No1 – I think I will ask about the firocoxib as it is certainly a small pill, if I recall correctly. Maybe that was back when we gave part of a dog pill??? Anyway, mouth rinsing is an idea, though I don’t want to watch all the medicine wash out as well.
Two thoughts:
Is there a compounding pharmacy that could help you out with this? Maybe add some sort of flavorful suspension to make it a liquid (not the paste) that could be dosed without so much resistance?
I was yesterday years old when I learned acetaminophen (yes, Tylenol) has gained popularity for managing laminitis pain. That may be another option?
I had a horse like this when it came to oral meds so I feel your pain (she was fine with injectables). I used the paste after her meal and let her do what your horse did: starve and drool. I figured that was her problem. But it was a different situation— pain management for a fracture.
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Texarkana – I am already getting the Bute with flavoring from Wedgewood. I’ve tried several of their flavors. And acetaminophen tastes just as bad as the Bute – I’ve tried it on her and while the combination of Bute and acetaminophen definitely controls more pain pathways, it does lead to the drooling as well and it is hella more expensive. (Wedgewood quoted $170 per month.)
I don’t mean the wedgewood powder flavor. I mean can they (or someone else) make it a suspension with flavoring. I don’t know the answer to that question but they do it with other drugs.
ETA: sorry I totally missed that you had already ruled acetaminophen out due to cost in your OP. So much for reading for comprehension.
For a 1350lb horse, 1g Bute 2x a day is not a high dose of Bute. It is an effective pain killer, but I think you can get there with other drugs. If the horse was on 2g twice a day, maybe it would be harder to replicate the effects. I’d 100% push for giving Equioxx a try. I’ve got two who are just awful to get Bute into, but put Equioxx in a little bit of carrot or a banana, and they are as happy as a clam. It’s just once a day too. For serious problems, I know some vets will prescribe a double dose of Equioxx (or 1/2 a tab of the large dog Previcox) from time to time.
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This was going to be my suggestion.
Pill her like a cat, beyond the tongue where she taste it
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A veterinarian told me that she’s found some foundered horses respond to gabapentin, and that it can possibly reduce the amount of Bute needed for pain management. It might be worth a shot.
I have no idea how it tastes.
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Texarkana – I have had Wedgwood prepare it in an oil suspension. I believe they use almond oil and flavor it however you wish. While it is the easiest to get into her mouth, she stands there and drools for 4-5 hours afterwards. I’m already nervous about her GI system with the Bute, and don’t feel good about her having an empty stomach for that long, twice a day.
IPEsq, I will try to get the Equioxx.
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Jarpur – We did try gabapentin, which goes into the drooling group. She won’t eat the pills in her food, so I had to grind them and syringe them into her. And, Holy Mother of G#d, does that stuff taste awful. Sort of a combination of ammonia and aluminum, with hints of rancid vinegar. But your idea was the same as my vets – so you are definitely on the right track.
Yuck! 
My guy hates Bute as well. It’s not effective if your horse won’t eat it. Definitely try a different NSAID whether it be banamine, Equioxx (firocoxib), meloxicam or naproxen. Honestly, I’d be more upset at the vet who refuses to prescribe a.different med than the horse who won’t eat it.
I also always add Uckele Equisweet when adding meds to feed as well. And always give at PM because eventually horse decides to lick his bucket clean. With twice a day it’s harder though.
Sounds like you really need to get the pain under control. I’d consider IV for now and then you can maintain on a daily Equioxx tablet going forward.
Sorry your horse has so much going on at once. Does she have boots or shoes & pads to relieve pressure?
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TWH_Girl – I have the Uckele Peppermint Equisweet, and it does not work with her. She associates it with the Bute now and won’t try anything flavored with it. I’m working on the Equioxx with the vet. I’ll find out what’s up. Boots and pads did not relieve her discomfort. She’s better without, actually. She’s happy enough, and the vet and farrier think she’ll recover.
Apologies if you’ve tried this already, but a compounding vet pharmacy in KY - Wickliffe - makes a flavored Bute powder: molasses, orange or peppermint.
It was over 10yrs ago, but my Poison Detector TB would eat the mint powder out of my hand.
When I had to give my tried-to-founder mini banamine 2X daily what worked was the injectable liquid in a needle-less syringe given sublingually. Mucous membranes under the tongue absorb the drug almost as quick as IV.
If needed, a dose for my 1200# horse is 10cc, so not a huge amount to sneak in the bars & squirt under the tongue.
Hoping you can find a way to give your mare the meds 
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My pony won’t eat powdered meds especially Bute… I have to mix it in beer or I use the water flavor squeeze bottles to make it tasty… and dissolve it. Then squirt in the halter device. The trick is to use a dosing syringe and give one tasty one, one not so tasty, then follow up with a tasty one.
He really likes the Orange crush and Jelly Belly Green Apple. Both are sugar free options.
Link to the halter device thing I use for meds… https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=1A3816D2-48A4-4913-A9BE-F2F72D5CB347
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I also would insist on equioxx. The pills have no flavor and the relief lasts longer than bute.
You could also do injectable banamine but squirt it in the mouth. Apparently some horses prefer this over the paste. You can alternate squirting apple juice or banamine in their mouth, so they stop anticipating it as being gross every time.
Though I gotta say, at 8 months out if my horse wasn’t sound I’d be really considering euthanizing. The horse will have almost competed a full hoof regrowth.
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Really? Mine would rather die than have the injectable orally and I don’t blame them- have you ever gotten it in your mouth? It is horrible! I think the only thing they may prefer is the lack of waxy film left behind.
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I have not tried it myself 
but according to my vet while it tastes nasty the flavor lasts for considerably less time, and doesn’t cause drooling.
I’ve only had to give injectable orally once, and the horse did not seem to mind. But he was so out of it from a vaccine reaction I’m not sure he would have cared no matter what I had given him.
I had a cat who was a PAIN about meds. She would drool even after being given a coated Benadryl pill. I think after a while it becomes a learned reaction.
I want to live this life where people are only having to give banamine once or twice in their lives. 
I’ve had to give the injectable orally 4 times in the past week. 
Oh that would be nice haha. No, I just usually inject it or have a paste. That one time, the horse was thrashing and I couldn’t get the needle in.
