masking the taste of bute - ideas?

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Pancakes

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Long and short of the story one of my horses has to be on bute for 2 weeks am and pm, however little problem he doesnt like the taste - cue feed bucket going flying across the stable :mad: :rolleyes:
So any suggestions how to mask the taste? i did think apple juice but not sure he is big fan, he loves bananas but giving him them everyday for two weeks may cause mayhem:p

ETA: not sure the sheep would agree with him not getting his bute though, this morning he almost squashed one of them when he went flying across the field when i turned him out, he is obviously feeling a little better :eek: :D :D :rolleyes:
 
I tried everything with one of mine but he would not take it. In the end I got a big syringe, cut the nozzle off to make the hole even wider and mixed it in apple juice and shot it into his mouth like a wormer.
 
cptrayes said:
I tried everything with one of mine but he would not take it. In the end I got a big syringe, cut the nozzle off to make the hole even wider and mixed it in apple juice and shot it into his mouth like a wormer.
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This, its much easier and you know its gone in. Or mix it with some warm water, it seems to mix a bit easier if this liquids warm.
 
Syringe is the most reliable message but if you have an anti syringe horse danilon is a good alternative. Comparing danilon and bute is similar to comparing the presentation (not action) of ibuprofen and paracetamol - one is powdery/chalky and not nice to try and get down, the other has a coating which makes it slip down easier and taste more acceptable.

If neither is possible, we used to have success with a particularly fussy horse by pouring a small amount of molassess into the corner of a feedbowl, mixing the bute into the mollassess, then adding the feed and mixing the mollassess through it. Depends on whether mollassess is suitable for your horse though.
 
I use the syringe too, and I cut off the narrow part of the syringe so there's only a hole in the bottom of the cylindrical part, if that makes sense. I tend to just rasp off any rough edge when I've cut off the nozzle.

My technique is to pour the bute powder into the syringe (with my finger over the little hole in the syringe) and then to add enough neat ribena to nearly fill the syringe, but giving enough room for the plunger. I think mine are 30ml syringes.

Then I just shake the syringe up to mix bute/ribena as I take it out to the pony. Seems to work well and means I don't have to wash up any kind of mixing container in addition to the syringe.

Sarah
 
thank you for all the replies. i am not sure how successful syringing the bute in a solution would be as worming him is already a bit of a battle.
the vet has issued me with sachets of bute, so cant really use an alternative either.
Any other suggestions would be gratefully recieved:)
 
My vet recently gave me bute which the horse would not eat, so it was swapped for Danilon, no reason why this should not be possible I just went in and picked it up and the horse ate it with no dramas involved.
 
what about danilon its got no taste???


Here are a few suggestions.


Jam sandwich
make into a paste with natural yogurt and syringe it in
mix with water and syringe it in
get sugar beet juice mix it and syringe it in
get some apple puree and mix it in
mix with honey and smear on tongue
make a hole in apple and put it in \ only mix in puree first
put molasses in feed and mix it
mix some peppermint powder into fee
mix mint powder into feed
garlic powder
cider vinegar in feed
 
Put it in the fridge. Sounds really odd but it does work. Our lad wouldn't take anything with bute in. Someone on the yard suggested putting the bute in the fridge and - bingo.

It was mid summer so we damped the feed, added bute and stuck the lot in the fridge. Being mid winter a whole frozen meal might not be too popular - but try freezing the sachet then adding it at the last minute so it doesn't warm up.
 
My mare cant stand Bute and wont take it disguised with anything. I have syringed it in in the past for other horses. But I didnt want to stress this mare out.
Vet gave me bute and I spoke to him about her not eating it and he exchanged it for danilon instead. She eats the danilon with no issues at all.

With other meds and horses in the past I have used jam/syrup sandwiches and used apple juice to wet feed instead of water and also molasses.
 
mollasses or treacle sandwich with the bute inside

or cut off the top of an apple and scoop out the middle. Put the bute inside and put the "lid" back on the apple

This worked with my old girl who could smell bute from 100 paces
 
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thank you for all the helpful suggestions:) I will persevere with it for another day, may try mixing some cider vinger and then ring vets for some danilon as an alternative if no joy.
 
iv just had this problem and i bought some black treacle, i put a big spoon full in the feed bucket and then mixed the bute in to it, i then added her feed and mixed it all together, she ate it all and licked the bucket,
but remember to take treacle home as i didnt and it was hard the next day :rolleyes:
 
Nutella sandwich. Also mini (or full size) milky way bars are good for packing with pills/powders. Depends on if it's ok for your horse to up his sugar intake with them! (Mine was fine and funnily enough,couldn't wait for the medicine round!)
 
Hi

My boy is on bute at the moment and refusing to eat his feed with it in . I tried the apple sauce sandwich but that didnt work. Cutting up an apple and sprinkling the bute over it seems to be working. Good luck
 
I would say danilon, its sweeter, I know this as it sometimes puffs up when adding it to feed and I get a gobfull of the dust lol

Years ago my old vet told me to mix bute with icing sugar/water and give in a syringe
 
EstherYoung said:
Another vote for Danilon.
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I usually find half a packet of strong mints mixed in boiling water in a mug and poured over tea works.

Don't ever mix drugs into a normal sized meal as it will over face them. Make it much smaller by halfing the made up feed, then add the drugs, and then when they've eaten it give them the rest.

You can also buy peppermint cordial and mix it in the feed but I usually find the strong mints sufficient and easy to do as nearly everyone has a kettle at their yard, a mug, and strong mints or polos.
 
I get a very large, wide bore syringe, fill with apple juice, then add bute. Put plunger in, shake, then down the chops it goes. No reason you couldn't use water instead. I just use juice so my girl looked forward to it (she had a tendon injury some years back) each time. It got to the point she would suck on the syringe.
 
Chop an apple and carrot up, sprinkle over the bute , drizzle some oil over then mix in a handful of nuts or chaff, this works on my mare with the powder form of bute but not the granules.
 
Hi. In a bowl, mix the bute with instant custard or made up Angel delight (caramel flavour does well) and spoon into a dosing syringe.
Remember not to lick the bowl out.
 
Our lad slipped in the field and is now on 4 sachets of bute a day split into 2 per feed, for the next week, have tried the apple juice, reducing his feed, put golden syrup in and hollow apples, tonight I stood and hand fed him, first thing Mon I'm going for a syringe
 
I've found that plain basic Apple juice works a treat! I can add bute to a normal tea (he's only on chop and balancer) with a chopped apple and a good slug of apple juice - and it magically disappears without the "I'm not eating that c**p" face
 
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