My horse had to get eye meds every 3 hours, around
the clock, for a WEEK a few years back for an unusual "fungus" he had. So, out I
went, middle of the night etc. to do this. After about the 3rd time, he
was on to this game, and was not going to let me squirt that stuff in the eye.
One of the meds had DMSO, so I bet it stung. And getting hubby to trek out
with me, to help hold him, was not a plan. So, I started giving him a peppermint
after the eye med got safely into the eye. In the beginning I had to tie him up,
and push his head to the end of the lead rope to have his head steady, as I
opened eye, and applied. After a few applications with a reward of a treat, I no
longer needed to tie him or even put a halter on him. He stood there, and
actually leaned his head towards me, waiting to feel the medication in his eye,
and then the lips would start moving, looking for the goodie. To this day, I can
walk up, and open his eye with a couple fingers, like I am going to apply
medication, and he just stands there.
My week long treatment did not get it all, and he
still went to the vet and spent a week with a pump strapped on him, and a tube
running into a slit they put in his eye lid, with a constant drip of a stronger
medication going straight into his eye. Saved his eye, and might have
saved the horse, as they fungus could have spread, and the vet said could have
been fatal.
