Lameness continuing...Help please?

[HorseS0S]

Hi guys, I have posted about my sisters' horse and his lameness problem a couple of times. I got all your opinions about the long-term use of bute and so many people reccomended giving it a try that we have.

Small recap: 19 yr old ex-racehorse, Ongoing lameness for months and months, extensive vet checks two overnight stays whilst tests were carried out, results utterly inconclusive. Horse practically retired, back shoes off. Farrier says try bute longterm, got yor opinions, went for it.

After 5 days, lunged him, no better, Today noe 10 days into it, still lame on both reigns in trot.

How can he be feeling anything? I thought the bute would kill any pain and he would be sound????

Any advice? Anyone had this with their horse? Anything would be great to hear? x x x

 

[kerilli]

umm, well, my understanding is that bute is like an aspirin, not like heroin... i.e. it will take the edge off a low-grade pain, but if the horse is in serious pain, it won't mask it all. vets don't give bute for high-level pain, they give serious whammy painkillers.
how many are you giving him a day?
fwiw i had a horse with a pedal bone problem, was told by vet there was nothing they could do, took him home for a few days fussing before being pts. i was told to give him 2 bute twice a day, that didn't touch it. then i gave him 5 (what the hell, he was going to heaven the next day anyway) and he was still dead lame... it just wasn't a strong enough painkiller.
to be brutally honest, if the horse is too lame to potter about the field happily with the aid of a bute or two, then it is time to be very brave and do the right thing for him.

 

[cpendle]

I don't think bute will necessarily work if it is a mechanical lameness - which is more likely to be a chronic (and I'm afraid uncureable condition) in an older horse.

If it's a mechanical lameness the horse is not necessarily in pain - his body just isn't moving in the way that it should.

I do think this is something you should take proper veterinary advice on though.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Any advice? Anyone had this with their horse? Anything would be great to hear?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yep - mechanical lamenss. No real reason, just a rather buggered ex steeple chaser. Fully retired on 1 Danillon a day, until he was put down some months later.