advice please...anyone have old horse on long term bute/other?

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abracadabra

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i have an old horse and im beginning to see stiffness in his hind legs, he's fine he's just getting on a bit.

the vet is coming out to look at him and i'm going to discuss whether the time has come for the horse to go on a maintenance dose of bute or some such NSAID

i must stress that i am not self-diagnosing or medicating here, i have told the vet i wasnt to discuss the matter with him and will take his advice

what i want to know is what other HHOers experiences are with long term NSAID use in an older horse

also, what do you pay for a box of, eg. bute x 100, from your vet...ive had a look online for prices if i just get a prescription, id like to know how much vets prices for NSAIDS vary...

thankyou
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My old horse had arthritic changes and could be very stiff. He was retired when he was around 21. I put him on cortaflex and gave him bute if he looked particularly stiff. However, I didn't put him on bute long term and was advised against this by my vet as it can cause liver/intestinal problems. He was fine on this regime and still cantered round the field until he was 28.
 
I look after an older horse (he is 33 now) he has been on bute for 15 years for arthritis - 2 x a day, this was on the vets recommendation (not mine!) but he is great, he looks good & still goes out for a short hack once a week - bless him.

PS: He has outlived the vet who recommended it to him!!
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My 16 year old cob was on one sachet bute a day due to arthritic changes (recommended by vet). He lasted 2/3 years then the bute finished him off - vet initially thought he had laminitis (never had it before) but in fact it was liver damage and eventually a complete breakdown of his endocrine system.

if I was confronted by the same problem again I would probably opt for the giving him bute only on days when he was particularly stiff option.
 
Yes, I've had a horse on Danillon long term. Remember you are looking at ensuring the quality of life, rather than the quantity. And I would not have any hesitation on putting a horse on Danillon term again..
 
Don't forget Danilon is a lot kinder on their systems for long term use than bute, so if you need to go the 1 a day route I'd consider Danilion. It is a little more pricey though, about 10p a sachet more than bute from my vets.
 
As Amy May said - I have a 23 yo that has been on a sachet of Danilon a day for over 2.5 years (on vet's recommendation). Touch wood, no side-effects at all and she is SO much better and much more comfortable. She has arthritis in her neck by the way.
 
On the vet's advice, when the ground is hard we give my horse bute, and he's a happy soul on it. We jump and generally have fun together, and if people know this and pass judgement, I always point out that if he wasn't worked and kept fit, he loses all condition and looks like a walking hatrack.
 
My old horse was on one Danilon, every day for about 4 years. He was fine on it. I used to get the vet to write me out a prescription so I could buy it cheaper on the internet.
 
Neighbouring yard has a 30+ yo mare that is arthritic and has been on one bute a day for a year or two, vet apparently says at that age any long term effect isn't going to make much difference as she's had a good innings anyway. She looks lovely you'd never guess she was that old, and seems happy enough and hacks out once a week.
 
My old lad is 31 and was on half a day for a year, upped to one a day for the last 6 months and is now on 2 a day (vet said it was OK for his size). It has made a difference - I saw him cantering off up the field with 3 bucks for good measure tonight. The extra one has made a difference, but at his age it is quality of life not quantity. I had tried supplements but they didn't make enough difference to use.

I have just paid £80 for a box of 100 bute posted.
 
We have had 2 elderly mares on 1xbute per day. The one that lived to be 24 was taken off bute (or reduced dose, can't quite remember) and wore magnet boots for about 3 months until she had a stroke (not sure whether bute was relevant to this). The one that lived to be 33 was on bute for about 4 yrs, although we gave her a break every now and then if she seemed to be getting tired (apparently that can be a side effect). She was eventually pts when we felt she would not be happy going through another winter.
The vets concerned agreed with us that quality of life was of paramount importance.
 
in sted of try bute or danilion have you thought about going natural maybe something like devils claw substi-bute bute x that kind of thing?
 
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