Question:
giving my horse a shot. help!! please!!?
anonymous
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
giving my horse a shot. help!! please!!?
Eleven answers:
gallop
2011-08-08 16:50:31 UTC
No more than 10 ccs should ever be given IM at one site. If you are going to be giving more than one dose, then you have to rotate your injection sites. Penicillin really should not be administered into the neck muscle as it is too thin. The semitendinosus muscle below the point of the buttock is the best site since the muscle is large, the drug will be dispersed as the horse walks around, and if an abscess or hematoma forms, it can drain well in this location. There is also less risk of hitting major vessels or nerves.

When you prepare penicillin suspension, it should be warmed to room temperature and shaken thoroughly before you draw it up. Insert the needle straight in perpendicular to the skin surface to assure getting deep into the muscle, then attach the syringe and aspirate for blood. If any enters the syringe, remove the needle and apply pressure over the site until bleeding is completely stopped. The needle should be discarded into the appropriate container and Ideally you should discard the suspension that has been mixed with the blood and start from scratch. At minimum, be sure to use a new sterile needle, and don't reinject with the same contaminated one.

Be sure you have the right gauge and length of needle for IM penicillin injection. Penicillin has a high concentration of suspended material which can clog the needle if injected too rapidly, so inject it slowly and steadily.



If you still decide to use the neck site, only give one injection on each side of the neck and the rest of the shots have to go into other sites. Again though, it is best not to give penicillin in the neck.

Hopefully your vet gave you epinephrine to have ready in case there is an anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis usually occurs within a half hour after the injection, so be sure to observe for it. If you don't have epi on hand, giving the shot is risky, as reactions to penicillin and to procaine are fairly common, especially if your horse has any other known allergies. If that is the case, i'd have the vet come to show you how to use the buttock site, and to provide you with epinephrine and instructions on what to do in case a reaction occurs.



Here is a link with photos of injection sites you can scroll down to. The one I recommend is at the rear below the point of the buttock.



http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1018/

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Add........... If you do choose the neck site, do not "find a fatty area" on the neck as is being advised in another post. Be sure you use the location pictured in the link I posted, and not above or below it, staying at the base of the neck. This shot should be administered deep IM, meaning it the penicillin is delivered deep into the muscle, which means you don't want excessive fat overlying your IM injection site.

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Add ............... Administration of an IM injection of more than 5 ccs of penicillin into the thin muscle of the horse's neck is not advisable, despite the fact that many vets choose the site for ease of administration just as some human medical professionals still choose to inject penicillin into the deltoid muscle (at the patient's expense) as a matter of convenience while knowing it is not the preferred site. The neck site can be used, but choosing it does not serve the best interest of the horse. Many of us who administer hundreds of these injections on a weekly basis choose to use the Z track injection method in the largest muscle available on a given patient in order to avoid leakage of penicillin through the needle tract because of the associated high incidence of reactions and tissue damage. Just because you can use a site doesn't mean that you should use it.
CindyRVT
2011-08-09 19:51:45 UTC
The link posted above showing IM injection sites is the best information you are going to get on where and how to give them.



However, it is completely acceptable to given penicillin in the neck. Even equine veterinarians do so. And using the neck allows for better rotation of injection sites which is important as you are (should be) given a large dose and localized pain and swelling is an issue you have to be concerned with. Typical recommendation from my equine vet was to rotate from one side neck then rump and then over the the other, rump then neck.



You also should consult your vet about the amount to be given. With the common penicillin products on the market 8 ccs would not be sufficient for a "big boy". You do not want to underdose antibiotics.
gottaride10
2011-08-08 14:46:35 UTC
You can give a shot either in the neck or the butt. I have given shots in both areas. I find it easier to give the injection in the neck since the muscling is not as thick there and the needle goes in more easily. If it is an IM (intramuscular) injection, you will get the best results by an injection in the rear, but either will work. It just depends on what you're comfortable with!
?
2011-08-08 14:59:58 UTC
Alright, we give shots in the neck. First you want him to be ready for the shot. Have someone hold him, and the 'shot giver' standing at his side next to the neck. The 'shot giver' should start tapping his neck in rhythm (with their hand) in the place they are going to administer the shot. Do about 10 taps to get him used to it and then on the next beat put the needle in him instead of tapping him with your hand. Simple as that.... find a fatty area in the neck so the needle will go in better. If you don't get it the first try.. tap him a few more times to get him ready and then try the needle again. My first choice would be to get a horsey friend out that has given shots before, so you can watch before you do it yourself.... but this is the safest way if you must do it yourself. After you have given the shot, save the needle (clean it off of course). You can use it to practice giving shots on a grapefruit or orange.
anonymous
2011-08-08 14:45:10 UTC
I find the neck easier and quicker which means less painful.

Both of my horses have big muscley bums too and the needles never go in easy. If you do have to give it in the bum, make sure you're standing close to the hip so if he lifts his leg to kick, you basically get pushed away before he can.



Personally I wouldn't risk it. Give it in the neck.
JSHalo
2011-08-08 14:45:25 UTC
I always give penicillin in the neck. It really doesn't matter if it's in the neck or rump, just be sure to swap from his left side to his right side every other night so the area doesn't get sore.



And, remember, you can't get penicillin in the bloodstream, so be sure to pull back the plunger to check for blood before injecting.
Leo Lover :)
2011-08-08 15:24:30 UTC
did you hit his neck to soften it up/ hes tightening his muscles they all do that. you need to hit his neck in the area your giving the shot. hit it repeatedly not really hard until he softens his muscles up then give him the shot if it pops out do the process again.
?
2011-08-08 14:43:33 UTC
get someone to distract him like making him look to one side and have your mom quickly put the shot in to his neck.
anonymous
2011-08-08 14:39:41 UTC
I think he would prefer some Jack Daniels
Finley
2011-08-08 15:47:15 UTC
holy hell.



"your friend" tells you where to put the shot? I sure hope your friend is a VET.



Penicillin can be a painful shot because it's THICKer then the usual shot. It needs to go in properly or it can end up between the muscle and the skin and be painful to the horse til it's absorbed into the body.



#1. better be damn sure you're "friend" told you to use the right size syringe and needle

#2. you need to get someone who knows what the hell they're doing to do this.



if the needle is bouncing off, this means that your mother is too clueless to do this on her own. find a horse person to help you before you hurt the horse or end up messing things up by sticking it between the muscle and the skin and he ends up with a huge bulge where the penicillin is sitting there, and he's sore as hell.



you take the needle ALONE and you jab it straight in STRAIGHT into the horse's upper or lower butt (google shot sites on horses!!!)



once the ENTIRE needle is in the horse, THEN you attach the syringe and BEFORE you sink the plunger, you ASPIRATE (means, you pull back on the plunger and if there's blood in the syringe, you pull it all out and start again).... if there's no blood, then you sink the plunger all the way in.



Then rub the site hard with your hand, rub it rub it tub it.



then give the horse a cookie.



EDITED TO AD: if you were TOLD to give it in the butt, then GIVE IT IN THE BUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



you don't get to just choose because you haven't trained your horse to stand still. you must do as the vet told you.



find someone who's competent to do this.
mulewrangler
2011-08-08 14:43:21 UTC
first off if your giving him Penn then im gussing it was perscribed to you by a vet he would have told you WERE to inject it.


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