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[RC] Aversion to syringes, worming, and I'm sure electrolytes - Charles

My horse has developed an aversion to getting medicine through syringes in
his mouth.  He had pneumonia earlier this winter and had to get a daily dose
of medication.  As a result, he tends to see the syringe and put his head in
the air.  How do you train your horse to accept a syringe of stuff that may
not taste very good?

I'm told that to give him cold medicine took 2 people.  One would grab his
halter, and pull his head down over the gate of his stall, and the other
would shove the tube of medication in his mouth and squeeze.

A few things you may need to know for the advice to be good.  My horse is 17
2.  He is huge.  He is big (I think there is a picture of me and Jon in the
photo album).  He is a shire (when you see a picture of me, you know why I
got a big horse, also keep in mind, I found this site and endurance by
looking for a saddle to fit both Jon, and me).   He can raise his head up
high enough that I can just barely touch his nose.  He is surprisingly fast.

What I have been trying so far:

I have been going every night and giving him a syringe of Mint (dissolved
candy canes and mints from bag) or applesauce.  I am now at the point where
I can present the syringe and he will not object to putting it in his mouth
(lower mouth so far, not upper area, but I'll work on that next).  The first
few times I did it, he jumped and exposed his teeth to the world and put his
head up high.  It was similar to what he does when he's marking stuff.  I
finally found out he objected to the  fact that it was cold.  (near freezing
actually).

I would like to know if there is some way I can make this more paste like?
I want to approximate wormer in consistency.  My plan is to get him so used
to the idea that syringes are good and give good stuff, the it's only once
in a while that something bad comes along.

Charles
PS: He's due for worming at the start of February.




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