Lesson 12
Administration of Medication to the
horse
Oral Administration
1.
Drenching – administering liquid
medication by mouth. This is not a preferred method usually because horses will
often refuse to swallow many liquids, and in attempting to give it, it could go
down the trachea. This could result in inhalation pneumonia, which is difficult
to treat and often fatal. Never squirt
or forcefully administer a liquid substance orally with the horse’s head
up. Most medications are now formulated
to pleasant tasting or in paste form.
2.
Stomach
tube –
Frequently used on the horse. The
stomach tube is passed up the nostril.
The horse must swallow the tube for it to travel down the esophagus on
the left side of the neck and into the stomach.
This method is used when it is vital that the horse receive an oral
medication or nutrition and he refuses to swallow voluntarily. This is a
difficult procedure and should only be done by a veterinarian.
3.
Balling
gun – Care and
experience are required for this procedure.
It is usually easier for the horse to swallow pills that have been
coated with something such as corn oil.
4.
Feed
additives –
Very common practice with many products, but remember the horse can be very
picky.
5.
Pastes
& Gels –
These formulations are becoming the most widely used means of administering
medications and supplements to horses.
They are formulated in such a way that horses accept them readily. Be
sure the horse has no feed in the oral cavity, as the medication will mix with
it – enabling the horse to spit it out.
Parenteral Administration
1.
Intramuscular
A. Lateral neck muscles. (Above the spine, below
the nuchal ligament and in front of the scapula, in a triangular area. Best for
vaccines and smaller doses of medication (less than 20cc.)
B.
Heavy muscles of the buttocks (semitendinosis & semimembranosis)
–This area is good for larger volumes of medication, however, it takes more
practice to get efficient.
C. Muscular part of the rump (gluteal region) as
it slopes slightly downward – horse usually tolerates this area of injection
very well. The only negative, it is a
bad area for an abscess to form from a contaminated injection.
It
is imperative that a new sterile needle and syringe is used for each
vaccination. This is more important than
cleaning the area. Studies have shown
cleaning the area with alcohol has little effect. Should you want to clean the area, the steps
are: shave the hair, scrub with an antiseptic soap, which must remain on the
site for two minutes, and then rinse with alcohol.
There are several methods of
inserting the needle. Have your
veterinarian show you, and then allow you to do it under his/her guidance. One method is to place the needle into the
muscle, and then attach the syringe and complete the injection. In this way, you can make sure blood does not
flow from the needle. If blood does
flow, you must pull the needle out and reinsert. Another method is to insert
the needle while attached to the syringe, pull the plunger back slightly and
look for blood. If blood appears, move to a different location.
Medications
intended for intramuscular use that are inadvertently injected into the venous
or arterial circulation can cause a severe reaction and sometimes-even death.
Needle size is usually 1-½ inches long and 18 to 20 gauge.
Excessive movement of the horse after the needle is in place can
result in trauma to the area.
2.
Intravenous – I.V. injections are given in the Jugular vein. Intravenous injections in the horse are a
common way of administering injectable medication, but must be done by someone
who is well trained in the technique and familiar with the medication being
used. Beware of the “know it all” around
the barn area who wants to give your horse a “bute”
shot. Bute and
many other I.V. injectables can be very caustic if
not given correctly into the vein, and can cause long term and serious problems
if not done properly.
Improper technique can sometimes cause a
medication to be injected into the carotid artery causing immediate death to
the horse. Phenylbutazone (bute) should only be injected intravenously.
A 1 ½ inch 18 gauge needle is usually used for
I.V. injections.
Common technique that your veterinarian will
follow: hold off jugular vein in lower part of jugular furrow in order to
distend the vein with blood so you can identify it. Insert needle into vein so it is well placed
and blood is flowing, then attach syringe.
Pull back on syringe to be sure you are still in the vein, then administer the medication slowly. Draw back on syringe when you are finished
administering medication to recheck placement and flush needle of medication.
3.
Intravenous catheters – Used when large volumes of fluids are to be
given intravenously. Routinely done on very ill horses. As an owner you may be called upon to monitor
intravenous fluid administration.
Important points in monitoring I.V. fluid administration once a catheter
has been placed are:
A. Usually the catheter is
positioned in a downward direction.
B. Fluids should be flowing at an
even rate, which you can determine by making sure the air bubbles are flowing
up in the fluid bottle.
C. If smooth flow is interrupted
(no air bubbles) immediately close off valve to prevent further flow of
medication. If you note a swelling beginning to appear around the entrance of
the catheter (the catheter has moved out of the vein) immediately close off
flow of medication.
D. The horse is okay if he is
hooked up to an I.V. and the lines are filled with fluid, but it has been
closed off.
E. If you are using an air pump
or other positive flow device and the fluids are either accumulating under the
skin or are running out, immediately close off the flow or at last resort
rapidly pull out I.V. catheter. It can
always be replaced. The idea is to
prevent the horse from having air injected into his vein, or a large
accumulation of fluid out of the vein.
F. If you have given a horse a
large volume of medication I.V. that took more than 30 seconds to give, it is
always a good idea to keep the horse’s head up for 4 or 5 minutes and keep
slight pressure on the injection site to prevent the horse from bleeding back.
Even a 10cc shot in the vein can bleed back if the horse lowers his head to
graze or eat right after the shot.
4. Intra-articular injections – The
injection of a medication directly into a joint. This is a commonly done
procedure in horses to treat a joint directly.
This is a technique which would unlikely be performed by anyone other
than your veterinarian. It must be done
with the utmost attention to sterility, because a joint infection from improper
technique could have devastating affects on the horse. The injection site is
usually scrupulously prepared and a needle is place into the joint without the
syringe. Excess synovial fluid is allowed to flow out of the joint where it can
be visually examined for abnormalities, then a syringe is attached to the
needle and the medication is injected directly into the joint. A sterile gauze pad or disinfectant pad are
placed over the area of injection and is secured by a temporary bandage.
Oftentimes an injection of Bute or Banamine is also
given I.V. to prevent a possible joint flare up.
5. Subcutaneous (under the skin), and
intradermal (between the epidermis and dermis) injections in the horse are
rare.
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