When to give bute

[Mancha]

My horse is currently on a sachet of bute a day to make him comfortable enough to ride lightly as he has bone spavin, in the hope that this will help them to fuse.(He has had multiple injections) He is ridden about 4/5 times a week mostly hacking with the odd trot round the school nothing strenuous.
I only feed him once a day in the evening after i've ridden as he lives out with plenty of grass and doesn't really need it it's just to mix the bute into. My question is does it matter if i feed him the bute in the evening and then don't ride him til the next afternoon, as i'm sure i've read somewhere or been told that the bute only stays in their system a certain amount of hours? I cannot feed in the morning due to work, the only time i could feed it would be with a handful of food when i bring him in to groom before i ride so approx 40 mins before he's ridden, which is probably not ideal either really. Hopefully someone can enlighten me on this, my vet didn't really seem that worried but i just want to make sure he's comfortable really

 

[cptrayes]

Bute is an antiinflammatory and not a "painkiller" as such, so it's probably just as good an idea to give it to him after you have worked him to stop the work causing any inflammation. That's possibly why your vet is not concerned.

 

[GreedyGuts]

Actually the reverse is true, bute is a painkiller and has a negligible effect on inflammation.

If your horse is managing ok with the current set up, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[cptrayes]

Actually the reverse is true, bute is a painkiller and has a negligible effect on inflammation.

If your horse is managing ok with the current set up, I wouldn't worry too much.

Sorry? Bute is an NSAID Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug. It has a massive anti-inflammatory effect, which anyone who has given it to any horse with any swollen bits will tell you. It is routinely given to reduce inflammation and its "painkilling" effect is a side-effect of the antiinflammatory action in the reduction of prostaglandins.

One of the many websites that would have told you, that you might like to read to improve your knowledge:

http://thalequine.com/bute-and-banamine-what-horse-owners-should-know/

 

[Mancha]

Yes i was of the understanding it was an anti inflammatory, hense it providing relief for arthritic problems in my horses case.
I probably should have included in my original post, although i'm not having major problems at the moment i do feel he is still quite sore to begin with when i ride him and although he works through it i am wondering if having the bute at a different time may help this, before i decide whether to increase the dose. I would ideally like him to stay on just 1 a day as he will be on it for the forseable future.

 

[rockysmum]

I'm no vet or expert. But I do think Bute takes quite a long time to wear off and clear out of their systems. Certainly more than 24 hours, so I cant see a problem with your current arrangement.

 

[GreedyGuts]

Deary me CPTrayes you do get terribly upset when people contradict you.

I repeat, bute has very few actual anti-inflammatory properties (in contrast to steroids, which do), and the term NSAID is actually considered to be a bit of an anachronism these days. They do indeed interfere with the inflammatory cascade, but their main effect is on the cytokines that mediate pain, not those that cause inflammation.

Thanks for the link but I think I'll continue to read actual scientific texts as a means of keeping my knowledge updated.]

You do make me laugh!

 

[cptrayes]

Dreary me CPTrayes you do get terribly upset when people contradict you (edit- without giving any evidence for the contradiction).

I repeat, bute has very few actual anti-inflammatory properties (in contrast to steroids, which do), and the term NSAID is actually considered to be a bit of an anachronism these days. They do indeed interfere with the inflammatory cascade, but their main effect is on the cytokines that mediate pain, not those that cause inflammation.

Thanks for the link but I think I'll continue to read actual scientific texts as a means of keeping my knowledge updated.]

You do make me laugh!

I'm not upset at all GG, please don't worry. But I do like to learn so please point me to what I need to read to understand why bute, which I have seen over and over again take inflammation out of various bits of horses, is not an effective anti-inflammatory. My last experience of it was that I had to give it to a horse who had a huge inflammatory reaction to a vaccine adjuvant. He was not in pain, as such, it was required to reduce the inflammation in his neck which was threatening to close his throat. It worked in an hour even though I was forced to give it via syringe orally and not intravenously as the vet could not get to me in time.


I have pointed you to one source of a huge number which calls it a "potent antiinflammatory" and I can find none which suggest it is not. Clearly I am looking in the wrong place and need you to point me to the right one.

Can you do that for me, politely, please?

 

[Zuzzie]

Actually, I specifically asked my vet about the timing of feeding bute and he went to the trouble of explaining that when bute gets into the system it will have a peak and a trough - in other words, if you want to get the best from your horse before riding, then feed it about half an hour or an hour before riding. It will then gradually decrease in effectiveness until the next time you feed another sachet. Bute takes about 3 days to come out of the system in order for a vet to assess any level of lameness but it can take up to 8 days to clear completely. It definitely does have a painkilling effect, much like ibuprofen for humans which will take down inflamation but also ease pain (you can take it for headaches and joint problems like tennis elbow).

 

[Mancha]

Brilliant thankyou Zuzzie that was more the response i was hoping for! I think i may aim to feed it with a handful before i ride.