Bute/ danilon long term

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HashRouge

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My 25 yr old had the vet out this week for an eye infection, but the day before the vet came she trotted up the field looking slightly lame in one foreleg. No heat, swelling etc to be found and the more I trotted her up the sounder she looked. I asked the vet about it and we agreed it was likely to be linked to her arthritis, so I have 30 sachets of danilon to be getting on with. The vet and I spoke about her possibly needing it long term now. This is the second time she's been on it this year, after the hard ground over summer made her stiff. She was first diagnosed with arthritis aged 19 and hasn't really needed any meds since then - she's always seemed pretty sound trotting round the field (she's been retired for a while as she's small for me). For some reason the thought of her being on danilon long term makes me feel anxious. I think I'm worried about side effects and also it just hits home that she is getting in a bit now (I've owned her for 17 years, since I was 11). I'd really like to hear from those of you with oldies who've been on bute/ danilon long term - how long were they on it? Did they have any side effects? Did it become less effective over time?
 
A horse I had years ago was diagnosed with arthritis at 14 she wasn't 100% sound so I just lightly hacked her until she was 21, she had one Bute a day in the winter and in the summer she often didn't any and I just played it by ear and gave it to her as and when, so she was on Bute for about 7 years and never suffered any ill effects and it kept her comfortable, it's only like us taking ibubrofen to keep us comfortable many people take anti inflammatory drugs every day so they can go about there lives.
 
my old vet was happy for me to give my 26 yr old 15 hands lwt cob 1 danilon daily and 2 if she was uncomfortable on the hard ground or after a foot trim, etc..we didnt need to ever use 2 daily. he said something else would cause the end before danilon side effects. she stayed on 1 daily and was PTS at age 34 as her ringbone had got worse and we decided it wasnt fair to put her through the winter....so i would say its worth giving an old horse help to keep pain free and PTS when appropriate.
 
Franks 25 too, he's been on bute since the end of May as he was neither comfortable or happy, just really not himself. My initial intention was to inject his most problematic hock as he has already had some liver problems, unfortunately he didn't respond to flexion so it would have been pointless. Vet thought he looked quite good for his age/better than I had described but I just knew he was struggling and essentially I would much rather he have a shorter time with us comfortable than a longer one struggling.

He had some bute last winter as he stopped eating (we think jaw related) and his liver bloods shortly after were the best he has had since that issue flared up two years ago, he is on daily milkthistle and I have stopped his boswellia now he is on the bute as that is also liver processed.

It is always up for evaluation though and once the ground softens permanently I am going to travel home and do another assessment.

But yes it does hit it home a bit that they are getting on, I totally get that, F was hunting in his 23rd year but since retiring to hacking the following summer his ailments do seem to have started adding up. Even though he looks great!
 
Granny (22) has been on 1 bute a day since February time. Would rather she was comfortable and have spoken to two vets about it and neither are worried about long term effects. I've kept it going through the summer because of the hard ground and she's been cantering about like a 4 year old, which I haven't seen for years... so she's happy. Middle of last winter I was debating taking her through another one, at the moment she looks like she's up for 22 more winters. :lol: We shall see. She's retired because I'm too fat at the moment. If I got the 2 stone back off she might have had a few little hacks this summer she's been looking so good. No regrets in putting her on bute so far at all.
I keep her diet mostly forage based (Just a handful of mix for the bute to go on) to help with any stomach side effects. My vet said not to worry about liver effects unless they already have a problem? But he was not a native English speaker so I'm not sure if I interpreted that correctly!

Also affects? Effects? It's my grammatical Achilles heel so apologies if I have them mixed up.
 
At 25 the emphasis has to be on quality of life and not quantity. Most horses can tolerate bute or danilon for a long period of time - during which you will have a sound and happy horse. When my old boy's arthritis started becoming an issue, we would have a look at him each morning. If he seemed stiff, he would have a bute, if he was trotting round like a spring chicken, then he wouldn't. The vet told us to give him a bute if we wanted to ride him but to still give him a long warm up. Yes we can worry about long-term side effects but ultimately it's not really acceptable to have a horse in pain.
 
apercrumbie said:
Yes we can worry about long-term side effects but ultimately it's not really acceptable to have a horse in pain.
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Oh I totally appreciate that - hence she had the vet and is on the danilon. I'm just the sort to worry if there is anything at all to worry about!

Anyway, she is hugely enjoying having a feed again after the summer without, and doesn't seem to have noticed there is anything in there. Her field mate on the other hand is still sans feed and is fuming :D
 
At 25 I wouldn't be at all worried by a Danilon / Bute a day. Yes, very long term there probably would be liver damage but I'd expect something else to crop up before that became the critical problem. Quality of life over quantity for me every time.
 
At 25, I’d not be at all concerned with long term effects, more about quality of life. If a sachet or two makes your horse comfortable, then I’d not hesitate to put her on it.
 
We had a 28yo where I used to work that was on 2 x danilon a day for four years (1 a day for about 2 years before that). It was all about quality of life for him. His legs were shot to bits but he was the happiest little dude. We kept him in a field close to his stable and he had a pretty bespoke package. He did really well on it and it definitely held him together. You would think after all of that bute his insides would give up first but it was his legs that got him in the end sadly....he went peacefully with myself (who had looked after him for ages) and the yard owner with him. He definitely would have been gone a lot sooner if it weren't for the bute, it gave him a comfortable last few years. Benefits definitely outweigh negatives in this situation I think.
 
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