At 12:32:52 on 11.03.10, DansMum wrote:
Hi Mums old horse, Gifford, has horrible arthritis in his neck which has resulted him being on Bute, 2 sachets a day, for life. Great. But he doesnt like the taste! I have got round this so far by mixing black treacle in with sugarbeet then adding the bute then mixing into his feed. I wondered if Bute was affected by heating? I had a thought about trying some horsey 'flapjacks' for the bute to gine as a treat. I plan to mix some Old Faithful with a little oil black treacle and bute and bake in little balls for about 15mins. Dont want to do this though if the Bute is affected by the baking process..... Any thoughts welcome.

At 18:06:23 on 12.03.10, chrissie wrote:
not sure what its called but there is a bute thats suger coated, most horses seem to take these ok.

At 13:34:04 on 13.03.10, DansMum wrote:
Yes thats called Danalon and he wont eat that either. I get bute down him now by mixing it with black treacle and sugarbeet in his feed. I just wanted to make some bute treats to make life a bit easier.

At 22:14:45 on 15.03.10, farasi wrote:
Can you not try Devils Claw long term use of bute is very damaging to the horse, but I am sure your vet warned you of the side effects, there is a product devils claw based called no bute, and does not have the same effects. I use a magnetic collar on my dog which makes a difference, bio flow do bands for horse to wear on their legs and other places. Don't put any magnets on the head or around the ears though.

At 09:05:56 on 16.03.10, Em28 wrote:
Magnetic bands do work, well they have on the horse I ride anyway. He still wears a band on his off hind overnight as he had a hock spavin there.

At 14:25:04 on 16.03.10, DansMum wrote:
The vet has said no bute subsitute would work effectivley enough. Unfortunatley if I dont get it down him then the pain from the arthritis would get so bad then he'll have to be put down! I just wondered if the effectiveness of the drug is affected by heating it?

At 16:44:44 on 16.03.10, farasi wrote:
I would say yes the heat would likely effect the active ingredients in the bute or reduce some of the properties, one way to find out, try it and see if there is a difference. Although from a cynical point of view is the vet saying this as they are making lots of money on the bute? That an alternative would not work, most of the alternatives need to build up in the system. Have you had a cortison injection (steriod) as this usually releaves really bad arthritus and gets done on people, and had it done on a horse for that reason, longer lastin and in the long run likely cheaper than but all the time, but I am no vet and don't know his case history and he may of had this done already. Just trying to help out with other options.

At 17:47:14 on 16.03.10, Texas wrote:
Hi DansMum, have had the same problem in the past and found that using carton apple juice worked,might be worth a try. Good luck.