Ear ointment help

Jane&Ziggy

Jane&Ziggy

Jane&Sid these days!
Apr 30, 2010
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Sid's ears are a bit better, but by no means all the way there. The vet has left me with an ointment to apply, a combination anti inflammatory and antibiotic. Sounds great! But... how do I get it in his ears? He is too strong for me to hold his head still. Even a handful of sweeties doesn't keep him still enough. I am really struggling - it doesn't help that the ointment is really drippy and falls off my finger even as I raise it to his ear.

Wise words sought and will be gratefully received!
 
I hate to say it but twitching him may be the way to go, and make sure he's looking drowsy before you try.
 
I am having trouble with NR these days as have lost the preview? But wanted to say in the above that this is not medical equipment nor high grade icing equipment.
I also use tala icing bags where you put the icing in a bag and squeeze it out through a corner, using a nozle if you want. So you could snip the corner off a normal poly bag and squeeze the liquid into his ear like that. It only needs a tiny snip as a small cut makes quite a big hole,
 
No help.
But a funny response is to get an ear bonnet, stick some cream in. Pop out on his head, massage and stand well back. šŸ˜‚
 
Could try one of those lick block things like a horselyx? I'm not sure if they are that great for horses so would have to see what the ingredients are but advantage is that could put it on the ground making ears more accessible. I know some horses find them very distracting so he might let you then do his ears without much bother
 
newforest said:
No help.
But a funny response is to get an ear bonnet, stick some cream in. Pop out on his head, massage and stand well back. šŸ˜‚
Click to expand...

Depending on the consistency of the cream that may actually be a good idea, though you'd have to have enough of it that it didn't matter if some was wasted.
 
I feel your pain. Raf needed ear drops last summer and it was a real struggle getting them in, but at least it was a quick squeeze and stand back. I mean a lot was wasted as it was a bit of pot luck whether I managed to hit the target as he struggled away. The distressing thing was that it made him headshy and it was a long time before he trusted me to put a hand up to his head, he'snot 100% now. Twitching may well be a better option than having a fight and risking the same.
 
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@Jane&Ziggy I bet someone on your yard would know how to, and most yards seem to have one hanging around somewhere, if you or a helper has strong hands you can even do it without a rope twitch - I used to with Jim. This is a demo link https://www.horseillustrated.com/horse-health-twitching-horses-how-does-it-work , it looks harsh but is very effective and as soon as the pressure is released the effect is gone and it would mean you got the cream on effectively.
 
Molasses is my friend. Great distraction for getting needles into Billy when the vet has come. I use a bucket lid (you could just use a bucket i guess). Pour a big blob of molasses onto lid and sprinkle with some of his hard food. He cant just grab a mouthful of grub, he actually has to work to get the food from the sticky mess. Its enough of a time delay distraction for the needle to be slipped in.
Billy loves his Horslyx but its not enough of a time distraction for him. The food doesnt stick to it enough.

What ointment has the vet prescribed?
 
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This is when it pays to have already been fussing with the insides of the earsšŸ˜€. I make sure to ā€œexamineā€:every orifice my horses own every time they get groomed, which is every days as mine are homešŸ¤ 

That said, before you put the ointment on your finger tip, look DOWN while holding him. Slowly ā€œmassageā€ your way up to the poll, then the backs of the ears, then just inside the ears. .

Make the massages quick inside the ears.

Repeat process with the ointment on one finger that wonā€™t touch the body until you get to inside the ear. Be quick and even if you donā€™t get the ear swiped as good as you should something is better than nothing, in this instance.

I learned this process (looking downward) is a LOT LESS intimidating to the horse when I had a knock on the head that left me with a concussion and a bad case of vertigo (it wasnā€™t a horse).. I couldnā€™t even look up and into my 15.3H horseā€™s ears without passing out. I figured out how to feel my way to clean their ears and they both were amazingly great with the ā€œfeelā€œ process and me not looking at them.

I donā€™t get the psychology of that but it worked on both of my horses which was great because I lived with that vertigo for a couple of years, until I found a chiropractor that keeps my head adjustedšŸ™ƒšŸ„“šŸ™ƒšŸ„“
 
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Does he enjoy them being rubbed/scratched? None of mine are keen on cream in ears despite daily handling, but Jess, Dan and Niko will let me if I scratch up there neck and gradually rub the ear, then switch to the finger with cream on. Hank will have none of it no matter what Iā€™ve tried, if I really have to get stuff in his ears I have to restrain him and I probably wonā€™t get near him for a week after, his ears always seem to be sore but no obvious reason why.
 
This reminds me of when I had to give Ben a mouthwash daily. He would go bonkers and drag me around the yard or stable, I just couldn't do it. I then asked one of the yard staff to do it for me, and with their 'no nonsense' attitude they quickly got the job done. I then learnt to firmly hold his nose and be much more assertive when the tried to pull away. We eventually came to an agreement where he would tolerate it if I was quick. So I guess my advice would be to try and be firm and workmanlike about the task.
 
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Thank you all for your advice. I will try to be firm but my biggest problem is that the ointment, a combination antibiotic and anti-inflammatory designed for dogs, is very soft and heat sensitive and slips off my finger. It won't stay on to be jockeyed into position. I will even look into twitching.
 
What about a little ball roller bottle, like a deodorant one but smaller. Or is the aim to get it into the ear canal?
 
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Ale said:
What about a little ball roller bottle, like a deodorant one but smaller. Or is the aim to get it into the ear canal?
Click to expand...
Thatā€™s not a bad idea if the ointment is thin enough to where you could warm it enough to get it to come thru the roller.

 
Could you put the ointment onto a cotton ball and wedge it in the ear in the appropriate place? Then remove it an hour or so later, to give it time to soak into the sore bit
 
Jessey said:
Could you put the ointment onto a cotton ball and wedge it in the ear in the appropriate place? Then remove it an hour or so later, to give it time to soak into the sore bit
Click to expand...

Knowing how large the opening of the ear canal of Jokerā€™s ears were, that may not be a good idea.

Iā€™ve never had a horse with such large openings. I could take one sheet of a paper towel, soak it in meds, twist it, and get it further into his ear than any of the other horses. It goes without saying that his ear filled with dirt and always itched. Joker was so happy to have his ears cleaned, he would lower his head (without a halter) when I pointed and said ā€œclean your earā€. If he wasnā€™t so welcoming to that medicated paper towel, it was dangerous as far down as I could get, inside his ear.

So no, I would not be in favor of cotton balls but as Iā€˜m writing, taking the cotton ball idea and switching to putting the ointment on the end of a twisted paper towel might be better than nothing.
 
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