Long term bute/Danilon?

MorganAN00

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I have a pony with cushings who still very much wants to be out and about enjoying life but has had a very slight lameness in her front leg for over 2 years now. We’ve done all sorts of scans etc but vets haven’t been able to find a cause. My question is has anyone had any experiences with feeding an older horse bute or danilon so that they can carry on and enjoy life rather than being sat in a field? I obviously plan to speak about this with my vet but just wandered if anyone has done it?
 

Pearlsasinger

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We had an elderly Appaloosa who was on bute for about 3 years, ridden for the first year then retired to the field for the last 2, mostly because she didn't understand the concept of taking it steady.
 

Pinkvboots

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My horse lived on Bute for about 5 years she only got half a day in summer and one a day in winter, she had arthritis and was ridden very lightly and it just helped her cope with it a bit better I would definitely do it again if I felt the horse needed it.
 

NinjaPony

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Just go for it. My retired pony has been on half a danilon a day for 9 years and is showing absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. I see it as no different to us taking a painkiller a day. I wouldn’t want to be riding a pony in hard work who needed daily painkillers but it’s given my retired pony 9 happy painfree years charging around his field. I don’t see the harm if you are just pottering around.
 

Auslander

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Yep. Alf (22) has bute when he looks a bit stiff/creaky - although he needs it less often since he started having cartrophen jabs every 3 months. Vet said that he is not allowed to retire as he will fall apart! He has arthritis and tatty suspensories - he's much better kept in light work
 

hairycob

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We had a pony on long term bite, mid 20 when he started. He was ridden lightly for a couple of years until we didn't have a rider. He spent a couple of years retired before he struggled on hard summer ground even upping the dose. The bute never caused a problem.
 

Orangehorse

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Yes, mine has been on 1/2 danilion for 2 years. I had to up it to 1 a couple of times during the winter and wondered if it was morally correct, but lately has been much better. Vet says to keep riding him as riding helps to keep him sound.
 

SEL

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I've got an arthritic field pet on 1 x sachet bute a day and (touch wood) no issues. He's 650kg so 1 isn't that much and I increase if he needs his feet trimming or if he's been a bit silly and made himself sore.
 

moosea

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I have no problem with long term buting of horses for diagnosed and untreatable lameness. However I'd be concerned that your horse has no diagnosis and that the lameness may get worse with work which may be hidden by the bute?
 

Cinnamontoast

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Mine’s 18 and arthritic. He’s on a Danilon a day, sometimes more, like for the farrier or when he’s had a hooley round the field with a friend. The vet isn’t worried. Once he becomes uncomfortable on hard ground and I can’t get him back on an even keel, I’ll know it’s time. Until then, he’s being lightly ridden.

Mine has had 2 sets of x rays done, we know exactly what we’re dealing with.
 

oldie48

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the old TB who i lost at 28 was on bute for the last few years of his life. My vet let me have a good supply and I used it as I thought fit. My view was if he wasn't sound and happy in the field then I would pts, if Bute kept him painfree then so be it, I'd use it, if it had a negative effect then I'd PTS. I knew him so well that I knew when a sachet would help him, tbh I think we need to be fairly pragmatic, if I shortened his life by a year or too but kept him pain free surely no-one would object. I'm sure he didn't!
 

Pearlsasinger

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I have no problem with long term buting of horses for diagnosed and untreatable lameness. However I'd be concerned that your horse has no diagnosis and that the lameness may get worse with work which may be hidden by the bute?


As bute is a POM, if the vet is happy to prescribe it, I would be happy to give it. I would think that it would be easier to spot changes in the way of going ridden rather than reitried to the field. I would only be doing light hacking though, for a horse in this position.
 

hopscotch bandit

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Yes mines been on it for about eight years as arthritis hocks neck and coffin joint. First 5 years was half a sachet a day but 3 years ago when diagnosed with neck arthritis i upped it to one a day. Recently seen by a neuro specialist who said carry on with ridden and day to day care as normal as he felt she had a very good quality of life. Like Auslander i was also told by my vet that me working her was the glue that kept her together and after a hard life retiring with her problems would be tountamount to sealing her fate. Bute long term on low dose is rarely an issue. But 3 or 4 no way. I would even start thinking if mine had to be upped to two sachets a day even though i take 17 damned tablets myself every day for pain relief lol
 

FNC

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My mare is 25 and has arthritis in her front pasterns. She’s been on daily Danilon for probably about 3 years now and up until a year ago she was ridden regularly (quietly). She started on 1 per day, then 1.5 then at the start of last winter upped to 2 per day. She was fine until a few weeks ago. She has taken a turn for the worse now and vet has increased her dose to 4 per day this week, and we are going to try a mix of Danilon and paracetamol from next week, but I think she won’t be with us much longer. However in answer to your question, she’s had no issue with long term daily Danilon use
 

HashRouge

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My 26 year old has just (in the last 12 months) started having a daily danilon. She's retired as she's too small for me anyway (she's my childhood pony) but I don't see anything wrong with danilon/ bute and light ridden work. Wouldn't feel comfortable about more than that though. It keeps my mare moving more freely and so far we have had no problems. She is on a sachet a day atm.
 

skint1

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My horse has Cushings and various arthritic joints, he has 1 a day or sometimes every other day normally and is in light ridden work. He's absolutely fine on it and seems happy. For the last couple of years he's gone down lame every March and at that point it normally gets upped to 2 whilst we figure out what's going on.
 

Chianti

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I took on my first loan horse when she was 18. She had been on an Equipalazone every day (pre Danilon) since she was 15 following a diagnosis of navicular. She got to 27 doing lightish hacking a few days a week and the occasional go in the school remembering about walk to canter transitions. She loved her life and could still be a handful to ride. My last horse was retired at 12 and had a Danilon a day to keep her comfortable in the field. As long as you don't abuse the horse I think it works very well.
 

Equi

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When i had my boy xrayed at 17 to find out his issue, vet said when i feel the need he can go on danilon fulltime cause it won't be the thing that kills him basically. Thankfully we as of yet have not needed to go on it but if and when he does, he will without any thought.
 
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