How to Give Intra-Muscular Injections to Horses

Wear gloves when giving intramuscular injections to prevent the fluid from soaking into your skin.

Sometimes, to help minimize the cost of visits, the vet may leave injections, such as a course of antibiotics, to be given by the horse owner. Intramuscular injections can be given in the chest, for example when giving anti-tetanus and influenza vaccinations. However, antibiotic injections involve quite a large amount of fluid, and the larger the muscle mass injected, the more easily the liquid is absorbed.

Things You'll Need

• Medication
• Antiseptic swab
• Syringe
• Rubber gloves

Instructions

1. Shake the bottle and clean the plastic seal with an antiseptic swab.

2. Determine which injection site you will administer the medication. Choose from a triangular area at the base of the neck, a rectangular area in the buttocks, one inch below the point of the buttocks next to the tail, or a rectangular area in the pectoral muscle.

3. Inject an equivalent amount of air into the bottle to extract injectable fluid.

4. Give two or three rapid thumps at the injection site to desensitize the area.

5. Quickly insert the needle perpendicular to the skin into the horse's muscle all the way to the hub.

6. Re-attach the syringe to the needle. Pull back on the plunger slightly to check that no blood flows back into the syringe, which would indicate that you have tapped a vein. If blood is present, remove the needle and start over with a clean needle.

7. 

   Provided you have chosen a well muscled spot for the injection, the horse is unlikely to feel the needle.

   Slowly depress the plunger on the syringe until all the fluid is injected.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are administering repeated antibiotic treatments, change injection sites to minimize soreness for the horse.

• Be prepared for a negative behavioral reaction from your horse during the injection to avoid being kicked or bitten by your horse.

• Be prepared for anaphylactic shock, which happens within minutes and can cause the horse's death. Be sure to have epinephrine on hand to reverse the anaphylactic shock.

References

• Alabama Cooperative Extension: How to Give Your Horse an Intramuscular Injection
• Horse Hints: How to Give an Intramuscular Injection