Early this morning, before the sun came up, Rich and I went out to the barn to feed the girls. We also had plans to corral them in the barn while they were eating in order to single each one out and administer a medication called Panecure. The lab report from the vet indicated the Firenze has some sort of intestinal parasite and we had to treat all of the girls in case the others had picked it up.
Rich went out first and put feed in the bins. While the girls were eating he slipped out behind them and closed the barn door. I came out soon after, still in my pajamas, with the medication and syringe. I filled the syringe with a single dose and with arms outstretched I helped Rich herd the girls into the corner. He cut out Firenze from the pack and grabbed her gently but firmly around the neck. She quieted down immediately and didn't resist very hard when I inserted the syringe full of medication between her lips and down into the back of her mouth. She swallowed some of it and drooled some more out. No problem. We just cornered her again and gave her another 1/2 dose.
We repeated the process with Leeza then Took. Leeza was as compliant as Took was resistant. Took really did not want to open her lips for me and I had to be a little forceful. In the end she swallowed and all was well. Corralling Mango was a bit more difficult. She clearly has not had medication administered to her very often but once we got her pinned and I gave her the meds she actually smacked her lips and seemed to like it.
This small triumph was a real confidence builder for both Rich and I. Before this we weren't at all sure that we would be able to corral them all so easily. We are now looking forward to haltering Took and Mango this weekend to begin lead training for the baby girl. Every day is a new adventure and a new challenge.
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