As most of you know, Mama Tess is on several therapies and medications daily (hence why I keep selling all my jewelry… ;)
…and the medications she can smell a mile away…
Now, the fact that she hates the taste of some of her meds would normally make me reconsider them and try to figure out why she hates the taste.
But, after a year and a half of administering different medications and herbal tinctures, I have found that some medications are life-changing and she just has to eat them.
No ifs, ands or buts.
(As an aside, I’m all for cleansing and eating naturally – which in turn makes the body healthy. I juice daily and eat just about nothing that is bad for me… But, I still recognize the benefit of Western Medicine when needed. And Tess has been very, very sick…)
So besides excellent foods, I have to figure out ways to get those life-changing meds INTO my precious Queen.
Unfortunately, her meds don’t taste very good. Prascend is the worst. I was having to use mountains of auxiliary food to disguise that tiny, bitty (and bitter) crushed pill. It became a game. She wouldn’t eat anything if she tasted the slightest hint of the vulgar Prascend. With great aplomb, she would pick up her bowl and fling it.
The Doxycycline looks like phosphorus or powdered Gatorade. She ate it for a day or two but then turned up her nose.
Equioxx is the least of the offenders but… she still didn’t like it.
This is MT tonight at dinner… She is quite particular about what she will eatl. Of the foods she can eat, I prepare them exactly how she likes them. She has trained me well!
THE PROBLEM – how to get the meds inside the mare?!
I couldn’t get any of these particular meds to dissolve well in a syringe. And I think a syringe of Prascend is even worse than the powder because when I tried (it ended up all over me…) I got stink-eye for an entire day.
The amount of Doxy powder needed was impossible for me to administer via syringe. I’d have to sedate her and I think she’d still manage to hold her breath and spit it out.
I ended up having to hide the powder in her food – which she’d discover anyway and dump.
Not good for her recovery or my pocketbook…
Not only that, ultimately, the worse part… she wasn’t being dosed properly.
This is her tiny bowl of Renew Gold and her meds. That is her big nose trying to get every last drop!
SOLUTION! (No affiliation)
I know there are Founder, Cushings and Insulin Resistant (Tess has all three) folks out there who will run away screaming when I tell you all what I’ve decided to do – that is working for me…
I’m giving MT a cup of Renew Gold, mixed with all of her meds, in a tiny rubber bowl – twice a day.
And she eats every last morsel in about 30 seconds flat!
Done. Dosing is accurate.
This stuff is great and she’ll eat every last drop! I give her a cup with her meds and it is all gone in 30 seconds! (No affiliation)
WHY SOME WILL BALK AT THIS…
Renew Gold is a remarkable feed with Cool Stance (coconut) – which does wonders. But, it is based in stabilized rice bran, which is not good for Founder, IR or Cushings.
However, for me, I feel it is worse to not get the meds inside of her accurately, than it is to give her 2 cups of Renew Gold a day.
I’ve been caring for this girl for so long, the LAST THING we need is for her to fall backwards because she won’t eat her meds.
So, that was my decision… and it is working!
Here is Tess yesterday, she continues to walk across the rock driveway and stroll around the ranch!
TEST
Last week or so, I told you that I was putting her back on FDA approved Prascend instead of compounded Pergolide. I have also decided to put her back on Doxycycline after being off for a year. And, I’m using Previcox instead of Bute because it is more focused and easier on the stomach. (I also use Anti-Flam by Omega Alpha daily.)
And, she’s better.
This is Tess up by Finn’s pasture – it is uphill and not easy!
MAMA TESS TODAY…
MT is really happy. Every time I checked on her today, she was out and about – visiting others and trying to find any little morsels on the brown lawns. She is lame, no question, but she is happy and motoring around – being a horse again.
I am A-M-A-Z-E-D. Totally. I never thought she would rebound so well after her very difficult trailering episode last week. (You can read about it here.)
Between the new meds and the new consistent dosing, things are looking UP!
Here she is on her way up to the house. You can see leaves in her hair and stuck to her side because she has ROLLED! Amazing.
Mama Tess’ Treasure Chest opens!
Today we have two, very sweet, summery beachy, ice-creamy simple crochet necklaces with graduated Czech glass beads and Sterling button at closure. They are sold separately but can be worn together! Perfect for back to school!
To Purchase caramel rose and burgundy necklace 15″ for $25, click here!
To Purchase sweet creamy pink graduated 17″ necklace for $25, click here!
CLICK IMAGE to see more – it changes daily! Thank you!
I wish… she HATES peppermint!
Try peppermint. Get the small bottle in the baking isle at the grocery store. Same as you would use in baking cookies. One or two drops seem to do the trick. It even works with Bute, which my guys will spit from here to next door. :)