Anti-inflammatory before competition?

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Rollin

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What is the minimum time before competition. My young horse is slightly lame and vet has been called.

One of my vets says BUTE cannot be given within 8 days of competition another three weeks.

Can someone enlighten me?
 
I will probably get shot down in flames for this but my horse had had over £6K of treatment for spavin and suspensory ligament injury over the years. My vet had prescribed bute to my horse and has said that I could give him a sachet a day if I wanted to but I have always tried to veer away from doing this as I don't feel its necessary at this stage. My horse is competed most weekends, either showjumping or dressage unaffiliated.

He has also recommended me giving my horse a sachet or two of bute before a competition if I feel it would help my horse with making him a little more comfortable and sometimes I do do this , especialy if I feel the surface may be hard, like on a fun ride or cross country. But I also do it on the odd occassion for show jumping and do not see a problem with it. The FEI were thinking about changing the ruling on bute at one point and making it legal in affilliated competition. If I were jumping affiliated I would probably feel differently but I compete show jumping, usually at places that charge extortionant entry fees with little or no prize money, so again I don't feel it is an issue to compete on bute.

Bute is NOT ALWAYS given to horses that cannot/shouldn't compete, there are many reasons why horses can be on bute and people should be mindful of this.

At the end of the day there are hundreds of horses whose useful working lives are extended by the giving of bute and I don't see it a problem myself, it is only like myself taking co-codamol for a slipped disc or an aspirin for a headache. Most people wouldn't admit to giving their horses bute as they know that the reaction from some people would be negative and assumptions would be made that wouldn't necessarily be true, so they tend not to say anything, but I think if you did an anonymous survey on here there would be quite a high percentage that would admit to competing on bute, either now or in the past.

My horse is only sixteen and I am not prepared to chuck him in the field and retire him when my vet feels that he is sound and happy competing. When he has competed on bute he has been sound, but no doubt he would feel a certain discomfort/pain whilst competing on certain surfaces hence the bute recommendation. Last October the vet said my horse was completely sound and I did not need to give him the coffin joint injections I had taken him for, yet still recommended me giving him bute prior to competition if I felt it was necessary for his spavin.

He is currently on no bute which is an alternative, and had been for some time but if this doesn't work I shall resort to the bute. I can't tell at the moment as he has a reoccuring suspensory ligament issue so is halfway through a month of walk only work.

At low level competition, i.e. unaffiliated jumping most horses in the show ring will have been given bute at some stage in their lives, to make their horses comfortable, and the vast percentage of these will be competing at the time. Bute is NEVER given to mask lameness, it is there as a useful tool to assist horses taht would otherwise uncomfortable.

If my vet and countless vets over the country feel this is appropriate then I would suggest that this is not really the big issue that some people would lead us to believe. Bute won't make my horse jump higher, or go faster.
 
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9tails said:
Forget the competition, get your horse right.
Click to expand...

Of course I will get my horse right, which is why the vet has been called. However, if he is given a shot today and is improved, I don't want to risk being disqualified because he has been given anti-inflammatory too close to the endurance - which is actually Saturday week.
 
Applecart, I had a 27 year old with mild arthritis on bute for two years before he was pts.

He enjoyed his hacks and it gave him a much improved quality of life.

My competition is a 40 km endurance for which the boy is fighting fit and has been well prepared. He looks better after cold hosing this morning.
 
Rollin - look at the detection time for bute on the FEI controlled substances list and add 2 days (ie total of 8 days). It would be tight. However Metacam, Flunixin or Ketofen should be ok.
 
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