Quick Help Bute

[lizziee]

I'm off to yard and have just spoken to YO who tried to feed Rocco Bute in a honey sandwich this morning - no success. A friend has suggested dissolving some sugar in his speedibeet soak and mixing it with that; he doesn't seem overly keen on the speedibeet to start with so I can't see how he'd prefer that to honey sandwich?

Any more ideas PLEASE - I'm ready to go now and will need to take supplies of whatever with me.

Thanks ;D

[cosmo]

Black treacle worked a treated with my lad!

[mags]

desolve it in the water and syringe it down

[lizziee]

Oh dear - no black treacle (will Golden Syrup work?) and no syringe

[Vicky&Beenie]

we used to put the bute in a syringe with some honey and warm water (stirred up together) and treat it like a wormer and put it inside the mouth like a wormer.

[Furiey]

My old pony would only eat medicines it they were mixed with bran. Nothing else, just bran.

You can get mint flavouring for cooking, not tried it but that may help if he likes mints.

[stormhorse]

we have to syringe it into Storm twice a day as wont touch it any other way. Desolve it in water & it works a treat.

[suewhitmore]

My old boy Jet has to have bute every day. When I got him, I was told the only way he would eat was in a sandwich - honey or marmite, I forget which. However, his feed was so boring I wasn't surprised he wouldn't eat it with bute in. I changed his feed to have a few pony nuts in it and beet, which he does like, and I've never had a problem.

What I suggest you do is make up a *very* small feed of some kind of coarse mix and add grated carrots. Put half a sachet of bute in, and then see what he thinks. It's a real pain if you have to make a big deal out administering meds, so worth working around in the first place.

PS it is well worth spending the 50p in a local tack shop or agricultural store to have a dosing syringe in you first aid kit.

[sarahfox]

I agree with sue,Ive always found it a bit of trial and error involving small scrummy feeds,mix,nuts, apple juice,whatever is nice really,it doesnt really affect their diet as a whole as you only need a small amount.
We did have one very fussy old mare that just wouldn take it though and that was a syringe every day,even though she was very good it was a total pain!

[amarche]

dissolve in some apple juice and soak it over some coarse mix ? used to work with my fussy old man - or try asking the vet for Danilon as most horses seem to like this better? (I'm sure it does exactly the same thing as traditional bute)

[xsamx]

If all else fails..ask your vet for Danilon, its sweet tasting and disolves better. My old horsesy was so fussy and could tell when the normal bute was in her feed but she would eat the Danilon.

When she stopped eating completely we syringed it with warm water twice a day.

[rhillahorse]

Echo Danilon if you can't get the bute in. It's easier on their systems aswell.

[swallowsmum]

danilon (its sugar coated) failing that, put the bute in the freezer before you give it (aparently it masks the taste!)

[lizziee]

Thanks all. I made a small portion of hot water/bute/sugar/beet mix which he has eaten OK.

I could wait until Monday and get Danilon, but by then he won't need it (he's just had the Liverpool treatment for a big sarcoid and it's swollen up and sore, but the vet thinks it'll be OK in a couple of days).

I will get a syringe next week - good idea, thanks.