There seems to be a clear divide in the bute camp!

This is quite a difficult question really.

My old horse has been on one bute a day for several years now - I don't actually remember exactly when he went on it permenantly, but thing it would be 5 yrs ago. He is 30 yrs old now. He had a number of years on things such as cortaflex, until they just stopped helping. Agree with the poster who mentioned that things like the farrier are difficult for him without it. He is full of life, and went for a short (30 minutes) hack on saturday, and did a collected canter (his choice, not mine) along the riverbank. He wanted to go rather faster but the likelihood woudl be that I wouldn't be able to stop and he would be lame the next day from galloping. So we bounced instead. If one bute a dayhelps him feel this good then I am happy to continue.

However, I am not at all sure how I would feel about doing with with a younger horse, say my other one who is 10. I certainly wouldn't bute daily so that he could be ridden 'normally' I don't think. Who knows though, if it happened I might change my mind.
 
I had my old retired shire on daily bute for over 5 years. He didn't suffer any side effects. Towards the end of his days I had him on 4 a day, because of his painful and stiff joints.
I also give my retired TB bute if he needs it. He's had a good year with hardly any need for pain relief, but I think he might start to want one a day now the colder weather has arrived - it will be up to him.

On the other hand, if my riding horse has an injury, I prefer to not give him any form of pain killer and he'll only have a bute if I want it for the anti-inflammatory reasons otherwise he's likely to mess around, and I prefer to keep him aware of the fact that he has to keep quiet and still!

Edited to add: I would not ride a horse that had to be given bute to mask lameness, and I definitely think it's wrong allowing competition horses to have bute.
 
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I dont really see any issue with giving a low level of bute but it depends on the reason. If its athritis then I dont see why not. Giving pain relief should help the horse move around more which will help the condition. But I dont agree if its to try and keep an horse sound enough to ride (due to an old injury or something) as it could be making the injury worse. I personally would try herbal pain relief first to see if that works before turning to bute purely because long term its not good for them.
 
JustFindingTheDecorations said:
It's a tricky situation. On the one hand, you want to maintain quality of life for the horse (or you'd be better having it pts) but you have to weigh this against the risk of the horse (or owner) doing further damage as a result of feeling better and the risks of bute toxicity.

I have more of a problem with people using bute in order to ride / work horses, or using it indiscriminately, often followed by turning the animal out - pain is there for a reason, to protect the horse from further injury. To remove the pain is only asking for trouble in my opinion.

However, if you accept that your horse has a condition like arthritis - where pain relief may be essential for quality of life, I don't see the problem. Using bute to keep a horse sound enough to do an optimal amount of very light, steady work (which helps with the stiffness) and to maintain quality of life in a horse is one thing - using bute to enable you to compete your horse is another - and totally unacceptable.
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Agree! I hate it when people have a lame horse and they bute it up and turn it out!:eek:
 
Seeing I suffer from arthritis in my fingers and spine, with pain relief I'm able to live the life I want too, so should I deny my horses pain relief if they had arthritis and needed it to live a happy life. But from what I understood from my vets they will put on Bute for a little while and if long term will find other treatments.
 
traceyann said:
My own opinion i wouldnt keep a horse on two bute a day long term more than five years. Its just how i feel.
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So what would you do when the 5 years is up? Put down a horse that was otherwise well and happy but on two butes a day?

I have had horses on low bute doses for well over 5 years with no side effects whatsoever. It made their lives more comfortable and meant they lived many more years than if they hadn't had bute.
 
Yes i would to be truthfull i dont think i would to it for five years. The reason iv been on pain killers twenty years broken back its affected my kidneys my stomach and liver. And sometimes cant keep food down. would i do that to my horse no never Im not saying im right its how i feel.
 
I have absolutely no problem with having to maintain a horse on bute for what ever reason. Why not? I have to take medication every day to control medical conditions so why should I deny my horse the same necessity?

Obviously if you are competing your horse under rules it is a different matter and so on.
 
My horse has navicular. With advice from the vet, he is on 1 bute a day. He is hacked quietly 3 or 4 times a week. If he wasn't on the bute, he would not manage this. At only 11 years old I didn't want to use bute, but my vet talked me into it. The vet said I can give him up to 3 bute a day, I personally think that's too much. My horse is a lot happier on bute, didn't realise how uncomfortable he was and was changing his way of going.
 
I have always said as soon as my horse has to rely on bute permanently he is being PTS as it only masks the pain and doesn't get rid of the problem. However, I think if it came to it I would be quite happy to keep him with one sachet a day and no more. After all, we'd do anything to keep our horses alive wouldn't we?!
But I really am not a long term bute fan.
 
traceyann said:
Yes i would to be truthfull i dont think i would to it for five years. The reason iv been on pain killers twenty years broken back its affected my kidneys my stomach and liver. And sometimes cant keep food down. would i do that to my horse no never Im not saying im right its how i feel.
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But you can have blood tests done at any time to see if the internal organs are affected. I just think in the real world, no one would put down a healthy horse just because it has been on bute for 5 years.
 
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