The effects of long term bute...

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Honeypots

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How long is long term?
What are the effects of long term use?
and is there anything that can be given to help or improve any effects?

Thankyou
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it can effect the gut lining after a while and therefore actualyl increase the chance of laminitis, but pretty sure it requires a LONG LOOOOOOOONG administration for that to occur (don't ask me how long long is, probably a number of years of solid administration!)

why are you using bute long term may i ask?
 
I had my old horse on bute for many years and he was fine. It can cause stomach problems though and apparently this is more likely to happen in ponies than horses for some reason.
 
Thanks all..

LN: I'm not using bute long term atm although I have a pony arriving with laminitis and he's on 1 a.m and 1 p.m atm and it got me wondering how long they could be on it before any problems and what those problems may be..
 
I think it depends on the horse, I had a gelding with navicular that was on 3 grams a day (3 sachets) for a week and he reacted - ulcers in his mouth and terrible diarrheoa. Unfotunately it permenantly affected his gut and he wasn't able to effectively absorb food afterwards. My mare is currently on bute and has been for 2 months and it hasn't affected her at all. I do keep an eye on her mouth (looking for ulcers) and her droppings just in case though!
 
My 10yr old TB is currently on one danilon ever other day and will stay on this for the rest of his life. After long talks with the vet (and advice from peope on here) I decided it was more important that his life was of a better quality and if necessary slightly shorter. From what I gather danilon is kinder to the stomach - Jesper is on it rather than bute as he's prone to colic and my vet felt long term bute was not suitable. I'd talk to your vets, mine were really helpful.
 
My vet uses Danilon instead of bute. There are less side effects.

A friend's horse has been on Danilon for 3 years without problem.
 
My 28 year old mare has been on one phenylbutazone(sp?) a day since she was 15. She is still alive and kicking in spite of an impressive list of injuries and ailments, which have nothing to do with the long term bute!
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The dangers of bute are often overstated I believe (though I don't claim to be an expert), from what I read once a lot of the problems caused were in thoroughbred types on low fibre diets on a very high dosage.

FHC was on one every other day for about two years, followed by one a day for eight years. Never any sign of a problem (- touch wood).
 
i was told (by vet) that until they are 2/3 daily (for 15.2 tb) long term effects likley to be be minimal and at this point danilion was better as aborbed quicker causing less damage.
 
most horses dont get side effects that cause problems
unless they are either very sensitive
or been on high dose for a long time.by which i mean 2-3 sachets (for a horse) per day for 4-6 years plus.
 
danilon is metabolised to bute (among other things) once absorbed and (like any NSAID) can also cause ulcers in the digesttive tract.(however, it has less potential for this than bute)

other side effects of bute can be-
renal damage, bleeding disorders, protein loss,
decreased appetite, weight loss, mild colic,
poor performance, depression, lying down
more than normal, diarrhea, accumulation
of fluid under the belly, and anemia with
signs of pale gums and weakness.
 
My retired 15.3 IDX has been on an average of 1 Danilon a day for the last 3 years. Touch wood he is ok so far. If you are worried about side effects you could give your horse milk thistle as a precaution as it is supposed to help regenerate the liver.
 
My sisters horse has been on a low dose (half a sachet every other day) for 3 years with no noticeable side effects.
It was being used to treat symptoms of side bone, and to allow him to work whilst the bone finished settling down.

He is now in light work without any bute!

the only possible effect (thinking about it) is that his coat and skin have been quite dry latterly, but this may not be due to the bute!
 
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