talk to me about feeding danilon

[SEL]

So since the big boy had his leg x-rayed and we realised how bad the ringbone was I've been left with a big box of danilon and instructions to keep him in light exercise.

I've had mixed feedback on when to actually give him the danilon. At the time the vet asked me to do 2 sachets a day for a week to bring the inflammation down and then said to just feed when I ride. The ground has been too hard to do much and its only last week that the saddle was refitted so he's had 2 months completely off.

Yesterday morning I gave him 1 sachet (he's around 700kg) pre-ride. We had a lazy, end of buckle plod out for 20 mins and then turned for home. At which point he jumped a small ditch (that we'd just walked through but hey, trolls in ditch on the way home) and then p'd off with me down the bridle path.

Given this is my hairy Ardennes please visualise an over-sized Thelwell pony galloping, with his rider (who was dozing and thinking about her tea) hanging on with 1 stirrup and reins still on the buckle. There was hair and mud flying everywhere and loud swearing!

Its great that he thinks he's well enough to have a blast (blubber and lack of fitness meant it was a short blast followed by a very puffed Thelwell), but I don't want him to completely trash his bad leg.

Is it better to give him danilon after we've ridden so that he's a bit more aware of his dodgy leg and we stay in plod or do people tend to give it beforehand so they're more comfortable?

 

[Goldenstar]

I would give it in the morning then leave a couple of hours before I ride .
If I needed to ride first thing I would give it at night once they are on it a while and it's in their system all the time it will probably make little difference .

 

[First Flame]

My vet has always led me to believe that one sachet only really acts as a light anti inflammatory and that the feeding of 2 sachets+ is when it heads more into the pain killing territory. My guess is his high spirits might be more to do with generally feeling full of it than the effects of one sachet of danilon . It depends what the aim of feeding the Danilon is? Is it to stop him from being sore and stiff following a ride or making sure he is comfortable enough to be ridden? My thoughts would be as he has not been put on a maintenance daily dose that it could be to help keep him comfortable following being ridden? Could you text the vet and ask? Bute generally takes a couple of hours to take effect and starts to have little effect after 24 hours although can remain in the system longer. When my girl was first put on bute for her arthritis I fed it after being ridden so she did not feel stiff following working, now she is on a maintenance dose of 1/2-1 sachet daily.

 

[SEL]

No suggestion of a maintenance dose right now - so it's more to help him keep exercising. Keeping the blubber under control as well as making sure he doesn't seize up. I'll check next time the vet is out, but I'm guessing I need sufficient in his system that he's ok to go for a plod without the bad leg hurting too much, so if I feed at breakfast it should be ok.

I did try him on the horse walker on the vets suggestion, but it wasn't Ardennes friendly. He stopped to have a snooze......

 

[Izzwizz]

My horse has 1 daily and in his breakfast. Works well for him as he's usually ridden on a morning then turned out. Danilon is absorbed quicker into their system, is kinder on their interenal organs than ordinary bute, hence the more expensive it is.