make shift syringe

[7fluffyfriends]

I had an idea.............finally..........so exciting

and thought of sharing in case it is useful for anyone else!

Of course, you are all such a bright bunch you are no doubt WAY ahead of me !

The vet recently recommended 'Tri Hist' for my mare, Goldie, who has been dealing with heaves this summer. The Tri Hist is a dry powder which, in theory, could be sprinkled over her feed and is to be given 2x a day. The amount is quite small, approximately 1/4 tsp. While she was getting some, most seemed to settle at the bottom of her feed dish and just sit there. You know, it is a small amount equivalent to fairy dust, but absolutely looms at the bottom of her dish...........at least to my eyes! All I can see is money and treatment blowing in the wind!

I tried to hand feed her the dose, you know, "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down"? Well, as charming a song as that is, whoever wrote that did not have a horse! Neither sugar, nor peppermints, nor wheedling, begging, or pleading helped.

(Wine did help, but that was for me, mine, all mine!)

There are some extra empty syringes in the first aid bucket, which seemed to have potential. I first tried diluting the 'dust' in water, but it was too thick for the thin neck of the syringe. So, I took a knife and whacked off the end of the syringe. This left me with a cylinder and the plunger. I then measured and poured the dry dose into the tube and used as I would a paste wormer, simply inserted the syringe in the side of the mouth and pushed.

It works well and even though it is in dry powder form, the mare's tongue and teeth seem to keep the powder from being 'inhaled'.

Now at least she is getting her complete dose twice a day.

Victory is sweet!

 

[chandab]

Yes, that is how I started out, then I discovered catheter tip syringes, bigger opening. And, since then, you can get oral dosing syringe through vet supply catalogs. I use unsweetened applesauce to disguise meds.

 

[amysue]

Great idea, I too am a fan of re purposing stuff. I had a morgan gelding with heaves when I was a kid. He ate sweet feed that was pretty sticky so I would fill the pail with grain, sprinkle the powder over the feed and gently shake the bucket to coat the feed in the powder. This worked for years until the feed manufacturer switched up their formula and the grain became dry instead of sticky. I tried molasses, applesauce, you name it, everything was too wet or sticky to bind to all of the meds, and like you, I couldn't justify leaving it behind. One day while browsing at a flea market I found an antique veterinary syringe for sale. It was stainless steel and had a huge barrel on it and interchangeable drench tubes that threaded on. The guy only charged me a buck for it! The barrel and tube were so big that I was able to dose the gelding all at once with it. I still have the syringe today, and still use it.

 

[7fluffyfriends]

Thanks for the great tip, Chandab! Will check that out as a proper replacement. I would never have thought to even look and the applesauce would be a good binder for sure.

Amysue - you reminded me that years ago my husband had a similar item for the cattle. I wonder if it is still around? It would be nice to have a few alternatives on stand-by as my herd gets older!

 

[Miniv]

We've used old wormer syringes and also gravy basters.......depending on the amount and type of thing we were administering.

With old wormer syringes you can whack off the end and make it as large as you want, almost. The gravy baster works for mineral oil, for us.