What is bute (equestrian)?

Question

i know its an anti- inflamitary

but is it a painkiller aswell?

can it hide lameness?

Answer 1

Yes, it is also a pain-killer, and yes, it can be used to mask lameness if it's a minor condition causing it.  My dad bought a horse home that went lame the next day- when he confronted the former owners they admitted to giving her a large dose of Bute when he went to look at her and again before he picked her up.  Of course, she was taken back and they refunded the $ he paid for her.  

Answer 2

Yes it is a painkiller in a since.  When the inflamation is reduced so will the pain.  It is unlikely that it will hide lameness.  The effects aren't strong enough for bute alone to mask laminitis nor does it last long.

Answer 3

Many people consider Bute to be as harmless as aspirin - Caution should always be used when using Bute.  It cannot hide severe lameness.

Phenylbutazone, or "Bute" as it commonly is known, is a potent compound that is classified as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It moderates inflammation, reducing pain, swelling, and heat, and restoring function as a result.

There are side effects of the drug which can be very harmful to the horse. The most important ones affect the gastrointestinal tract and occasionally the urinary tract. Ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract are the most common result of these side effects. The damage is clearly related to dose and duration of treatment,

The official recommended dose of phenylbutazone is two to four grams per day for a 1,000-pound horse, by either the injectable or oral route. Intravenous dosage should be limited to five days, then continued dosage should be by the oral route.  Interestingly, the lowest dose associated with gastrointestinal problems is slightly below four grams a day, when the drug is administered for seven to 14 days. As a result, most practitioners are comfortable using the higher dose level (four grams per day) for no more than five to six days, then reducing the dose to two grams a day.

Sometimes horses will have trouble even with this lower dosage scheme, so any horse on Bute therapy should be watched carefully for early signs of trouble. The early signs are fairly non-specific and include colic, fever, grinding of teeth, and sometimes diarrhea. Those signs easily could be the result of some other gastrointestinal problem, such as Potomac horse fever, or infectious colitis. To confirm that the signs observed are related to phenylbutazone toxicity, some laboratory tests are indicated.

In acute injury or unexplained inflammation of sudden onset, a course of treatment will hardly ever exceed 14 days duration, so phenylbutazone toxicity should not be a problem. If an initial dose schedule of four grams is indicated, reducing that to two grams as soon as possible is a good idea. The big problem comes with chronic inflammation, such as in laminitis or chronic arthritic problems. In those situations, anti-inflammatory therapy might be indicated over a longer period of time. In fact, phenylbutazone might be the best drug to use in these situations. Faced with that scenario, a dose of two grams a day should not be exceeded, and that dose should be in the oral form. In addition, the animal should be monitored carefully for the duration of the treatment.

Young horses appear to be more susceptible to the problems of phenylbutazone toxicity. Foals and yearlings with inflammatory disorders should be managed very carefully with regard to anti-inflammatory medication. Other drugs that reduce inflammation by the same means (prostaglandin suppression), particularly flunixin meglumine (Banamine), are capable of causing similar toxicity in horses and are also especially hazardous to young foals.

In summary, phenylbutazone and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compounds are very effective at reducing inflammation, and can be valuable assets in the management of many equine problems. But, there is always the potential for trouble when too much of a good thing is used for too long. Horse owners should work closely with their veterinarians in the management of these problems

Answer 4

The work bute is short for phenylbutazone. It is a drug that is an anti-inflammatory and a pain killer.

Yes, it can mask a mild lameness by relieving the horse's pain so that he ceases to limp or favor. However, the lameness will return when the drug wears off.  

Answer 5

yes, it block pain, which i guess means it could hide lameness as the horse would not feel any pain in it's leg, and walk on it normally.

However, if there is anything wrong with your horses legs, put him on box rest until he is fully healed, using bute just to make him feel better.

Using bute to mask the pain and make it look alright, and then riding him, will make anything wrong with him worse and would be a very irresponsible (and slightly cruel) thing to do.

Answer 6

Bute is the common name for Phenylbutazone, used in horses as pain relief from infections, sprains, arthritis, tendinitis, laminitis, and other disorders. It reduces inflammation of muscles and tissues, but it does not cure musculoskeletal conditions or colic pain.

It can also reduce fevers, but this can mask other symptoms so it should only be used for this purpose if directed by a vet.  

Answer 7

Yes it can. It is the horse version of Ibuprofen, non steroidal anti inflammatory.

It is unlikely that it would mask a severe problem but it can mask minor ones so your horse appears to be sound when he actually isn't.

http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monogra...

Answer 8

Yes, Bute is a pain killer so it can hide lameness.

Answer 9

I have never in my fifteen years in the horse industry seen bute hide a severe case of lameness. That's not to say that it wont. Bute is to be used carefully because if you give to much it can cause colic "general term for tummy ache". Or overdose. You would need a lot of bute to cover up a bad limp.

Answer 10

Because it reduces swelling it reduces pain.

No, bute alone will not cover a lameness issue.

Answer 11

i have had to inject a horse who had colic with bute. it is an anti-inflamitary,muscle relaxer,and pain killer.

Answer 12

Phenylbutazone (bute) is both an Anti-inflammatory and an Analgesic (pain killer)  It is available as a paste, a powder or an injectable liquid.  Depending on the severity of the lameness it may mask it.

Answer 13

yes bute is a pain killer thats why they give it to horses when they colic. it may hide lameness but if you horse is lame and you take the pain away and there is an injurie in the past he could break down

Answer 14

Inflammation releases chemicals that stimulate pain receptors, so by reducing inflammation, pain relief also occurs as a secondary effect.  It is not the type of pain reliever that blocks perception of pain, however anytime pain is relieved by a drug, it can hide lameness (called "masking" the lameness).  It is not a good idea to give bute when you are trying to evaluate lameness, especially if a vet is coming to do so.  Many people give bute to make a horse feel better while awaiting the vet, which is not a wise thing to do. The inflammatory response is a necessary response to injury, and a vet should decide when it is or is not beneficial to give drugs to inhibit it.

ADD....to correct misinformation...bute is never given for colic.  Colic is not an inflammatory condition and bute does nothing to treat colic.  If you have been giving it for that, you should stop.  You could actually do harm by giving it during a colic episode.

Bute does not relieve pain because it reduces swelling.  It reduces swelling because swelling is a part of the inflammatory response.  It relieves pain for the reason I've stated.

How do you expect to evaluate whether bute has masked lameness if the horse has been given bute?  Unless you are a trained medical professional, you may not be able to discern the difference in what a vet evaluates versus your own observations. It may not mask the fact that lameness is present, but it can alter the degree, or responses to testing.

Answer 15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylbutaz...

http://www.thinkythings.org/horseracing/...