In what cases would you do the “bute test”? And what information would gather from it?
I’ve done bute trials in the past with horses I’ve suspected have had pain based on behavioural issues. If you bute and the horse’s behaviour or movement or activity changes somehow, you know there’s pain.
It might let you know whether to expect some return to function if you offer painkillers on a regular basis.
A bute trial can’t tell you much else, I don’t think.
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I never got around to the Bute trial but I did the Regumate trial. That convinced me our temper tantrums were hormonal not pain based!
If the horse is visibly off or lame I wouldn’t do a Bute trial. I would consider it if the horse looked totally sound but was balking or pissy or bucking, and it clearly wasn’t about the riding.
If you already know horse is in pain but not sure where, you get a lameness work up that includes nerv blocks going progressively up the legs.
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I did a bute trial on a horse that was really pissy under saddle, but passed a lameness exam. It made absolutely zero difference and was wrote off as a training issue. A couple weeks later, I had a ladyout that used the masterton method. This horse let out so much tension he laid down and went into REM sleep for a good 20 minutes. I was in shock, but the lady said she sees that response quite often. This horse hasn’t been pissy since.
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So, in theory, if a horse is lame due to stiffness or muscle soreness, would bute make them more comfortable to the point of not appearing lame?
If the lameness is due to arthritis or something bone related, would the horse still appear lame even while on bute?
Horse is lame after a horrible abscess now on the other hind leg. Abscess has been gone for 3 weeks but she is still lame. I am thinking it is from not moving right and using the opposite leg more to get weight off the abscessing hoof.
Giving bute for 5 days and working lightly to see if the soreness will go away. Horse is still lame now on day 3 on bute, but very forward and wants to work. Rest is not improving the lameness, light work is not improving or making it worse. She is fine and walk, lame at trot and I’m not cantering. Hocks are wringing more than usual at walk.
Vet is coming out next week.
I had a 21 year old TB Brood mare with arthritis. I fed MSM but it didn’t do much of anything. On her real bad days I gave bute and she was a moving machine. The difference was unbelievable in her.
Until you find the reason for her lameness I have no idea what bute will do for her, but I would not work a horse in any way that is showing persistent lameness.
Wait for your vet and try to keep her comfortable.
Bute works just like aspirin in humans so, yes, it relieves minor stiffness and arthritic aches. But it is not enough for serious pain from acute injury, advancing arthritis or deteriorating joint conditions in what is considered a safe dosage. We like the Bute test because it can tell us the horse has some pain that goes away or has considerable pain which doesn’t go away,
Your case is a bit different since you know it’s lame. Usually you don’t know what is causing behavioral problems so you go to tne Bute test. You know yours is lame, only thing it’s telling you is it’s not a minor pain.
It sounds like this horse is feeling better in general but has some considerable pain at anything but a walk. So…don’t do anything but walk until the vet sees it. Please. S/He should block and x ray to identify the source and if it is another abcess, try to locate it for possible drainage and time frame for recovery. If you are seeing hock movement irregularities, x rays are indicated and it won’t cost that much more for a few more shots.
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In the past, I’ve used the bute test both as described above and to figure out abscess versus something worse in an abscess-is-taking-weeks-to-resolve-omg moment.
Just a few days of bute to see if it helped at walk only. Theory being abscesses will not respond to bute (in fact is a bad idea because it will take longer for them to resolve) but a pedal bone fracture or something similar should respond even if it’s ‘slightly less off at the walk’ and that’s when it’s x-ray time. No response to bute = keep on with the poulticing.
OP, an idea to ask after when the vet is there:
If your horse is big and somewhat rangy, especially in the hind, they may have lost sufficient quad strength in the opposite hind due to resting during the abscess.
Had one present like yours: standard hind abscess but took about 2 weeks where he did not want to move before it resolved/blew. Afterwards he was intermittently off on the other hind at t/c, happy to work but weird steps every few strides. Vet came, took one look and said the big 5 y/o OTTB had dropped so much muscle his other stifle (so the opposite leg to the abscess) was loose and kept slipping.
We blistered the stifle that day and put him back into HARD work right away and everything was lovely with no issues 
Hope it’s something as simple.
This sounds exactly like what is going on with my mare!. She is 17hh gangly thing with a long body and long legs! Her one stifle (opposite of the leg that had the abscess) is weaker and she tends to get sore there when not worked hard enough.
The bute isn’t really doing much because she is still off every few strides at trot, especially when that hind leg is on the outside of a circle. Crazy thing is that she is really forward and happy to go to work, whereas with the abscess she didn’t want to move at all.
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Certainly sounds like it! I think I paid about $200 for the stifle blister, the vet explained it to me as follows:
“You need him to work his hind end, hard, to rebuild up the muscle that’s lax around his stifle. You can try to do it without the blistering but when the stifle slips it hurts and also is unexpected therefore could be dangerous while you’re up. I suggest the blistering which inflames the area enough to keep it tracking correctly in it’s ‘groove’ so you can build up the muscle around it right away”
After you diagnose with the vet, if you have hills nearby you may be able to do walk work on hills as a way to build it instead of injecting but my experience was an extremely positive one! Had him for years after with no further signs of that.
You can use robaxin if you suspect muscle soreness.
