Metacam for horses

[Gwenoakes]

Jack is a 18.1hh Shire horse, 14 yrs old that has arthritis in his coffin and fetlocks bones, all round, diagnosed via xrays just over a year ago. Up till now he has had Cortavet which is a joint supplement, but now seems more uncomfortable/in pain and the vet has recommended Metacam for him which will be given long term until such time as it no longer works. The vet has not mentioned any side effects when asked, but we do wonder. The reason she has suggested the above is because of his health history with gastric ulcers, sinus and rotten tooth probs, 2 being extracted and poss more to follow......long story........but cant have Bute.

I have heard, I think on here, of there being some nasty side effects with smaller animals and just wondered if any horse owners had used this and what if any side effects they found. We dont want to give this to alleviate one prob to have another one rear its head, but he does need some help with the pain.

We need to manage his pain in the best poss way because this is not going to get better, but steadily worse ending with us having to make a very upsetting decision.

Thanks, Gwen.

[amber66]

Hello Gwen.
Our dog was prescribed Metacam on Friday for the same condition. I was told to stop it at once if she was sick, had an upset stomach or dark black poo,(blood in poo). The vet also said if she is on it long term they would need to do regular blood tests as it can affect the kidneys and liver.
We had to stop the Metacam the next day as she had a bad upset stomach and has had an MRI scan today to see if there is anything else causing so much pain.
I know our dog is not a horse but may affect it in the same way, I hope someone will come along who owns a horse and can answer your question.
Amber.

[Gwenoakes]

Hi, Amber and thanks for answering.

Horses cant be sick, but they do get something called colic which is extremely dangerous and life threatening even when it is treated by vet.

We have to do something for Jack because he is in pain and it is making his life miserable and soon wont have a good quality of life which we have always said was most important with our animals.

Re your dog, have you tried the Bioflow magnetic collar? We had a dog with really bad arthritis some years ago and bought one, dont think it stopped the pain totally, but certainly helped.......just a thought if the metacam hasnt worked out.

[HazellB]

What's he on for the ulcers? What's his regime (food, turn out, etc) for the stomach?
If, and I'm just saying 'if' here, he's not on any medication for ulcers and they are considered cleared up, 'bute should be fine if you're worried about metacam.
Is he shod? Sounds mad, but removing shoes and turning them out 24/7 often as not removes 50% of the arthritis pain anyway, even without meds. They move better, more naturally I suppose, and can even go back to small jumps and light showing, etc with no shoes and plenty of wandering about stretching their body as it should to graze.

Having said all that, I've a mere 9 year old who's so sore at the front now I won't ride her. Poor thing was a breeding machine in Ireland before I got her 18 months ago, so probably has Navicular rather than arthritis, but she's happy enough pottering about in my paddocks and I enjoy her as a pet.

[amber66]

Hello Gwen
Thank you for the recommendation re the collar i will give it a try, anything is worth a try as i hate to see her in so much pain.
I hope you can find some answers re your horse.
Amber.

[Gwenoakes]

I hope the collar helps, Amber.

He is unshod, out 24/7 99,9% of the time roaming over a good 3 acres, on no medication for ulcers, but Bute is a definite no no according to our vets she doesnt even like to put him on any antibiotics if needed tbh. He was very, very bad with the ulcers and we nearly lost him.

He is not shod and we have an extremely good BF trimmer after having a bit of a disaster with a farrier. Disaster meaning he did not spot white line disease and with another horse lammi, so .......... off he went.

He has Dengie Hifi, micronised linseed, Top Spec suppliment, Cortavet and hay 'if' in.

Whatever he goes on, he will, if it works, be on it permanently until such time as it doesnt work and he hasnt an acceptable quality of life then the inevitable will happen.

[HazellB]

Well you're absolutely doing everything 100% right. It's incredible how many ulcer sufferers are stuck in stables (adding to the problem) yet on stupidly costly meds to eradicate them - I just don't understand how common sense vanishes when it comes to horse care

Anyway, asked a friend who breeds racehorses and he said metacam's fine to use and his vet happily prescribes it instead of 'bute long term. Once things like Devil's Claw herbal methods fail to work, it's commonish now to use metacam.

Can I suggest you try the Horse and Hound forum in case they have threads about it. Ignore any that say it's rubbish or tell you how to deal with ropey digestion though - H&H's full of those lacking common sense But I would say about one in ten on there know their stuff and are worth learning from. I stopped going unless I'm seriously stuck with a problem and to be fair it has helped me learn new things once my idiot filter's working and I weed out the pointless stuff

[Dottycat]

Hi there,

There are a few rare side effects associated with metacam usage. These are urticaria and diarrhoea, in very rare cases loss of appetite, lethargy, abdominal pain and colitis.

Hope this helps

[Meanqueen]

I have an elderly dog on Metacam, prescribed by a vet for arthritis, (very low dosage), and he is fine. Pees and poos normal, and a good appetite.
Ilona

[Gwenoakes]

Hi and thanks everyone.

We have done some more research, asked vet more questions and have put him on it, enought for a 700kg, he being a ton, we will monitor him closely and go back to the vet next Tues to discuss further.

Once again thanks and I hope all your animals that have probs are at least easy whilst on the Metacam.

[Grannyof4]

My pygmy goat was on metacam for arthritis and never did her any harm. Sadly when it stopped doing he trick I had to have her put to sleep. Milly was about 17yrs old which for a pygmy is quite an age.

[Gwenoakes]

Just a little update on Jack. He has been good on the Metacam so far and have discussed with vet as his joint supplement is due to run out. We are going to try him without it and if that works after a few weeks and he doesnt seem to be having a problem we will then drop the Metacam slightly under vets instruction and hopefully he will be pain free on a lower dose. He is still on the dose for a 700kg horse at the moment which is way under his weight, so here's hoping.

The Metacam is very expensive, so if it works him having a lower dose it will help our pockets too. We have managed to get it on line, but still £5.99 per day plus £15 something including vat for the 3 month prescription from the vets.

How are everyone elses animals? OK I hope.

That is a good age for a Pygmy, Grannyof 4.

[amber66]

Hello Gwenoakes.
Glad to hear your horse is doing ok on the Metacam, sadly we had to have our dog Candy put to sleep 3 weeks ago. Even after x rays and MRI scans it turned out to be her spine was slowly disintergrating (not sure of spelling) and it was not so much the arthritis causing the pain but the problem with her spine.
Amber.

[Gwenoakes]

I am so sorry to hear that, Amber. RIP Candy.

There is a form of arthritis of the spine called ankleospondilitis (definite sp there) which disintigrates the spine, I wonder if it was that. It is very painful in humans I do know.

Horses can get something that is called kissing spine where the spine fuses together slowly and it is very painful during that stage, but once fused less painful.

Have a HUGE from me to you.

[Linda S]

Amber im so sorry to read you have lost Candy. Love and Healing thoughts to you

Gwen i really hope the metacam works for Jack.
We have also had good results for our dogs in the past too.
Looking at he price you are paying we were saying that many people us included and obviously you will pay whatever they can without question for their beloved pets but will many a time go without something for themselves Lindaxx