How long is too long to give bute? Possible diagnosis of Laminitis. Update in OP.

I am giving my horse 1gram twice a day (1100 lbs). I know some people that bute daily for years but others that won't but more than a week.


UPDATE: The farrier came out today. I was not there, he wasn't scheduled to see my guy but the BM was great and asked him to take a peak. He says there is a ring of new growth up high and where it meets the old growth it's collapsing and is probably pinching the lamanae. He prescribes shoes with fill and pads plus a switch to a low starch grain and hoof supplement. I have scheduled him to come back tomorrow.

Depends on the horse. I have one that cannot tolerate even one dose. I had another who was on a half gram twice a day for over a year and did very well until his condition progressed and we put him down.

Use as little as possible for as short as possible, IMO. Try to find other ways to manage the pain if you can, and if you can't....consider the horse in front of you. Some do fine on long term bute. Some should probably just be euthanized if long term bute is truly the ONLY option (my mare would be one.)

Thanks for the response :)

My horse is only seven and the issue is relatively minor. At least that is the current thought.

Many years ago, my aged gelding was on daily bute for almost 4 years straight. Daily dose varied to fit his need, as little as 1/2g to 4g if he really was 3 legged. We had no alternative at the time, and while I didn't like it he seemed no worse for wear. A radical change to his lifestyle and (luckily for my wallet) discovering some cheap effective anti inflams and he's been bute free for the last 9-10 years.

About 7 years ago, this gelding had an accident on pavement and vet ordered bute and rest. In two days he lost his appetite and on the third he was spending most of his day down and unwilling to get up. I very nearly lost him to ulcers. He rebounded on a course of ulcerguard.

Some horses handle long term bute just fine. Some, like mine, pay for it later down the road.

Especially if the issue is minor you might have a good chance of finding another way to handle it.

Talk to your vet about doing Equioxx/ Previcox instead.

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Originally Posted by Highflyer

Talk to your vet about doing Equioxx/ Previcox instead.

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Ditto. Although expensive, I had one very aged horse on Equioxx daily for over five years without a problem. Two other horses on Previcox long-term with no issues.

"How long" really depends on the horse and the dosage. 2gm/day is quite a lot for long-term use, or really anything more than a day or two, but is sometimes necessary.

What is the "relatively minor" issue? Most of the time, the recommendation is 1gm am and pm for a day or two, then 1gm for a few more days up to a week or so, if you're addressing a minor issue that you just want to control quickly, or if you're doing a test to see if bute addresses a lameness issue.

That gives you some perspective.

Bute for more than 1-2 days would have me doing at least ranitidine twice a day, or even Ulcer/Gastoguard if it's a known sensitive horse.

We use previcoxx now for our 26yr old mare, she has arthritis everywhere and is comfortable without it, but pretty darn sound on 1/4 pill a day. I think it's the least we can do for her years of loyally carrying my little sister!

As others said, I think it depends.

If it were me and I had a younger horse with an undiagnosed problem and was just using bute like I'd use ibuprofen for myself for some minor inflammation, I'd probably not go more than a couple of days without doing a workup to figure out exactly what was wrong. If the vet deemed it necessary to be on bute longer term, I'd just want to make sure we were monitoring organ function and keeping an eye out for ulcers. (or I'd also consider equioxx)

If my horse were older and had some pretty major arthritic changes that Adequan wasn't covering and it was bute else euth, I'd give bute. (And I did...for 5 years with my BuddyRoo--checked labs every 6 mod to monitor organ function, never had issues with ulcers or organs)

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Originally Posted by BuddyRoo

As others said, I think it depends.

If it were me and I had a younger horse with an undiagnosed problem and was just using bute like I'd use ibuprofen for myself for some minor inflammation, I'd probably not go more than a couple of days without doing a workup to figure out exactly what was wrong. If the vet deemed it necessary to be on bute longer term, I'd just want to make sure we were monitoring organ function and keeping an eye out for ulcers. (or I'd also consider equioxx)

If my horse were older and had some pretty major arthritic changes that Adequan wasn't covering and it was bute else euth, I'd give bute. (And I did...for 5 years with my BuddyRoo--checked labs every 6 mod to monitor organ function, never had issues with ulcers or organs)

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That.
Years ago, before any other out there, we had a retired horse with an old injury that we kept on bute for two years, before even bute was not helping and we had to euthanize him.

The bute gave him a good quality of life for those two years without any obvious discomfort.

For an acute need on a young active horse, a few days of bute, if it agrees with your horse, should be fine.
Just be sure you are not covering something serious that needs other management than bute.

Jingles & AO for your horse ~

nothing to add "sound" advice already posted here ~

Happy Holidays !

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Originally Posted by Simkie

Depends on the horse. I have one that cannot tolerate even one dose.

Use as little as possible for as short as possible, IMO.

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Ditto this. Some horses are extremely sensitive to bute--and it's virtually impossible to determine that before you give it. I have a mare that developed chronic right dorsal colitis after just a few doses. She tolerates Equioxx but I'm still very careful with it.

I don't give bute without some sort of ulcer preventative. For an otherwise healthy young horse, max 5-7 days. For an older horse that needs it to be comfortable, indefinitely so long as the horse tolerates it.

Thank you everyone for your advice. We are using bute to try and pinpoint what is going on. Horse is not lame, no heat or swelling but has something going on that we cannot figure out exactly. Does a hop and slight head bob going right picking up the trot. Also while free jumping does not want to land on his right lead. Seems to be a little dull. With bute he seems more lively but still does the hop. Moved a lot nicer with a neck stretcher on the lunge. I'm thinking the hop is an under developed top line and not moving from behind so he hops to lift his forehand up to move forward. It is more pronounced to the right. He is OTTB so maybe he just favors/moves better to the left.

I'm working to get video for all you COTH experts but I am down with a back injury and can't ride which is also making diagnosis hard since I can't see if the bute has effected his undersaddle temperment/trot. Unfortunately there is no budget for lameness specialists or expensive drugs. I'm hoping a little bute, some time off and some easy lunge sessions might help.

ETA: Just looked back at this summer's Free Jumping and he landed on his right lead without any problems. Only change I know of is he is now barefoot. Maybe his TB tooties are too sensitive to be barefoot. Will ask if the barn farrier will shoe him next round.

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Originally Posted by PrimoAmor

Horse is not lame, no heat or swelling but has something going on that we cannot figure out exactly. Does a hop and slight head bob going right picking up the trot. Also while free jumping does not want to land on his right lead. Seems to be a little dull. With bute he seems more lively but still does the hop. Moved a lot nicer with a neck stretcher on the lunge. I'm thinking the hop is an under developed top line and not moving from behind so he hops to lift his forehand up to move forward. It is more pronounced to the right. He is OTTB so maybe he just favors/moves better to the left.

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I would definitely ask your vet or farrier to check for an abscess. Sounds exactly what I went through with my OTTB last year during our first winter together. Been there, done that, doing it again right now with my horse... Nothing like soaking & hand-walking when it's 19 degrees. Shoes are my horse's best friends. If you are really committed to going barefoot, you may want to start using a sole toughener like Durasole once an abscess is ruled out. Good luck!

I nearly lost a horse due to ulcers that developed after only a couple of days on bute, so I am uber sensitive about not giving bute unless it is life or death! Current horse is prone to ulcers so if she ever truly needs bute (never has yet), I will definitely be giving her omeprazole with it. I agree with as little as possible for a short as possible and I would use it only as a last resort.

My older, retired mare with pretty crippling chronic arthritis (1700 lb WB) gets 3g bute every other day, and has gotten this regimen for about 6 years now. She has not had any issues.

My delicate, ulcer-prone TB mare only gets Equioxx because she's ulcer prone and giving her bute makes her weave and not eat. :/

Omeprazole doesn't prevent/treat colonic ulcers.

Good article on ulcers (gastric and colonic): http://www.ker.com/library/proceedin...Ulcers_p31.pdf

Equioxx has been a lifesaver (literally) for my horse. He tolerates it very well, and is down to 2 doses a week. He has arthritis and is doing much better with the Equioxx. We started it every day and slowly took him down to 2x/week without a loss of comfort. Will probably increase to 3x/week as the weather gets colder.

Just a guess, but have you had his hocks examined? My guy started resisting lead changes in one direction as his hocks started to wear. Shot in the dark but might be worth a conversation with the vet.

My gelding's been on Bute for about a month now due to low-grade laminitis. I'm not too worried about it.

I use the powdered form, and I mix it into some soaked pellets, so he doesn't get it on an empty stomach. He also gets it either right after breakfast or just before dinner.

I haven't looked into this theory at all, but it seems to me that it's probably similar to a person taking Ibuprofen. You are supposed to take it with food to avoid stomach upset, so I don't know why it would be any different for horses.