What to do?

[GeorgeGuns]

I have to give Bri this "medecine" that he hates. I can't mix it with food because I have to give it either 15 minutes before he eats or an hour after. He's wized up. He is becoming nearly impossible to get in at night cuz he knows he has to take this stuff, (but when I finally do et him in, he's better about taking it). I have had to resort to roundpen stuff to get him even aimed at his door, and tonight I needed two lunge whips (aussie style) This is WAY more "exercise" than I am supposed to be giving him, BUT I noticed this evening he is becoming quite a lot more coordinated. He was doing some awesome rollbacks, both leads, hot gait, and never lost balance!!! His attitude is going south though and I don't know what to do about it. He's not aggressive, he just checks out and looks quite dejected after i finally have him where i need him. I hate it. He used to come flying accross the aisle, and now I have to chase him????? I'm sick about it. Our activities are not all medicine related, but he ain't happy when he sees me coming!

And Ed - if you have any suggestions, I'm printing them off!!!

[halfmoonfino]

I would try talking to him about it out loud at a time when you're NOT medicating him. This might calm him down and help you to get out your upset emotions. I've done it with Pitty before when he had an injury on his lip and didn't want it to be cleaned or treated. He'd thrash about and give me those scared eyes. What I finally ended up doing was to stand there, stroke him, and tell him all the reasons WHY I needed to clean up his lip. Horses are smart. They know when you're upset, and sometimes talking it out will help them to feel your true emotions (in this case, show Bri that you don't really want to do this either, but you love him enough to make him better).

Also...have you tried giving him the meds afterwards? If he's coming in to eat dinner ( a positive) and is already contained when you have to give it to him, there might not be as much of a war. There again, you've probably already tried that. How are you administering the medication? Can you put it in a syringe? Sometimes it's less traumatic to squirt it down their throats like wormer. Quick and painless.

When you go to catch Bri, do you bring food? Some people think that's cheating, but I say why NOT reward your horse for being a good boy? I take a few treats out with me to get Pitty (and have done so for years), and I have the only horse at the barn who comes to his name under any circumstances (with or without food). Make catching a good experience. I always try to give food, head rubs, kissies, and a lot of love when I'm catching a horse. I want my horse to enjoy being caught. If you start cultivating that habit, and then give meds after dinner maybe things will work better? You know your horse better than anyone, but those are my little suggestions.

I wish you luck! It's certainly no fun at all to have to play parent and be responsible for dishing out the yuck (all in the name of love).

[GeorgeGuns]

Thanks for your input Heidi. The way my schedule is these days, giving it before feeding is about the only option. Yes it goes in a syringe. Its nasty. Its a homeopathic remedy that is mixed in vodka of all things. I've even talked to Bri about this cuz I know he prefers Guinness and we cant use that! (LOL) He only gets about 3 ccs of it, its not like its a huge amount. Mornings are easy, he's already in. Its the evenings, when he has to come in, and he knows what's coming. I might try bringing him in a little early though, and let him have a tiny bit of hay, or his feed, and then come back later and do his meds.

[Brigitte]

Thanks for your input Heidi.
That ain't Heidi...lol :lol:

[GeorgeGuns]

Oh crap, I don't know where I got Heidi from. SORRY!!! :oops:

Looks like Bri is hiding a puter in the barn and read this thread and felt bad - he's been perfect, LOL!!!! I did switch things up a bit, brought him in early and gave him just a tad of hay, went back out later and did the dirty deed... no sweat. Two nights of that and then this evening he came charging accross the aisle in perfect Bri fashion. Whew. He was a little peeved cuz I didn't have hay in there - running late - but he was a gem none the less. This morning he found out that the apple flavored Panacur ain't half bad, lol. And he still loves me!

[CarolU]

Get ahold of Matt (Cutie blue eyes) and see if his pharmacy can mix it up into something more palatable, say mint.

[PattiB]

Get some jars of baby apple sauce. We mix medicine in the apple sauce, use an old wormer syringe and squirt it in his mouth. They don't seem to mind as much when it is in the apple sauce.

[appyday]

Get ahold of Matt (Cutie blue eyes) and see if his pharmacy can mix it up into something more palatable, say mint.

My babies loved their apple

[GeorgeGuns]

Update: mixing was not an option, this stuff has to be given away from food. The prescription is 2 or 3 cc twice a day. I'd been giving him three, dropped it to two, and oh boy has he been sweet about it! Maybe he was telling me 3 is too much?

BTW he is doing great. I'm supposed to wait until his next appt in June before even thinking about riding, but I may re-do all the prep so when we do get the big OK I can just.. HOP ON. Hmmm. When I get a date (should be around June 1) Shelly ya wanna plan on going with me so you can GET PICS if Dr S says he's good to go? Huh? Wanna? Or Sheri? Yer close, its just in Nottingham... anyone?

[CarolU]

Well, I'm not close enough to take pictures...but I'm sure glad to read he is doing so much better.

I'm so glad you didn't give up on him....he's a sweetheart and you really do deserve kudos for pulling him through this. A lot (most) people wouldn't have.

[GeorgeGuns]

Thanks, Carol. If he'd gone recumbent and been unable to get up, I would have helped him into the next world, but he was no where near ever giving up himself.

[Abejita]

I would like to go ..still playing with the idea of getting Bernie looked at for her headshaking..would have to be down the road though ..got to to get trained first..Cant commit until we get closer to the date though..