Bute (Phenylbutazone) for Horses

Hello folks. Sometimes our horses do something and injure themselves. I would like to tell you a little bit about bute today and let you know there are alternative choices for bute if necessary.

Bute is a short name for phenylbutazone. It is a drug often given to horses. Bute must be prescribed by your veterinarian. It is like giving your horse ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen. It can be beneficial if your horse has been injured or has a fever. But it can also have side effects such as causing the horse to have ulcers.

There are alternatives to giving bute to your horse. Wrapping a joint to keep it warm or to support a joint and hydrotherapy (running cold water from a hose) are acceptable choices. Usually, if a horse has injured himself, stall rest or limiting exercise can be used as part of the recovery therapy. Each of these depends on the type and extent of the injury.

If a horse has chronic joint pain or stiffness an alternative to bute could be nutraceutical. Nutraceuticals are substances that are food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. An example would be adding MSM to a horse’s diet as a joint supplement.

For a bute replacement you could try devil’s claw. Ther are many products available today on the market that can be used for chronic or acute conditions instead of using bute for horses.

If you notice a new pain in your horse that does not go away in a few days or if you are in doubt of what is causing his pain call your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can rule out if the condition is a serious problem for your horse or not.

Skimbleshanks