Medications have become a part of my personal life. Apparently, getting older is about pills.
My own reliance on drugs has made me aware that, over the years, many medications have been part of my horse keeping. I am amazed at how often a veterinarian has prescribed medications for my horses.
Sitting on the kitchen counter, in a corner, is a large jar of apple flavored electrolytes, and beside it, a tall tub of orange flavored Metamucil. Both of these products are for my horses, not me. They are not prescription drugs, but they certainly are veterinarian recommended.
Also, in the kitchen, I have a drawer dedicated to the various drugs I give to my animals. A few are for dogs or cats, but most are part of the collection of medicines for my horses.
As I rooted through the drawer, I realized I should trash a number of the contents. Some should hit the garbage can because they are out of date, and a few are drugs I don't recognize. Where did I get them? What are they for? And should I throw them away when I might need them?
The two drugs that I use most often are phenylbutazone and banamine. I have the "bute" in two forms: powder and pills. I use the powder most often because it is the easiest to get the horse to swallow. I think of bute as horse aspirin. Banamine is a stronger sedative. I have it in liquid form, and the small amount I have on hand is out of date. I should chuck it, but, well, I haven't.
Recently, since Boudicca has foundered, I have many medications for her. These drugs include gabapentin, ertugliflozin, equine insulin resistance supplement, and a bottle of acetaminophen acquired from Costco. I was rather surprised that generic Tylenol is useful for horses. I have discovered it dissolves nicely in a syringe with water. For Boudicca, it is a great pain reducer, although she needs 11 tablets for a dose.
I wasn't surprised to find two syringes of dormosedan gel. I was a little flummoxed to discover that both of them were open. We use the gel to relax the horses who are anxious when we do their feet. My husband, who does the trimming, is a fan of the stuff, but I'm not. It has to be administered under the horses's tongue. Only Bay is willing to cooperate, and even at that, only part of the time. Also, it takes about 20 minutes to make a horse drowsy. Meanwhile, I'm exhausted from try to apply it correctly.
I found a blue vial full of big pills. It is labeled SMZ. What? I couldn't recall what it was until I found an older bottle labeled sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim tablets. "Ah, ha," I thought. We are talking sulfa drugs. SMZ is a veterinarian's acronym Okay, I have an old bottle and a new vial. These pills are an antibiotic. Over the years they have been useful for multiple equines.
I found an old brown bottle with injectable B12 vitamins. I probably should throw it away, but it does not have an expiration date. I'll have to mention it to one of our veterinarians. I knew I used it, in the past, on horses who have appeared a little under the weather.
Another medicine without an expiration date is a large syringe printed with bold type as a digestive paste. I have obviously used it, because it is missing the cap. I think it is something I picked up in case of mild colic. Probably, I should trash it.
Another large syringe is labeled bio-sponge. I sure knew what that is. Our last, retired veterinarian, encouraged me to keep it on hand for a horse with diarrhea. I believe, at one point, I had a couple of them in the drawer, and I used one. I'm not sure what horse was involved, but I know the stuff worked.
In a small cardboard box, I found a half-used tube of neomycin and polymyxin B sulfates and bacitracin zinc. I recognized it immediately. Many years ago our last Exmoor Pony suddenly had a serious eye wound. We never discovered how it happened, but she eventually went blind in the injured eye. I spent months treating her. For an Exmoor Pony, she was surprisingly cooperative as I daily poked her in the corner of her eye. She lived for many more years with vision in only one beautiful orb.
I found some dexamethasone used to reduce inflammation. Both containers were out of date. I trashed them.
Two bottles were a mystery. I don't remember where I got them, and both are unopened. One is glucosamine chondroitin MSM and the other is dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Hmm. Mystery drugs.
It astonishes me how much my veterinarians have trusted me over the years, and how often I have had to nurse my horses.
Although, in this blog article I have focused on the medication in my house, I also have jars in the main barn, and in the tack room. I have several forms of aloe vera cream scattered about. I'm a firm believer in the efficacy of the the stuff for minor scrapes.
Recently my husband noted we are running low on the iodine solution he used on hooves when he cuts too close.
Sitting on the hay bales are Bay's "Cough Free," vitamin E, and digestive aid powder.
Drugs all over.
I probably should go through the other various medications we have accumulated elsewhere on the premises, but one step at a time. It's amazing the quantity of over 30 years.
Maybe I should set up a pharmacy. One more thing on my to-do list.
