Give an IM Shot in the Neck

Giving an IM shot in the neck, also known as an intra-muscular injection, requires finding the right landmark on the neck, pinching the skin a little to distract the horse and making a smooth injection before pulling the needle straight out. See how an IM shot is administered to the horse's neck with helpful advice from a veterinarian in this video on caring for horses.

Hi! I'm Dr. Joanna Robson. I'm a doctor of veterinary medicine with Inspiritus Equine, Inc., and I'd like to teach you how to give an intra-muscular injection, an IM shot into your horse's neck. Now the landmarks for this is to actually trace a triangle following the mane line or the top of the neck, to the front of the shoulder and along this muscle line or the jugular groove. And then anywhere in the middle of that triangle is a good location into the muscle for an IM injection into the neck. There's two ways do this, it's personal preference. You can separate the needle from the syringe, which just means that you have to be able to connect it back together again, or leave your needle connected to your syringe and place the whole thing into the neck. The only draw back to that is if the horse spooks or pulls back and that then you have the torque of the syringe attach to the needle. It's personal preference and comfort level. Most important thing that helps this horses particularly if they're needle sensitive is distraction. You can pull up on the skin or thump with the side of your hand before inserting the needle to help to distract them. So, let's look at how to give an injection into the neck. So, pinch up on the skin, insert the needle, draw back on the plunger, slowly inject and pull straight out. To actuate in giving intra-muscular injection in the neck, look at your landmarks, go in the center of the triangle, distract the horse with a thump or pinch up on the skin, insert the needle, draw back on your plunger, inject your solution and pull the whole thing out, and that's how to most simply give an injection into the neck.