Bute - yeah or nay?

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pnap

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Right Jack has overreached at some point and clipped his front left - there is a tiny little scuff on it and it's a bit swollen. Trot him up though and he looks like a 3 legged donkey. Farrier has checked it (as he was getting shod anyway) and there isn't anything else there - no heat and no other apparent injuries. So I haven't ridden him for best part of a week now. Some of the other liveries are saying that I'm being too soft on him and he could well be ridden with a bit of bute - I would rather give his heel time to come down a bit rather than ride him full of bute and perhaps make the swelling worse. What would you lot do?
 
I would not ride a horse if it was buted to mask pain as it will make it worse. Unless of course the vet advises it, but for that type of injury I would think the vet would tell you to wait until the swelling has gone down.

If it has been like that for a week I would call the vet anyway. Is it possible there might be a little infection in there if its been up for over a week? Baron had a tiny cut (about 1cm) which didnt make him lame at all, kept him in 3days until it scabbed over, then 1 week later he came in with a leg the size of a baloon, he had got cellulitis
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Some of the other liveries are saying that I'm being too soft on him and he could well be ridden with a bit of bute

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Ah don't you just love some people and the advice they give??? If he's lame he's in pain. Don't ride him till he's not would be my advice.....
 
Please please please don't ride when on bute. I may be totally biased here as my old boy was almost permanently crippled by the girl I had him on loan to (and isn't anymore I hasten to add) because she rode him (and jumped him) while on bute. I just don't think its a good idea as it masks any pain there is so they can't feel if they are doing more damage to it. I know that its always tempting to get back on but I would err on the side of caution and wait for it to heal.

PS: My boy is now (9 months later) sound again thank god.
 
It's been hibi-scrubbed and tubbed on a daily basis - there isn't anything coming out of it when it's "gently" squeezed. He hasn't even really broken the skin - it more looks like a graze with scuffed skin rather than a cut if you know what I mean. I guess it probably feels like a blister than the skins come off on. As he can walk on it fine I have been turning him out during the day - probably get shot down in flames for that one but I figured he's better off walking about on it rather than standing in and the swelling perhaps getting worse.
 
Don't ride on bute someone at my yard has there 7 year old on bute constantly and has done for over a year. Allthough she still continues to jump and go on incredibly fast hacks. Then wonders why the poor bugger is off lame so regularly!
 
If he's still lame after a week from a graze then I'd have the vet out, tbh. I certainly wouldn't bute him up just to ride
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I'm sure the other liveries would think a bit differently if it was their own horse!
 
Its simple, if your horse is on bute, it should be on box rest, end off.

There's not much in the horse world that gets my back but this always does, it really peeves me off when a horse has an injury, perhaps an old injury which has flared up or arthritis etc and the owners start dosing them up on bute just so they can still ride the poor things... even if its a short plod down the road.

When people say ''oh yes he's a a lot better now and he's not lame anymore even when I hack him out'' (really? I wonder why that is!) might have something to do with you sticking a half a sachet of bute in its food twice a day which is masking the pain, when in fact your hindering the healing process because your now causing more damage no doubt.

Doesn't take too much brains to work out that pain is there for a reason, it's to prevent further damage and further pain, its how we all survive! bute is given for a reason, to make the horses more comfortable during the healing process while the horse is recovering. Then people wonder why when the horse is off bute its still lame!

Your doing more damage having the horse on bute and riding him than you are by taking the horse off bute and turning him out in the field to wander around at leisure, at least if he feels uncomfortable he's not going to running around and causing more damage.

Please people... show little respect for your horses, if he's lame let him be lame but let him have the recovery time he deserves whilst on bute.
 
Bute is a prescitpion only medication and should not be give without veterinary advice.
At that point, vet wil advise if the horse requires box rest, field rest or should be kept in work.
Is is an antiinflammatory drug, so can ease discomfort caused by inflammation but won't make a very lame horse sound.

Howver in this case, I would apply Animalinetx to bring out anything that may be in it, and may help a painful bruise too,.
If then still just as lame, call vet to investigate further,
 
Just to clarify - he's NOT on bute - I don't believe in giving it just so that the pain can be masked and I can ride. If he's lame then I just give him the time to come sound again - however long that may be - if he appears in pain then yeah I'll do something about it but he's fine in walk so I have left well alone and let him wander about in the field during the day to minimise stiffness and swelling.
 
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