Experiences of long term bute use

[Cocorules]

My pony had arthritis she has been on bute for about 7 years. She also has cushings and is on parascend and has been for about the same length of time. She is fed hay, spillers high fibre cubes with equimins hoof mender and a little vegetable oil plus grass. She lives out.

She has gone off her hard feed but loves her hay. It doesn't seem to be the prascend that is a problem (that is fed once a day only) but I am concerned about the bute. I have called the vet, but I just wondered if anyone had any experiences of a horse going off hard feed but being happy on hay. My other horses are fed the same minus the medication and they are still eating it so I think it is specific to this pony and possibly the meds.

 

[be positive]

It is a known side effect of prascend that they often go off their feed sometimes short term but it can be long term as well, never known bute have any effect other than the possible ulcer/ liver damage risk which is relatively low, with the one I had on prascend I had to keep changing hard feed to get him eating anything, he was losing weight so needed more than just hay in the winter to maintain him, if yours looks well then I would not worry too much as long as you can get the meds in each day most don't really need hard food as long as they eat plenty of hay.

 

[NinjaPony]

I doubt it would be the bute-my welsh a has been on a small dose of danilon for his arthritis for 9 years now, and he is still the greediest pony on the yard and eats every last scrap of the small amount of hard feed he gets!

 

[PapaverFollis]

Both with the old guy who was on bute for a couple of years and now with Granny, who is looking to need bute long term now, the bute use seems to have had the opposite effect - They have got very enthusiastic about tea in a bucket! (Sounds stupid and probably not real but I feel like they know/knew their painkiller was in it and were happy to have it). I doubt it is the bute and much more likely to be prascend as appetite loss is a known side effect.

 

[Birker2020]

Both with the old guy who was on bute for a couple of years and now with Granny, who is looking to need bute long term now, the bute use seems to have had the opposite effect - They have got very enthusiastic about tea in a bucket! (Sounds stupid and probably not real but I feel like they know/knew their painkiller was in it and were happy to have it). I doubt it is the bute and much more likely to be prascend as appetite loss is a known side effect.

My vet says long term bute is not an issue over several years on low dose. My friends horse has been on half a sachet a day for about 6 years which increased to one bute a day a few months ago although she would reconsider her options should the horse require to be on an increased amount i.e. an extra half or one sachet, which I think it a bit daft unless it was something like three or four a day. Her horse has never looked better on it. Her horse was treated by the vet for various arthritis issues and it was her vets opinion that she could put her horse on half a sachet a day to eliminate any lameness and just crack on having fun on it which she did, doing the odd unaff sj comp and dressage comps until an reoccurring injury stopped play.

I know of a few horse that are on long term bute including one that was about 14.1hh and was on a sachet a day for over 12 years and died of something unrelated. I think the general consensus is that they will die of old age/another problem before they die of a problem related to bute.

 

[ihatework]

It’s more likely to be an effect of the prascend than the bute. Although monitoring LFTs on horses taking bute long term is good practice (not that I do!).

I started a 7yo on low dose bute, he is now coming 13 and will be on it for rest of days. Actually it’s Danilon, but for palitability rather than anything else (which might be worth trying if you are convinced it’s the bute)

 

[Birker2020]

Her horse was treated by the vet for various arthritis issues and it was her vets opinion that she could put her horse on half a sachet a day to eliminate any lameness and just crack on having fun on it which she did, doing the odd unaff sj comp and dressage comps until an reoccurring injury stopped play.

.

Sorry meant to say stiffness not lameness!!!

 

[Cocorules]

Thanks - just to update she is now eating her feed again including her meds. Vet couldn't say what it might have been but doesn't think it was the bute either.