Increase Previcox or Switch to Bute?

[newhorsemommy]

I thought about hijacking the previcox thread, and then decided to start a new one

Any thoughts on going to half a tab of previcox vs. switching to 1 gram of Bute per day long term?

I’ll be asking my vet tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone has had better success with Bute for arthritis? My gelding has been on a 1/4 tab of Previcox for about 6 months. But IMO, he seems more comfortable on 1 gram of Bute (especially now that the arthritis has taken a turn for the worse), and he tolerates Bute very well. Is there a reason Bute would work better than Previcox for some horses? Does it have to do with the type of pain and the inhibitors in the drugs? And if so, would a different medication (Meloxicam for example) be even better? Or is Bute just stronger?

We’ll also be starting him on Pentosan to see if that makes any difference. Joint injections don’t seem to have had any effect, although I am considering repeating them.

[Quelah]

IME Previcox does not a darn thing for some horses and as far as I know it’s not a “more is better” drug. I’d have no problem keeping a horse comfy on 1 gram if it’s well tolerated. I myself can often be kept comfy on one Advil

[equisusan]

1/4 pill of previcox is equivalent to 1 gram of bute. I use previcox for my mare since she doesn’t tolerate bute well. It’s kind of like Tylenol does nothing for me… Advil hurts my stomach but Meloxicam helps my aches and pains without GI issues. Just different people and animals do better with one med over the other.

[Gustav2015]

I would try 1/4 pill of Previcox twice a day. Which is double the standard dose but does work very well for some older arthritic horses.

[eventerpony]

I tried 1/2 a pill on my arthritic old mare when 1/4 wasn’t helping at my vet’s suggestion. It still didn’t help. A ram of bute made her much more comfortable. Some horses just react to different drugs, much like people

[neversaynever]

Previcox did nothing for my mare either. She has been on 1g of bute long term and has tolerated it well.

[Hermein]

I´m of the opinion that previcox is effective for 24 hours, where bute is good for 12 hours.

I have two large horses (draft cross and WB) on Previcox. I give them 1/3 of a large table everyday in the cold, wet season. Somewhere I read that the dosage should be increased for large horses–this was some sort of ¨official¨ statement. but can´t recall where.

[kcmel]

I agree (and my vet concurs) that some if not many horses respond better to bute. Try giving it with soaked alfalfa cubes to help buffer the stomach.

[MoonWitch]

We had my DD’s OTTB on previcox for about a year and we concurred with vet to put him on bute instead. My old man still gets previcox and does great on it but DD’s horse has had a pastern arthrodesis done, so there is definitely arthritis in that joint. He does much better on the bute and I give him Fasttrack as well to buffer his stomach and he also gets soaked haycubes & beetpulp.

[Foxglove]

Unless I misunderstood my vet, a horse can only use so much Previcox then just pees out the excess. You can double or triple the dose --it won’t change anything except make your wallet lighter. The second thing she said was that Previcox was preferred (by her) over 'bute as it is easier on the stomach/liver. So do ask your vet and let me know if I didn’t understand correctly.

Foxglove

[cyberbay]

My vet said that, when it comes to pain, Bute is way more effective than P’cox. “5 days of Bute, then 2 days off it” is a safe way to dose.

He also says that, in his experience, P’cox only becomes effective at the 114mg. dose or above (half of the large canine pill).

[merrygoround]

When speaking if halves and 1/4 of Previcox, be aware that it comes in two entirely different doses 57 mg, and 227 mg. If you are halving or quartering a 57 mg dose, you are under dosing your horse. If you are speaking of the large 227 mg tablet, 1/4 of it is 55+mg, close enough to proper dose.

I have used 57m. with great effect on an 1800lb. horse, but it took two days before major improvement was noticed. Other horses have had good results with the first dose.

[SMF11]

My donkey definitely does better on bute than previcox for her pretty bad arthritis. I just spoke with my vet about it this morning, and she said some horses (and I guess donkeys) do better with bute than previcox. My donkey tolerates it very well too.

[Showbizz]

I definitenly think Bute is better for pain relief, but isn’t it harder on them long-term?

[beau159]

[QUOTE=newhorsemommy;8613117]

Any thoughts on going to half a tab of previcox vs. switching to 1 gram of Bute per day long term? [/QUOTE]

Personally, in most situations I would not do bute long term because it is hard on a horse’s GI system due to its known side effects.

[QUOTE=newhorsemommy;8613117]
I’ll be asking my vet tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone has had better success with Bute for arthritis? My gelding has been on a 1/4 tab of Previcox for about 6 months. [/QUOTE]

How old is your horse?
What do you use him for?
What type of arthritis and/or what joints are affected?

I am assuming you are using the 227 mg tablet of Previcox.

Remember that pain medications are just that: pain medications. They do not FIX anything or treat anything. They simply mask pain.

Depending on your answers to the questions above, you could also try injections to manage pain, or could try other supplements (such as Adequan, pentosan, osphos, tildren, legend) to help manage the arthritis.

You did mention you tried injections, but can you give more information?

[QUOTE=newhorsemommy;8613117]
Is there a reason Bute would work better than Previcox for some horses? Does it have to do with the type of pain and the inhibitors in the drugs? And if so, would a different medication (Meloxicam for example) be even better? Or is Bute just stronger? [/QUOTE]

Your vet can probably more scientifically answer your questions, but yes that bute and previcox work on the body differently. While they are both NSAIDs (which reduce inflammation by blocking prostaglandins), bute will affect all PGs in the body (including the good ones in the GI system … hence its bad side effects) whereas previcox is a selective cox-2 inhibitor and will not affect all the PGs in the body.

Bute gives more of an instant response. Previcox needs to build to a loading dose in the body before you get the right response.

Both of the lameness vets I work with say to give three 57 mg Previcox tablets on the first day, and then one 57 mg tablet thereafter to maintain the loading dose. With my own horses, I noticed the effects after they were on it about 1 week.

[animaldoc]

In my hands bute is more effective than Previcox…

Lots of horses do just fine on 1/2g bute twice a day longterm. The trick is to use the lowest effective dose. To lower the dose, you can use Adequan, gabapentin, etc. in addition to the bute. Also many of these arthritic horses do best with consistent low level exercise (ie. turnout and “self exercise” or light riding etc. depending on the individual horse).

[SportArab]

I have a mare that has been on 1 g of bute for a couple of years. Before that she got 1 g just at the end of her pregnancies.

My feeling is that she is 23 and has given me super babies and deserves the most pain free retirement I can provide so I’ll give her her bute tab as long as she can tolerate it.

[SMF11]

[QUOTE=SportArab;8616505]
I have a mare that has been on 1 g of bute for a couple of years. Before that she got 1 g just at the end of her pregnancies.

My feeling is that she is 23 and has given me super babies and deserves the most pain free retirement I can provide so I’ll give her her bute tab as long as she can tolerate it.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. I’d guess that most horses (or donkeys) on daily bute are only used for light riding or are retired. I know in my case, my donkey is in her mid-thirties and she’s had a few episodes where she gets down but then can’t get back up. It’s either daily bute or euthanasia for her. The long term side effects are much less important a consideration than the most effective drug to keep her mobile. She’s dying soon anyway – I want her to be as comfortable as possible as long as possible.

[HunterEqGirl]

It really depends on the horse I think. My horse is dealing with corneal ulcers and we were having issues getting her to take her banamine orally. Switched to previcox and the inflammation got very bad very quickly. Switched her back to banamine and no problems. Vet said it just depends on the horse. If going to keep on bute for prolonged period you may want to get some blood work done regularly and watch for signs of ulcers (or put on anti-ulcer meds as a precaution).