Arthritis....

DragonSlayer

DragonSlayer

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Beginning to think my mare (16 years, acts 3!) could be starting with a touch of this.....will know more this week if she has to go in for x-rays (second year in a row, she has gone off slightly lame on her off-fore, nerve-blocks show it's fetlock area) and she has just come off bute, will see tomorrow when it's out her system if she has to get shuttled off for more investigating.....

I'm not an advocate of bute to keep her happy and sound for the rest of her life....so just in case she IS diagnosed, has anyone found anything decent apart from bute that works ok??

She is not hopping lame I might add....but it's there...

:(
 
What is wrong with bute to keep a horse comfortable? Yes, giving several bute a day to keep a horse field sound is wrong but my arthritic 16yo now gets 1 sachet of Danilon per day (which I am hoping to get down to half or even none once the ground is consistently softer in the autumn) and he feels fantastic. My vet tells me that giving a 17hh IDx one sachet per day is the equivalent of a person taking half a paracetamol...when you put it in those terms, it doesn't seem so bad!

The treatment/medication will surely depend on what is wrong. A good joint supplement would be the first place to start. Personally I've found that Adequan and Tildren are very helpful. If you want natural products, some people swear by linseed and rosehips for arthritis. Mine is on both of those and TBH I can't say I've really noticed much difference but then again, when he was diagnosed with ringbone this year, we threw absolutely everything at him so it's difficult to know what helped!
 
Try cortaflex, it works on some, and probably easier on the pocket than bute, though if bute is the only thing that works.......... If you had an ache or pain would you take pain killers for it I know I would
 
DragonSlayer said:
Beginning to think my mare (16 years, acts 3!) could be starting with a touch of this.....will know more this week if she has to go in for x-rays (second year in a row, she has gone off slightly lame on her off-fore, nerve-blocks show it's fetlock area) and she has just come off bute, will see tomorrow when it's out her system if she has to get shuttled off for more investigating.....

I'm not an advocate of bute to keep her happy and sound for the rest of her life....so just in case she IS diagnosed, has anyone found anything decent apart from bute that works ok??

She is not hopping lame I might add....but it's there...

:(
Click to expand...

My friends horse was on one sachet of bute everyday for about ten years and he suffered no liver damage. My vet has prescribed one sachet of bute every day for my horse but thankfully the joint injections staved the bute off.

If you really don't want to go down the bute line then just ask your vet to medicate her fetlocks (approx £60 -£70 per fetlock) and hopefully this should see her right for a good twelve months or more.

bioflow boots may also give her some relief.
 
chestnut cob said:
What is wrong with bute to keep a horse comfortable? Yes, giving several bute a day to keep a horse field sound is wrong but my arthritic 16yo now gets 1 sachet of Danilon per day (which I am hoping to get down to half or even none once the ground is consistently softer in the autumn) and he feels fantastic. My vet tells me that giving a 17hh IDx one sachet per day is the equivalent of a person taking half a paracetamol...when you put it in those terms, it doesn't seem so bad!

The treatment/medication will surely depend on what is wrong. A good joint supplement would be the first place to start. Personally I've found that Adequan and Tildren are very helpful. If you want natural products, some people swear by linseed and rosehips for arthritis. Mine is on both of those and TBH I can't say I've really noticed much difference but then again, when he was diagnosed with ringbone this year, we threw absolutely everything at him so it's difficult to know what helped!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I have seen more than one horse suffer effects of being on bute for a long time. IF it's the only thing that will work, then of course she will have it, but nowt wrong in asking others what works for them.....

I have arthritis starting in the base of my beck, Dr recommends pills....but I don't take them, trying other things first before I resort to drugs, therefore the same will apply to my animals.
 
applecart14 said:
My friends horse was on one sachet of bute everyday for about ten years and he suffered no liver damage. My vet has prescribed one sachet of bute every day for my horse but thankfully the joint injections staved the bute off.

If you really don't want to go down the bute line then just ask your vet to medicate her fetlocks (approx £60 -£70 per fetlock) and hopefully this should see her right for a good twelve months or more.

bioflow boots may also give her some relief.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will enquire about the injections. :D
 
DragonSlayer said:
Unfortunately, I have seen more than one horse suffer effects of being on bute for a long time. IF it's the only thing that will work, then of course she will have it, but nowt wrong in asking others what works for them.....

I have arthritis starting in the base of my beck, Dr recommends pills....but I don't take them, trying other things first before I resort to drugs, therefore the same will apply to my animals.
Click to expand...

I felt the same as you and had several very long chats with my vet about it. My horse has had most of the available treatments for his arthritis but it can't be cured; the most I can hope to do is slow the progress down a little and make him more comfortable (*disclaimer* I am not buting my horse so I can ride something that is crippled, I am giving him a tiny dose to keep a horse who likes to work, comfortable).

He had steroid injections in both of his hocks, first time over 2 years ago and then again about 15 months ago. They are great but my vet said he doesn't like to do them in front leg joints because the joints are so much more mobile. Steroid injections also have their side effects - my vet said if you do them regularly you risk breaking down the joint surface and causing more problems than you solve. They can also cause laminitis if given too often. My horse now has ringbone in his left fore. Vet won't medicate the joint with steroids so he has had Adequan and then Tildren. The latter has been absolutely brilliant - in front he is moving better than he has in a very long time, with the added bonus of it helping his hocks too.

I don't suggest bute lightly, believe me. I've tried most things! I've turned down shockwave because I have yet to speak to anyone who actually saw a positive outcome (or in fact any outcome) from it. If it is arthritis you could talk to your vet about IRAP which is like a steroid injection but without the nasty side effects. So, you asked what works for others and I answered that while the ground remains this hard, my horse is having bute, and that I had tried natural remedies too.
 
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