Product Review: Absorbine Bute-Less Performance

This stuff is a miracle in a box. Seriously.

Photo (c) Absorbine

Morgane here once again to tell you about another miracle equine product (and no, I’m not even kidding about that). Absorbine’s new Bute-Less Performance is literally the best comfort and recovery supplement I’ve ever used.

Now I’m sure you’re sitting there reading, (maybe scoffing a little), and thinking “well of course she’s going to say that! She wouldn’t give it a bad review. And how many supplements has she actually used like this?” So let me just start by saying that it’s true that I won’t write a bad review, but that’s not because I’m going to fabricate stories of grandeur about crappy products. It just means that if I try something that’s lackluster I won’t write the review. And to the second point, in my scaling of the dressage pyramid, and furthering my own riding education, I have ridden a lot of creaky, questionably sound creatures who needed a little support to continue educating us relatively dense small predators. As a result I have used multiple supplements designed to relieve aches and pains and restore soundness. Unfortunately, for the most part, those supplements have had only a minimal effect at best.

Given those past experiences I wasn’t particularly expecting to be impressed by Bute-Less Performance either, which made its effectiveness even more exciting. My original thought was that I would give it to Woody (who will be 20 this year) and see if it made his extreme hock arthritis a little better. I wasn’t expecting miracles, just maybe that he’d be a little less stiff. Of course Woody is a cantankerous old beast and he decided that he didn’t feel like eating the Bute-Less Performance, or his grain for that matter (this has nothing to do with the palatability of the Bute-Less; Woody just goes through phases where he’s uninterested in grain). Since it’s hard to see a difference if the horse won’t eat it, I decided that I’d see if it made Stormy any less stiff starting out.

Stormy, the APHA gelding I’ve shown to I-1, has had a rough year or so while we sorted out farrier issues and respiratory stuff. He’s always started off a bit tight and stiff, but generally warms up well. I noticed this last year after the farrier debacles that he was just a bit more consistently short to start, though still warmed up well. After ultra-sounding and x-raying many things and not finding anything particularly exciting, I assumed that this was just his new norm. After three days on Bute-Less Performance it was literally like I was riding a different horse. He came out of the stall moving like he normally does after 25 minutes of work; swinging, over the back, into the bridle. It was ridiculously impressive. I have never had any supplement work this well.

Photo (c) Morgane Schmidt Gabriel

To date Stormy has been on the Bute-Less Performance for almost a month and he continues to come right out of the stall and go to work. He’s felt better this last month than he has the last two years, which is fabulously exciting. He’s gone back to schooling the ones, piaffe, and passage with far less tension and a much more honest connection.

What’s even more exciting for me about Bute-Less Performance is that it can be used on competition horses. At present it contains no USEF or FEI banned substances. Although if you are competing, be sure to purchase Bute-Less Performance and not just the original Bute-Less as I believe the original contains some banned substances and cannot be used in competition.

Another nice thing to note about Bute-Less Performance is that it’s pelleted and seems to be quite palatable. Stormy actually picks his out of his grain and eats it first. I’m not a fan of powdered supplements since some horses sift them to the bottom of the bucket or just flat out refuse to eat them.

Ultimately, while I doubt any supplement would make a seriously lame horse sound, I do think that Bute-Less Performance can certainly make a horse feel his best and allow him to work at his optimum level comfortably. I would not hesitate at all to try this on any horse with minor stiffness or aches and pains. I’m even considering it as a good maintenance supplement for my younger horses.

Photo (c) Morgane Schmidt Gabriel

For more information on Absorbine’s Bute-Less Performance visit the their website. You can also check out their Facebook Page for additional updates, photos, and events.

Go Riding!

Morgane Schmidt Gabriel is a 33-year-old teacher/artist/dressage trainer/show announcer/ who still hasn’t quite decided what she wants to be when she grows up. A native Floridian, she now lives in Reno, NV, where she’s been able to confirm her suspicion that snow is utterly worthless. Though she has run the gamut of equestrian disciplines, her favorite is dressage. She was recently able to complete her USDF bronze and silver medals and is currently working on her gold. Generally speaking her life is largely ruled by Woody, a 14.2 hand beastly quarter horse, Willie, a now 7-year-old Dutch gelding, and Stormy, her friend’s nearly all white paint gelding with a penchant for finding every mud hole and pee spot in existence. Visit her website at www.theideaoforder.com.