Horses need a variety of injections-from annual vaccinations to routine medications. There may be times when you have to do the injection yourself instead of calling the vet. If you have to give your horse an injection, do you know what to do? Horses are big and strong animals, so always put your safety first. Ask lots of advice and experienced friends to help you. Before you begin, you should know the basics of the technique of giving a horse an injection or injection.
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Part 1 of 4: Preparing for Injections
Step 1. Ask someone with horse experience for help
If you're reading this article, chances are you don't have much experience giving injections. If that's the case, it's a good idea to ask someone for help-either from someone with horse experience, or your vet. And, indeed, there should be an experienced professional watching the first time you give the injection. If the vet isn't available, ask if the technician can help you.
Step 2. Get professional help with injecting horses who are afraid of needles
It is in this kind of horse that you will find the real challenge, even if the horse can't see the needle! His behavior will be more restless before the injection because he knows what is coming, and wants to prevent it. Generally he will shift left and right, bite, and kick. For the safety of all parties, in a situation like this, it is best to let the professionals do the work.
If you're inexperienced, you'll end up hurting the horse, even if you miss getting hurt yourself. It is very likely that the syringe was bent while it was still in the horse's body. This can damage the horse's muscles, and lead to surgery
Step 3. Ask your veterinarian for safety precautions
To be safe, you must know whether the drug you are about to give will be harmful to you if accidentally injected. For example, there are a number of anesthetics that can cause respiratory failure (stopping breathing) in humans.
Step 4. Always use a new needle every time you inject
Even when you push the needle into the boundary field on the bottle cap, it is enough to dull the sharpness of the needle tip. This in turn will make the injection process painful for the horse. The needle should be as sharp as possible through the horse's skin quickly and easily. If you meet a horse who is afraid of needles, he may have been traumatized by blunt needles in the past.
Step 5. Understand how to give injections into muscle tissue or intramuscularly (IM)
This is the most common injection method, when the needle passes through the skin into the underlying muscle tissue. Since the muscles have a good blood supply, the drug is well absorbed into the bloodstream.
- There are drugs that are painful when injected with the IM method. This type of drug packaging often recommends that injections are not given by the IM method. However, there are IM injections that contain preservatives that are not suitable for injection into the vein.
- You do not have to give intravenous injections or injections. Do not attempt this unless you are a veterinarian or an experienced vet technician.
Step 6. Decide which part of the body to inject
The two most common injection sites are the neck and buttocks. Either of these two locations is fine, it's up to you. However, for agile horses, it is best to have an injection in the neck, because you can get kicked if it is injected in the buttocks. However, large areas of muscle in the buttocks are a better choice if the volume of drug to be injected is large (10 ml or more).
Always make sure to ask your veterinarian or pay attention to the instructions for using the drug on the package, regarding the recommended injection site
Step 7. Secure your position
The person helping you (assistant) must stand on the same side as the horse. The horse's head should turn slightly towards the assistant. This is to reduce the possibility of someone being stepped on if the horse suddenly becomes violent during the injection process.
Better to tie the horse first. A major physical reaction can injure the horse or assistant, or damage the equipment
Step 8. Calm the horse
Have your assistant speak calmly to the horse while you position yourself at the injection site. If the horse is still unable to calm down, try using a restraint to keep the horse still during the injection. While they may seem uncomfortable, restraints are very safe to use, more animal friendly, and commonly used to reduce stress on horses. The safest means of restraint is a loop of rope tethered to a pole.
- Place the top lip of the horse to the loop of the rope.
- Fasten the hoop by tying it to the post over and over again.
- Gentle compression of the upper lip has a calming effect, just as a mother cat carries her kittens by biting and lifting at the nape of the neck.
- It is best to let an assistant operate the restraint to allow your hands to be free to give the injection.
Part 2 of 4: Decide Which Neck To Inject
Step 1. Understand why many people prefer to give injections in the neck
One of your most important concerns when injecting horses should be the safety of all parties involved. When giving a neck injection, it's safer to stand next to the horse's shoulder--away from kicking its hind legs. In this position you also have more control over the horse, because it is close to its head. On the face of it, neck injections provide safer coverage than buttock injections, and are a good choice.
Step 2. Familiarize yourself with the anatomy of the injection site
Aim for the triangle between the midpoint of the horse's shoulder and the slope of the shoulder blade. The top of this triangle is called the "nuchal ligament," which is a curve of muscle along the top of the horse's neck. The bottom of the triangle is formed by the collarbone as it creeps up like a snake up from the shoulder in an "S" shape.
- To find this triangle, place the heel of your hand against the front of the horse's shoulder, about a third of the distance to the neck.
- The palm of your hand is a safe location to give the injection.
Step 3. Determine and ensure the ideal injection site
If the injection is done too high in the neck, the drug will enter the nuchal ligament which supports the head upright. This will be very painful for the horse, and will continue to hurt him every time he moves his head. Meanwhile, if you inject too low, the needle has the potential to scratch the bone along the vertebrae of the neck, which is also painful for the horse.
You also have the potential to hit the neck veins if the injection is too low. And, if the injected drug doesn't match the vein, the horse can die
Part 3 of 4: Decide Which Buttocks To Inject
Step 1. Know the advantages and disadvantages of buttock injections
This injection site is more effective than in the neck, but is more dangerous because you could potentially get kicked on the horse's hind legs. However, the buttocks are the site of choice if you need to administer large doses of the drug (10 ml or more). For example, penicillin always has to be given in large doses.
Step 2. Get to know the anatomy of the horse's rump
The muscle to target for this type of injection is the "semitendinosus muscle," which is at the very back of the horse's buttocks. Imagine if a horse could sit like a dog. Well, the semitendinosus muscle is the part of the muscle that is the seat of the seat. In foals, this is one of the largest muscles in the body, and is therefore becoming increasingly attractive as an IM injection site.
Step 3. Find the ideal injection site
Start by finding the spot on her butt cheek (the slightly bony part at the very back of the pelvis). Drop an imaginary vertical line to the ground, along the instep. Give the injection into the muscle lump along this line.
- Be careful to inject exactly into the muscle, not into the "recess" where the muscles intersect.
- This “overdraft” contains few blood vessels. The drugs injected here will not be absorbed properly by the body and therefore become less effective.
Step 4. Avoid injecting directly into the upper buttocks
This area used to be popular as an injection site because you can stand further forward, and therefore out of reach of the horse's hind leg kick. However, the blood flow to this area is not very good, making the drug less effective. Furthermore, if pus were to form in that place, it would be very difficult to drain and cure
Inject into the upper buttocks only when there is no other option
Part 4 of 4: Giving the Injection
Step 1. Do not "pat" the horse at the injection site
Some people like to pat the horse several times on the area to be injected, quickly and like a punch, using the heel of the hand, before injecting. This is not a smart move. Some people do this because they believe that the patting will numb the skin, and the horse won't feel the needle enter. In fact, however, patting will only warn the horse that something is about to happen-especially if you've done a similar trick before. The horse would be calmer if he didn't know what was going to happen.
Step 2. Remove the needle from the syringe
The first time you insert a needle into a horse's body, do so without the drug in the syringe. This will allow you to “step back a moment” and make sure that the needle is in the correct position and location.
Step 3. Insert the needle at a 90° angle
Use a sharp, new, sterile needle for each injection, then push the needle into the target muscle in one smooth, confident motion. The needle should form a 90° angle to the target muscle. Insert the needle into the hump (the iron part of the needle meets the syringe or syringe).
Step 4. Pull the needle back slightly before injection
Many drugs are harmful to horses if they enter the bloodstream. In the worst situation, it can lead to death. To avoid this, be sure to always "pull" the needle slightly before injecting. This simple action ensures that the needle is actually in the muscle, not the vein.
- Once you insert the needle into the injection site, pull the suction portion of the syringe slightly back.
- If the needle goes into a vein, you'll notice that the blood is drawn into the needle's hump (the part that sticks out slightly on the surface of the skin).
- Pull out the needle and DO NOT continue to inject.
- Use a new, sharp needle rod to find the injection site again, then repeat the process of pulling the needle back slightly until you're sure it's in the correct place.
Step 5. Connect and secure the needle to the syringe
Pull the suction on the syringe again to check whether or not there is blood in the syringe. If all is in order, press the suction steadily to make the injection. Once the syringe is empty, pull the syringe and needle together.
Step 6. Treat the bleeding immediately
A blood clot may form in the eye of the needle in the horse's skin. If this is the case, gently press the area with a roll of cotton wool for at least two minutes. After that, the bleeding should have stopped. If not, hold the wool in the wound until the bleeding stops.
Step 7. Dispose of used needles and syringes responsibly
Once used, syringes and needles are considered "medical waste," which means you shouldn't just throw them in the trash. Must be disposed of according to local authorities regulations.
- Store used needles and syringes in plastic containers with lids. An empty ice cream parlor or something like that, that's fine.
- Give the container to your veterinarian for special disposal at the clinic.
- Make sure to keep the used container out of the reach of children, as long as you are responsible for it.
Tips
- Always be calm around horses. If you're nervous or scared, so will the horse.
- Never give injections or injections if you are unsure or inexperienced, without being supervised by an experienced horse handler.
- Always use a new needle when giving an injection.
