Medications like Equioxx and Banamine are frequently used in horses to help ease musculoskeletal aches and pains, or to treat colic pain, but did you know that they can be harmful to your horse’s kidneys and gastrointestinal tracts in some cases?
Both Equioxx/Previcox (firocoxib) and Banamine are in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) family, which also includes bute. While they’re very effective for reducing pain and swelling, and on the balance make the lives of our horses better, when they are misused or used in horses with pre-existing conditions like dehydration or kidney damage, they can unfortunately be deadly.
Most NSAIDs used in horses have a fairly narrow safe and therapeutic dose range and increasing the dose or the frequency can result in stomach and colon ulcers or severe compromise of the kidneys. For example, never use bute or Banamine more than every 10-12 hours unless instructed by your veterinarian, and never use more than a 1,000 lb. dose for a 1,000 lb. horse. Equioxx should be given once per day other than on the advice of your veterinarian.
We frequently see colic cases in which owners have been panicked and have repeatedly administered Banamine when the first dose didn’t resolve the horse’s pain, and sadly many of these horses go on to have negative effects, ranging from kidney damage to severe colon damage.
Bute and Banamine should also never be given within the same 24-hour period except on the advice of your veterinarian in very extenuating circumstances. This is known as NSAID “stacking” and is a very dangerous practice.
It’s a great idea to have your horse’s blood checked annually with a wellness panel to make sure their kidney function as well as blood protein levels indicate they’re healthy enough for NSAID use, should it become necessary for a colic, illness or injury. Low blood protein values on bloodwork can indicate colon or sometimes gastric ulcers, and elevated BUN and creatinine values show kidney dysfunction. If caught early, these conditions can be successfully treated but if you don’t know about them, you can’t treat them!
Horses on long-term NSAID use (usually Equioxx or bute) should have their blood checked once to twice a year and be watched carefully for potential side effects by monitoring manure, appetite, etc.