a baster.  They were out of large syringes when I
went to get one.  So off I went.  I bought a heavy plastic one and away I
went again.  I mixed the mixture with applesauce and the pills and tried to
pack the stuff in the syringe.  I had to use a knife to push it down to the
tip.

I tied Cap'n to the stall and ended up climbing onto the stall wall (about 5
ft up) so I could force feed him the applesauce.  It was not pretty and
Cap'n was mad.  But at least he got the med and he ate his grain afterwards.

I finally figured out that if I watered the mixture down (less applesauce,
more water), I could squirt it into Cap'n's mouth in about 2-3 squirts.

Just as I got the routine down, Mrs. Tym returned and I went back to my
thankfully, knock on wood, healthy horse.

>I highly recommend a
> little electric coffeegrinder to grind the pills.  It'll make them into a
> fine powder in seconds.

John Lyons suggested this in one of his magazines.  I've been reading back
issues, so I'm not sure what month it was.  Anyway, he reminds people to
keep a grinder solely for the purpose of grinding pills.  DON'T use your
regular coffee grinder!!!  :)  Nothing so funny as a horse on caffeine or a
person on bute!  LOL  He also says to wipe it out with a soft cloth, and not
to use water to clean it.  Something about moisture not drying properly and
introducing mildew or other things into your horse's medications.

April
Chattanooga, TN


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