So, it seems that Artie is now sick. *bangs head on wall* So, he will have 30cc of penicillin (split up into two injections) administered IM twice a day. Oh boy.
First two rounds on injections went GREAT. He flinched, but nothing silly.
Last night was a different story. Kara's owner's mom, Margie, was out there helping me. Artie was being an obnoxiously snotty (HA) brat. Margie wouldn't get tough on him. Artie tried to blow through her. So, I grabbed the lead rope and back we went. We turned, we moved front end, hind end, backed up, moved forward, etc. Try again. No go. Same exercises. I seriously thought about opening the paddock gate, wishing him luck, and slappin' him on the arse. If I could have picked him up, I would have shaken the mess outta him -- needless to say, I shouldn't have children. HAHA! Instead, I took a few minutes for everyone to "think". I came back and tried a more gentle approach. No go. Ultimately, I was unable to give him his injections last night *sighs* but I was able to get him to lower his head with poll pressure and he would stand still for the needle to be close to him.
This morning, per the vet's request, I headed out to go find a stud chain and a twitch. I don't normally result to such devices, but he WAS going to behave like a gentleman; or atleast like he had half a brain. I EXPECT and DEMAND that he have good manners and behave. So, I haltered him, did some ground work, and then had him stand still for a few minutes. I played with his nose and configured the twitch on. I had Gwen (Kara's mom) hold the twitch and Artie's lead while I stroked his neck and talked to him. After several minutes, injection #1 --> IN! Injection #2 --> IN! And he hardly flinched. Mwhahahahah!!!!
I will be employing the twitch again tonight. I'm hoping maybe in another time or two, I can "wean" him off the twitch.
Due to Artie's illness, i don't think we'll be doing much riding in the next 10 days. But, we're obviously doing groundwork. ;-)
Thanks for reading; hope it was mildly entertaining.
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4 comments:
Oh No! What's wrong w/ him?
Did you give him treats after he stood still for the shots?
Don't tell me HE's got strangles now!? Poor guy...
Glad you got the groundwork done! Just so you know, when I have to give IM's, I try to do it in a different spot each time so they don't get so sore. You're probably doing that anyway, but just in case... ;)
Oh NO! So sorry to hear Artie's sick. I hope he gets well soon!
At least it ended well!!! I hope he gets better soon, poor thing.
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