HELP! Sherman won't eat his antibiotics!

ladywiththebaby

Active Member
Mar 6, 2007
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Arrived at the field this morning and Shermans greasy knee that I have been battling is all bloody, and his leg swollen. So called vet who has injected for mites in case it is that, given me some cream, told me to hibiscrub it every few days, and give him antibiotics and bute for the cellulitis. Honestly horse, just one month without a vet bill and twice daily nursing would be nice?!

Anyway he will not eat his feed with the meds in. Now he isn't keen on the fast fibre anyway so not overly surprised. What shall I buy that is tasty enough for him to eat the meds but won't send him loopy?! He is also barefoot so I like to keep feed low sugar and starch too if possible although short term I can make an exception!

I don't want to buy a whole bag of something only to find he won't eat it!!! :banghead:
 
I had to resort to sandwiches to get Rubic to eat her Danilon. 2 slices of brown bread, treacle to get the powder to stick and mask the taste, sprinkle the powder over the treacle, stick them together and feed. Rubic loved her sandwich, she just didn't know what was in it? Might work with Jam and you can buy sugar free/reduced sugar jam? That would be less expensive than buying all sorts of different horse feed!

What antibiotics has he got. Norodine tends to be the first stuff they give and I thought that was fairly palatable, after that I got Baytril for Rubic but that is a foul tasting liquid that I ended up having to syringe into her mouth - nightmare! I hope Sherman is doing better soon!
 
I usually stick a glug of apple juice in K's chaff and chop up apples and carrots small to get him to eat something.

That said, he ate his antiobiotics and bute no bother without it, so maybe he is just a greedy pig :unsure:
 
I had to resort to molasses for Storm - she can suss Danilon a mile off no matter how many apples are in there! Vet gave his blessing as it was the lesser of the two evils - she needed to get it down to get the stiffness eased.
 
I usually stick a glug of apple juice in K's chaff and chop up apples and carrots small to get him to eat something.

That said, he ate his antiobiotics and bute no bother without it, so maybe he is just a greedy pig :unsure:

Seriously Rubic is a greedy pig, I've never known a horse who eats so fast and just continues eating! I always know something is up when she doesn't eat! She just had had enough of the Danilon and decided not to eat her feed, gave her a feed without Danilon and she ate it fine. I tried garlic, she already had turmeric in it, I tried finely chopping parsnips into it as she loves them but nope that didn't help, I tried herbal spearmint, I tried apple juice. I remembered someone had said they had to give some medicines in a treacle sandwich - so glad that worked as I had exhausted all other ideas!
 
Sorry i can't suggest anything for feeding (Rusty is another who will eat whatever is in front of him) but sending healing vibes to Sherman.
 
If we have to give them anything in powder form we mix it up with apple sauce in their feed... never fails!
 
Tobes won't eat bute in any shape or form, including molasses, marmite, jam, or anything else. Danilon he will eat happily.

Am not a huge fan of edible antibiotics because have never found they work, so have always had injectible from my vet, so not much help to you.

Borrow some cool mix from a fellow livery would be my only advice with a spot of water to bind it altogether.

If yours never eats sweety molassed feeds, cool mix is a sure fire winner in my experience.
 
Well, just to update you. I tried a jam sandwich (didn't have any treacle) with just bute in but he spat most of it out. SOME went down but not much!

So went and bought some Happy Hoof as had been thinking of putting him on that anyway as he really doesn't like wet feeds. I only put the antibiotics in there as they are supposed to be palatable, and he gobbled it up!!!

So now just to find a trick for the bute. The feed shop lady sold me some molasses and said to make a small sticky ball of feed, bute and that should do the trick. We will see!!!
 
If he won't eat the bute - which does actually taste unbelievably bitter - tried it myself as Tobes can smell it a mile off in any disguise, just ask your vet to swap it for Danilon. I know some won't eat that , but ultra picky Tobes doesn't mind it at all.
 
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