However, it can be used as a last resort for a difficult horse or a horse that is sore in all other injection sites. Novice horse owners often worry about injecting air into the horse when the needle is inserted without the syringe attached. Make sure you reward your horse immediately afterwards with a scratch and a bit of carrot, apple or another favourite treat. Amongst other reasons, it hurts like hell. Larger gauge needles may break more easily than smaller gauge. Drop about 1 inch below the tuber ischii and inject anywhere in the large muscle mass along the back of the leg.
If your needle and syringe are not already connected, connect them now so you can draw up the medication. There are several methods of giving the horse an IM injection.
The area covered by your palm is the injection site. It’s important you only give injections if you feel comfortable and you know what you’re doing.
Landmark 3: the tuber coxae (commonly known as the point of the hip). If you have any questions about the dosage, get clarification from your veterinarian. Remember, a larger gauge number equals a smaller diameter. It is safest to pull the needle out completely and start over in a different area with a clean needle. If blood appears in the needle hub, pull the needle back slightly within the muscle (do not remove it completely) and redirect it. For a 500kg horse, you should not inject more than about 30mL into one site. This should be relatively easy to find.
The size of the needle depends on the medication being injected.
Think of the subcutaneous layer as the white pith that sits between the skin and the flesh of an orange. Be prepared for an adverse drug reaction. The site should allow the needle to be placed deep in the muscle without danger of hitting bone, ligaments, nerves or blood vessels.
What is important is to remember it’s always one needle per injection per horse, then discard it and the syringe. He or she may leave epinephrine to be administered in case of such reactions. Q: Is this a once-off injection? Open the packages immediately before use and dispose of them immediately after use, preferably in an approved medical waste container.
Attempting to insert the needle slowly usually results in a bent needle and an angry horse.
It is also a good practice to use more than one injection site — for example, the neck and the buttocks — when giving several separate medications or vaccines at once. It is a good practice to check the label before you draw the medication out of the bottle and again before you inject the drug into the horse. Landmark 2: the tuber ischii (commonly known as the point of the buttock).
I had to give my horse her last 4-way shot..i had to give her two. A quiet horse may allow you to simply pop the needle into its neck or buttocks. Because this muscle is used every time the horse takes a step, it is a good site for drugs that might cause swelling and pain at the injection site. This may differ from the instructions given by your veterinarian. The pectoral muscles in the chest are another possible injection site (see Figure 3). There are a few basic rules to follow, no matter which injection method you use. Some commonly used drugs can kill a horse if accidentally injected into the bloodstream.
Removing any especially gross dirt with a brush is all that’s needed. You could also consult your veterinarian about this method.
Jenni suggests being guided by the rhyme ‘right at night’. It is not uncommon for horses to have an excitatory reaction to a component of the penicillin injection. IMAGE A: Learn your horse's body landmarks, so you can inject into a major muscle, and stay clear of bones and ligaments. This injection site is the bunchy muscles in the lower half of the chest between the tops of the forelegs.