HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: How long does it take for bute to become effective

Better information makes for healthier horses,
Horseadvice.com is where equine science and horse sense intersect.

HorseAdvice.com » Treatments and Medications for Horses » Anti-inflammatories (NSAID's, Steroids, Arthritis Rx) » Phenylbutazone (Bute) » How long does it take for bute to become effective

Discussion on How long does it take for bute to become effective

Use the navigation bar above to access articles and more discussions on this topic.

Author

Message

Terri Barney
Member
Username: Lant

Post Number: 8
Registered: 4-2001

Posted on Monday, Oct 21, 2002 - 6:10 pm:

This is for Dr. O. I did not see this particular question answered. I have an arabian gelding going through fusion of his tarsal joint. Bone spavin. I am to ride him to encourage the fusion. I use bute only when I ride him for any length of time. Question 1, how long does it take bute to become effective (when taken orally) I was told it could take up to 6 hours. Hence give it to him the night before. Ques 2. how long is it effective after it takes effect, Ques 3. Does a full or empty stomach effect how long it takes to take effect or how long it is effective? Thank you so much for your time as I am confused about the possibility of how feeding may effect the effectiveness of the bute. Terri Barney

Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro

Post Number: 7151
Registered: 1-1997

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 22, 2002 - 6:46 am:

Hello Terri,
For a technical explanation of your questions see the scientific report in the article:
Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr 1996 Jun;103(6):224-30
The concentration changes of different phenylbutazone formulations in horse plasma.

There is a very large variation in absorption and if given orally following feeding may not reach maximal concentrations in the blood for 18 hours. But in no cases does it take more than one hour to reach the minimum therapeutic blood level.

You should experiment to see what works best for your horse but if you have 2 hours before you are going to ride you will get a benefit from gving it that morning. It will probably be better if given both the night before and the morning of. For best effect it should be given twice daily though you may get some effect for up to 2-3 days after discontinuing.
DrO

Post a Message to this Discussion

Posting
Instructions:

Full Service Members may post to this discussion and should address the orignial poster's concerns or other information posted here. New questions about your horse should be started in a new discussion. Use the navigation bar at the top of this page to return to the parent article and review the article and existing discussions. If your question remains unanswered "Start a New Discussion", the link is under the list of discussions at the bottom of the article.

Post:

Username:

Password:

Options:

Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message

Action:

Home Page \| Todays Discussions \| Search \| Top of Page	Administration