Bute Opinions from all of you!

[Skye94]

I would like all your opinions on Bute or any type of painkiller/anti-inflammitary for horses. Do you think its good, bad, useless, a cover up, the best thing ever? Let me no...
My mare has susspected arthritis in her Coffin Joint.... so she is on Pro-Dynam, rest and a frog support 24/7!! Is this going to make the problem worse as she will feel better and go mad then when she is off it she will suffer!?
P.S this is her fancy bandage today, tomoroow i think Zebra Print will be cool :P
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/lelabell/DSC00562.jpg

[Bling]

Bute is like aspirin except it lasts 12 hours instead of 4 (according to my vet). I've used it, but regular use seems to have a side affect --- my horse just didn't "feel good" --- after 2 weeks. So I stopped it for awhile and used aspirin, which helped (also arthritis), and when it got bad, a few days of bute. It's not a heavy-duty-bad drug by any means.

[jenren!!]

It depends, my last mare had bone spavin and she was fed bute so that she could be kept in work and therefore work her out of the condition. Using bute as a cover up for lameness though is silly and cruel, instead of finding the real reason for it. I would say it is fantastic, for the right reasons.

[Mary Poppins]

I have never had to use it, but friends have reported their horses being lathergic and slightly dopey whilst on it.

[carthorse]

I think it has a useful place in giving a horse a painfree life but it shouldn't be abused, ie used to hide a problem rather than get proper treatment. I'm not saying that's what you're thinking of doing Skye94!

I can understand your worry about her going mad & doing damage when she's meant to be resting but I expect the vet wants the anti-inflammatory action to see how she responds. Is she on box rest because if so you could give her bute or similar now & reduce the dose before she's turned out. If she's turned out & you really think she's going to charge around could you section off a small area so she doesn't have room to pick up speed? I'd talk to the vet & explain you're worried she'll make matters worse by running around & see what he says - he may not be wrried or say the exercise will do her good!

Also if the vet diagnoses arthritis it may be worth feeding her a good joint supplement like Cortaflex, Newmarket Joint Supplement or Superflex.

[Rhein]

Bute is very good when used appropriately. And bad, when given inappropriately.
Personally I think you are right to question whether or not your horse should have bute. My opinion is that bute does seem to be rather over prescribed for every horse ailment going these days!

You're right that one of the risks of giving a horse bute (or any other pain releif) is that if it masks the pain, then the horse could over use the joint (or whatever) and make the problem worse. This is why I think it should be given wisely. Having said that, because it is an anti-inflammatory drug, it is actually effective against fever, swelling and inflammation, in addition to pain relief.

I have given it to my previous horse following injury (but I also kept him relatively immobile - i.e in a stable and didn't let him race around outside). It certainly made him feel much more comfortable and eased the swelling.

I would worry about giving an effective pain releiving dose to a horse who was out in a field and in whom there was risk of overuse of the injured area.

Not sure if I've answered your question helpfully or not! Just my thoughts and opinions here :rolleyes:

[Skye94]

thanks guys, i mean i was thinking i should just take her off it. She has hard a hard life to say the least, she is always bothered about that leg.. She isnt the healthiest and she obviously dosnt work as well as she should... I mean if its arthritis, nothing can really be done i guess - its nature, and she is getting on a bit at 13. So maybe a supplement is best. But its not like she is a competition pony, she does one or two hacks a month!!! :p Im just quite confused as the vet wants to take x-rays etc and i dont have the money.. but then you go down the road of all that treatment and you have to say "WOH" where do you stop kinda thing.... ?

[Iron Maiden]

IMO it's a quality of life decision. Bute is not an innocuous thing that you slip in your horse's feed without a worry, it has side effects & should be used with care. If a horse is in pain & is only comfortable with bute I would use it but as soon as I could I'd take it off. The long term risk of kidney & liver damage needs to be considered. Have you tried using glucosamine? That works wonders on my knee, I'd be a very lame person without it!! I've heard good reports about Devils Claw (NoBute) too. I'd also consider letting her go barefoot if I were in your shoes, the shock absorbing structures in the hoof that help cushion the joints can't work properly with shoes. Whatever you do, best of luck, your horse is beautiful!

[ClaireBear_nz]

My sisters horse, who was the greatest pig in the world, utterly refused to eat the stuff. I've never used it on either of mine though!

[Wally]

If used appropriately, it is an excellent pain killer and anti-inflammatory, however I would only ever consider its use in the short term.

If the horse needed it just to stay sound every day i'm not so sure it is a means to an end.

[Blair Witch]

I love bute. It really helps my pony when her arthritis flares up. My vet said that it shouldn't be given more than 10 days in a row or it can cause kidney damage. You also have to be careful of the dosage, but it does wonders.

[martini55]

I use Danilon along with cortaflex with my arthritic mare, as advised by my vet. I'd rather feed danilon over bute as there are less long-term side-effects.

[Skyhuntress]

Generally, I like bute as a short term cute. However, I wouldn't want to be put in a position where my horse would have to consistently be on it.

Bute has a high threshhold of toxicity, meaning that its incredibly easy to overdose with...and it's quite simple for an owner to say "well, he's been on it for a month, I'm upping the dose a bit" and wham, you have a horse on the ground.

While it blocks inflammation, it also tends to block blood flow, which would be appropriate for some injuries, but dangerous for others, as it can restrict blood to the kidneys.


Personally, I think that if the horse requires bute everyday of his life just to be comfortable, that's not the quality of life i'd want to be offering.

But as a short term thing to get him through parts of winter (which can be bad for arthritics) or after a fall? Absolutely.

[KateWooten]

Bute can also be a useful tool for isolating the lameness if the vet's not totally sure. My vet suggested we put Summer on it to confirm our suspicions of arthritic hocks ... they'd be improved on the bute if that's what it was. As it happened, her other problems (erratic mild colic, upset gut) prevented us from putting her on it for a while, and in the meantime, I found a supplement that eased her symptoms overnight. It's supposed to work to actually help cure the problem and help the joint recover - like glucosamine / MSM type of things do. Julia Gulia recommended it to me. I don't know if you have it over there .... might be worth looking into ? It's heavily advertised here for joint problems, and certainly seems to be working for Summer - she's no longer lame, is finally putting the weight back on, and no is no longer standing around looking depressed and not eating - so I suspect that the painful joints were just getting her down ! PM me for the name of the stuff I'm using - it's not a secret or anything - just might sound a bit too much like advertising if I shout it publicly.

[Denbenj]

2nd others.. when used approiatley and not long term usuage.

Where I used to work, one of the driving horses couldnt be used without buting up to the eyeballs.. other wise they were lame as anything.. and even so I still detected lameness. ( and I kicked up a fuss) I dont think this is the right usuage!

[Wally]

Where I used to work, one of the driving horses couldnt be used without buting up to the eyeballs.. other wise they were lame as anything.. and even so I still detected lameness. ( and I kicked up a fuss) I dont think this is the right usuage!


Totally agree, but I would use it on a working horse in the short term to tide him over a flare up of arthritis.

[Iron Maiden]

One of my friends butes her horse up before she is shod, the horse has arthritic hips & generally manages OK on Devil's Claw but being shod seems to cause her a lot of discomfort. The bute seems to make it a lot more comfortable for her. This is the sort of use I don't have a problem with, but just bunging bute in the feed at the first sign of a twinge....nah, not for me or my horse!

[julia gulia]

Bute can also be a useful tool for isolating the lameness if the vet's not totally sure. My vet suggested we put Summer on it to confirm our suspicions of arthritic hocks ... they'd be improved on the bute if that's what it was. As it happened, her other problems (erratic mild colic, upset gut) prevented us from putting her on it for a while, and in the meantime, I found a supplement that eased her symptoms overnight. It's supposed to work to actually help cure the problem and help the joint recover - like glucosamine / MSM type of things do. Julia Gulia recommended it to me. I don't know if you have it over there .... might be worth looking into ? It's heavily advertised here for joint problems, and certainly seems to be working for Summer - she's no longer lame, is finally putting the weight back on, and no is no longer standing around looking depressed and not eating - so I suspect that the painful joints were just getting her down ! PM me for the name of the stuff I'm using - it's not a secret or anything - just might sound a bit too much like advertising if I shout it publicly.

Echo Kate on the new supplement..it is amazing stuff...the other day when I turned Barney out he galloped across the pasture...and bucked three times:eek: :D

[Skye94]

ok now im a in a real big muddle!!! Skye has bowel and kidney damage due to worms... she dosnt really get ridden and she is on concrete a lot (she has the choice of a stable, concrete and a field. she is locked out of the field during the day and has access to everything at night. I dont want to do her any harm as she has been through so much but i hate seeing her in pain. If it really is arthritis in the coffin joint, wat can be done and can anythin bbe givin to help or cure it???
cheers so much for al your help guys MUCHO APPRECIATED :)

[Jessey]

I have used bute and think it is a great drug for treating acute problems or chronic ones on a short term basis, I don't however like seeing horses on it all the time esp not if a horse is being given it to mean that it can still be worked - one that is retired and otherwise happy and just needs it during cold months or something seems OK I guess :o

Bo messed up his stifle which we found out early last year, he spent about 9 weeks on box rest having danilon daily as reduction of the swelling was essential, being a twit as he is :rolleyes: he was bouncing round his stable and there were very serious concerns that he would inflict more damage, he was therefore given ACP daily to keep him quiet :( when it came time to start walking him and then turn him out we took him off the danilon about a 3 or 5 days before to give it time to get out of his system, in the hopes he would stop charging around if he did tweek it or something.