Indigo had her annual vaccinations, though it seems she gets her tetanus shot several times a year due to her injuring herself just by looking at something pointy.
Indigo is such a good horse when it comes to our vet known to us as Dr.Bob. He came to float her teeth, give her a physical and collect some manure for a fecal exam.
I do most of my shots myself. Not only does it save money but it saves the poor horses from associating a vet visit with being stabbed by a stranger, which a lot of them do remember year after year.
Doing shots intramuscular, meaning in the muscle, is a relatively simple process that ALL horse owners should know how to do. You never know when your horse is going to get hurt and you are going to have to administer medication this way. It is always wise to have someone help you if your horse is not that good with needles.
Pick a spot as indicated below by the blue dots/boxes.
Anyplace within the blue boxes/dots is an acceptable spot for a intramuscular injection.
It's the spots on the body that have the thickest muscle.
I do my shots in the triangle on the neck. It's quickest and if you have a horse that has issues when they get their shots done your not going to be in the way of flying hooves.
Shots for my area that are recommended are west nile, rhino, rabies, 4 in 1 (tetanus, eastern+western encephalitis and influenza). Plus I get their teeth done once a year. I do them all myself minus rabies.
I had to get Dr.Bob to administer her rabies vaccine since that is one I cannot obtain and do myself. She got her joints checked and her teeth floated. So did Keebler. Neither of them or the other horses had to be sedated to get their teeth done.
He noted as he checked Indigo's joints and knees for a horse her age (shes 18 this year) she has such good knees and an excellent, very strong heartbeat.
After a quick lameness test on Indigo's knees (she trips sometimes when I ride her but shes a little base narrow in front we have figured thats what causes it) we gathered a fecal sample from her and Keebler to have checked to know what we need to worm for.
Dr.Bob checked her shoulder where she lacerated it last fall and he couldn't believe how well it had healed. Take a look for yourself.
I hope this is our only vet visit this year but knowing my horse there may be another.
Do any of you do your own shots? Why or why not? Do you have the vet out in spring to have shots done? What do you get done other than shots.
(Note: Some of you seen a post that appeared but when you clicked on it in your reader it said it was not there. Blogger decided to post a post that was not supposed to be posted. I deleted it but for some reason it still shows up)
9 comments:
I didn't mean to pick on you. That has happened with other blog too, it just happened with your blog today. :)
That was a great intro do doing shots. When doing them yourself it is handy to do each shot on a different day or just in a different spot and keep track of what shot was done where so if there is a reaction you know to what shot the reaction was.
Also I would suggest that if you want to give shots yourself to have the vet do them the first time, or have a knowledgeable person with you in case you have a horse that is not good with shots. I will not do Kinsey myself because she is terrified of seeing the needle, it takes two people to do her.
And personally I hate giving shots. I do. I have for the goats, and do for the horses too. I just hate it though.
Oh and the song is "Bad Case of Loving You" by Robert Palmer :)
Ahah spot on there Beth.
I knew you weren't picking on me I had a few people mention it today.
We do our shots if needed but usually have shots done when coggains is pulled. It is a state law that we do that each year. Last two times the vet came, he gelded for me too.
The barn manager where I board my horse, Katie, taught me how to give intramuscular injections. My gelding, also named Indigo, has these huge scars on his back legs, probably from barbed wire. Anyway, he managed to somehow reopen part of the scar on his right hind and because it was a puncture wound, Katie helped me give him a penicillin shot to prevent infection. So I do know how to give shots if I need to, but I haven't yet attempted to do any vaccinations. Indigo is due for his spring shots, and since he had his rabies done in the fall, I might do the rest on my own.
Everything where I live is 10 times more expensive than anywhere else, so vaccinations end up costing close to $400. And the vets insist on doing vaccinations in the spring and fall, even though in other states, like Kentucky, they only do them once a year. So doing my own vaccinations would definitely save me a lot of money.
Our equine vet's name is Dr. Bobbitt. How funny that yours is Dr. Bob!
~Lisa
I've done my own shots for years. IV & IM (I prefer the neck). I got really good at IV shots in Texas when the halter horses needed vitamins every day. The weanings weren't very cooperative, so I had to hit the vein right away because they didn't give you second chances LOL.
My trainer does my horse's spring shot (5-way) for me-one day I'll do it myself. Then the vet just pulls blood for coggins and gives Daisy her rabies...I also have the dentist come out in spring to get her teeth floated.
I have given vaccinations in the past. Giving shots is easy and no problem for me but after doing a lot of research in to the side effects of vaccines, have chosen never to give vaccinations to my animals again. I certainly don't see the value of a rabies shot for horses. It's just a way for the vets to make more money off you. There is a great website, thetruthaboutvaccines.org Check it out. Do your research.
Liz
Post a Comment