To bute or not to bute (LGL)

[Wagtail]

My mare has low grade laminitis in one foot. She is sound going out to the sand paddock, but after hooning about, she is lame again. Vet said to put her out for a couple of hours daily, but I am now going to try keeping her on box rest for a week and see if this helps it to settle down. I was thinking that now she is on box rest again, to give her one danilon a day. Not for the pain, because in the stable she is very comfortable, but for the inflammation, to help it to settle down. I have given her one this morning. Do you think the danilon will help mend her? I think that the laminitis is so low grade now that it is just residual inflammation that keeps getting aggravated by movement. If she would just walk around calmly, she would be fine going out as vet suggested, but I have to separate her from her friends as she steals all the haylage and they go in the field next to her, but every time they have a hoon about, or leave her and go to the other end of the field, she stresses.

 

[touchstone]

I only bute my laminitic for pain relief, I realise it is anti inflammatory, but it can also upset the gut balance and gives the liver more work to do.

I'd keep in until sound and no pulses off bute for afew days, then try to gradually re introduce tunout for a couple of hours at a time. I'd also pop a companion in with her, a few hours haylage free won't hurt the companion.

Just to add, the reason that I think my mare was going footy with movement was because the lamellar bonds were still weakened after lgl. The movement set off further disruption to the laminae and caused the inflammation, so I figured that a few weeks for better laminae to establish at the top of the hoof helped to reduce problems once moving about.

 

[be positive]

I would give her some to help the inflammation, the quicker it settles the better as she will be healing faster, it will not make any difference to her hooning around, the idea, not that it is what you are suggesting, that if they feel pain they will not run around rarely works with a flight animal, instinct to run takes over unless they physically cannot move.
Stress is not helpful either it can prolong the laminitis or make it worse so keeping her as happy as you can will be best. Could she go out with just one sensible friend for a short while without any food to cause issues, just a 1/2 hour each day may be enough to help her feel better and get her moving around quietly.

 

[sally2]

No harm in giving her one a day for 4 or 5 days it should help. Most horses are ok on bute i know horses that have been on a 2 or 3 butes a week to help with arthritis for years as long as they get regular breaks from it most are ok.

 

[touchstone]

This article might help you to decide.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/28299/chronic-laminitis-understanding-lameness-and-low-dose-bute

To treat any lameness issue a veterinarians must first identify the origins of pain and etiologies responsible--something that can be particularly challenging in a horse with laminitis. David Hood, DVM, PhD, of the Hoof Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Clinic (HDRC) in Bryan, Texas, shared some effective methods to pinpoint laminitic pain and explored using the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) phenylbutazone (Bute) to control it at the 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, held Oct. 28-31 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Veterinarians often use differential nerve blocks to pinpoint pain's region of origin (e.g., solar, heel, fetlock, metacarpal, etc.). In a series of experiments using nerve blocks on chronically laminitic horses coupled with force plate evaluation of lameness severity, Hood noted the following results:

Not all lameness is a result of pain avoidance (Some "appear to be related to chronic elevation of the heels and/or contracture of the flexor tendons and suspensory apparatus," Hood explained.);
Most lameness originates in the solar and heel regions, rather than the laminar interface.
Nondigital lameness (such as due to degenerative joint disease higher up in the limb) frequently is superimposed on digital lameness; and
There is a high incidence of hind limb lameness in horses with chronic laminitis, attributed to "repeated overloading of the rear limbs in attempts to rise without fully loading the forefeet," said Hood.

Hood also described an experimental study on Bute's pain-relieving effects in which he administered low-dose oral Bute to 20 laminitic horses 30 minutes before morning feeding, followed by performing a force plate-based stance analysis in the afternoon.

Hood noted rapid response (lameness improvement) in 30-50% of the horses within the first 24 hours. Their pain levels plateaued (stopped improving), however, after four to 10 days on this regimen. When treatment was discontinued after 10 days the horses all returned to their original levels of lameness within three to eight days.

Conclusions Hood drew from this study include:

Don't expect a rapid response with Bute administration, and don't elevate a horse's dosage until his pain levels have plateaued.
NSAIDs do not address pathologies associated with laminitis.
Owners should be forewarned of a delayed return to lameness in horses after Bute use has been discontinued.



Considering that laminits has also been attributed to leaky gut syndrome, and bute is a known gut irritant I'd avoid it unless essential.

 

[Wagtail]

I only bute my laminitic for pain relief, I realise it is anti inflammatory, but it can also upset the gut balance and gives the liver more work to do.

I'd keep in until sound and no pulses off bute for afew days, then try to gradually re introduce tunout for a couple of hours at a time. I'd also pop a companion in with her, a few hours haylage free won't hurt the companion.

Just to add, the reason that I think my mare was going footy with movement was because the lamellar bonds were still weakened after lgl. The movement set off further disruption to the laminae and caused the inflammation, so I figured that a few weeks for better laminae to establish at the top of the hoof helped to reduce problems once moving about.

That makes a lot of sense, thank you.

 

[Wagtail]

I would give her some to help the inflammation, the quicker it settles the better as she will be healing faster, it will not make any difference to her hooning around, the idea, not that it is what you are suggesting, that if they feel pain they will not run around rarely works with a flight animal, instinct to run takes over unless they physically cannot move.
Stress is not helpful either it can prolong the laminitis or make it worse so keeping her as happy as you can will be best. Could she go out with just one sensible friend for a short while without any food to cause issues, just a 1/2 hour each day may be enough to help her feel better and get her moving around quietly.

Yes, I will put her out after a couple of days with the other horse that is prone to laminitis. Certainly won't harm him to go without haylage for a bit.

 

[Wagtail]

No harm in giving her one a day for 4 or 5 days it should help. Most horses are ok on bute i know horses that have been on a 2 or 3 butes a week to help with arthritis for years as long as they get regular breaks from it most are ok.

Thank you. Yes, she is okay with it.

 

[Wagtail]

This article might help you to decide.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/28299/chronic-laminitis-understanding-lameness-and-low-dose-bute

To treat any lameness issue a veterinarians must first identify the origins of pain and etiologies responsible--something that can be particularly challenging in a horse with laminitis. David Hood, DVM, PhD, of the Hoof Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Clinic (HDRC) in Bryan, Texas, shared some effective methods to pinpoint laminitic pain and explored using the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) phenylbutazone (Bute) to control it at the 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, held Oct. 28-31 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Veterinarians often use differential nerve blocks to pinpoint pain's region of origin (e.g., solar, heel, fetlock, metacarpal, etc.). In a series of experiments using nerve blocks on chronically laminitic horses coupled with force plate evaluation of lameness severity, Hood noted the following results:

Not all lameness is a result of pain avoidance (Some "appear to be related to chronic elevation of the heels and/or contracture of the flexor tendons and suspensory apparatus," Hood explained.);
Most lameness originates in the solar and heel regions, rather than the laminar interface.
Nondigital lameness (such as due to degenerative joint disease higher up in the limb) frequently is superimposed on digital lameness; and
There is a high incidence of hind limb lameness in horses with chronic laminitis, attributed to "repeated overloading of the rear limbs in attempts to rise without fully loading the forefeet," said Hood.

Hood also described an experimental study on Bute's pain-relieving effects in which he administered low-dose oral Bute to 20 laminitic horses 30 minutes before morning feeding, followed by performing a force plate-based stance analysis in the afternoon.

Hood noted rapid response (lameness improvement) in 30-50% of the horses within the first 24 hours. Their pain levels plateaued (stopped improving), however, after four to 10 days on this regimen. When treatment was discontinued after 10 days the horses all returned to their original levels of lameness within three to eight days.

Conclusions Hood drew from this study include:

Don't expect a rapid response with Bute administration, and don't elevate a horse's dosage until his pain levels have plateaued.
NSAIDs do not address pathologies associated with laminitis.
Owners should be forewarned of a delayed return to lameness in horses after Bute use has been discontinued.



Considering that laminits has also been attributed to leaky gut syndrome, and bute is a known gut irritant I'd avoid it unless essential.

Thanks for that. Very interesting. To late today as she had a danilon this morning and one just an hour ago. Will leave her without tomorrow. I have noticed the delayed return to lameness she has had in the past after she has been given it for a few days.