Peevish Pen

Ruminations on reading, writing, genealogy and family history, rural living, retirement, aging—and sometimes cats.

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Location: Rural Virginia, United States

I'm an elderly retired teacher who writes. Among my books are Ferradiddledumday (Appalachian version of the Rumpelstiltskin story), Stuck (middle grade paranormal novel), Patches on the Same Quilt (novel set in Franklin County, VA), Them That Go (an Appalachian novel), Miracle of the Concrete Jesus & Other Stories, and several Kindle ebooks.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Horse Pill How-To

Because Melody hasn't been doing too well lately and possibly has lyme disease, she's had to take 110 doxycycline pills a day—55 at each meal. How do I give a horse so many pills? Here's how:

Melody eats a one-pound coffee can of Triple Crown Low Starch pellets. First, I dump the pellets in a bowl.


Then I add water, so they get a little mushy. I want everything to stick together.


After the pellets get mushy enough, I put a dollop of apple sauce in the center and count out 55 pills. (Actually, I have the pills counted in advance.)


I dump the pills into the middle of the applesauce blob.


Then I add another dollop of applesauce on top . . . 


. . . and pull up the mushy pellets to cover the blob.


By the time I carry the dish of pill-laced pellets to the barn, they're ready to serve to a hungry mare who's waiting at the gate.


I empty the softened pellets into her feed pan. Everything sticks together nicely.


I serve it to her . . . 


. . . and watch her wolf it down. Melody has a hearty appetite. In the 17 years I've owned her, she's never missed a meal.


She's already eaten some of the pills, but she sniffs the remaining ones. 


Smells like applesauce—Yum! She keeps eating . . . 


 . . .  and finishes her dinner . . .


 . . . and licks the pan clean.


That was easy enough, wasn't it?

The pills are making a difference. Melody, who was very ill a couple of weeks ago, is almost her old self again.
~

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3 Comments:

Blogger Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

You're a good horse mommy.

10:13 PM  
Blogger R.M. said...

She is quite lovely, glad she's feeling better.

11:22 AM  
Blogger Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I wish my horse would've done the applesauce concoction. Sigh. Since I couldn't afford the doxycycline (one estimate was $3500!) we are doing amoxicillin and it is a powder. Since he won't eat it in feed and it's clogging the syringe I bought, lately I've been mixing it with molasses into a paste and feeding it to him on a huge spoon. Oddly, he seems to take to it this way better than the other methods I've tried.

10:17 AM  

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