Arthritus

[Rowndan]

It looks like my Dan may have arthritus,

We have the vet coming on monday to xray him.

Has anyone elses horse suffered with this and how did they do in the long term xx

[valerie n scout]

oh poor lad Scout was badly lame a few months ago..didnt really get to the bottom of it but did start him on 16plus and he has been fine ever since...I hope you can find something to ease him X

[Deleted]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your boy.

My old Fell mare suffers with it but I give her Joint RLF by Blue Chip and it's changed her life

Its expensive but amazing stuff

PLEASE give it a try, I've never known anything like it xx

[harveydales]

I think all horses over a certain age will have some degree of arthritis due to natural wear and tear, just as we do ourselves, and it needn't be the end of their ridden career by a long way. In fact exersise is one of the best things to keep the joints mobile. Look at Sue's Bea who was suffering badly a couple of years ago and now is loving all this Trec and acts like a youngster. We just have to remember our ponies are getting on and take this into account warming them up properly etc.

I suppose it depends which joints are involved and to what degree so the x-rays will help. There are a myriad of supplements. Some people swear by one, others another. Anti-imflammatories like bute help to get a horse through a bad patch - I had a mare with very bad arthritis but I was able to keep her going for many years on bute much of the time. I've known many horses with spavin (hock arthritis) who were able to keep working for many years - usually the worst time is getting back into work after a break, just as it is with us humans as I well know myself.

Don't get despondent. Wait to see what the x-rays say and go from there.

[Deleted]

Apologies wasn't pushing that particular joint supplement at you.

We all have our faves

DB x

[harleydales]

A friend of mine has a horse with shocking ringbone and bone spavin, with lumpy joints etc and he's on Feedmark Rosehip extraflex (something like that) and it makes a HUGE difference to him. I used to use Feedmark Zerobute for old Jenny who was very stiff and it certainly helped her too.

[NFK Dumpling]

James is 22yrs+ and on Cortaflex (very much depends on type of arthritus whether it works) which has helped; he has been ridden all summer and will go out once a week through the winter, weather permitting. Vet's advice - keep him moving and interested in life, give bute if necessary.

He definately got worse and then a bit better - sometimes he thinks he's still 10 and goes for it!!

We just potter about and long trailer trips are out of the question but he can cope with half an hour trip to the woods and a change of scenery cheers him up

Like Pam says we all start wearing out once we get to a certain age and you just have to make allowances.

[Rowndan]

Thank you so much ladies xx Iv shed a lot of tears over it today, but as yet is unconfirmed as to exactly what it is. Il be glad to see the vet on monday thats for sure.

Has beaver got arthritus then?? id be interested to hear from Sue

Il get him any supplement that will help him to keep his life long and pain free xx

il keep you posted on what the vet says xx

[Fi]

Sam has a touch of arthritis in his hocks. Never had him x-rayed but the vet did flexion tests (or tried to, he refused to let her on one leg which spoke volumes). He's on half a bute a day for it and it helps. He does take a lot longer these days to warm up and loosen up when being exercised, but that's to be expected in all us older folk anyway!

[SuzieP]

Hi Row xxx Sorry, have had a busy week.

First of all, don't despair. Dan is a healthy horse and it's not unusual for an horse to have arthritis, even at a relatively young age. It all depends on genetics and the wear on his joints to date. With care and management there's no reason why he shouldn't life a full and active life doing the sort of work you ask of him. Bea was a hunter before I got him when he was 9 years old and had had many physical demands put on him.

Bea was on box rest until the cause of his lameness was diagnosed through nerve blocking and X-ray. He had arthritis in one fetlock. This particular fetlock is lumpy and bumpy and bigger than the other one. I'll see if I have a pic somewhere which I'll post for you.

Once the cause was diagnosed he came off box rest for short periods every day - I used to take him out for walks and he had a small fenced-off patch of grazing. I didn't want him bombing around until we had got the flare up under control.

The vet gave him an injection of hyaluronic acid into the joint and this made an immediate difference. This is a substance which is found in greatest concentration in joints and when it depletes with age the result can be stiffness and painful. The aim was to get Bea's joint moving freely again.

He was put on Synequin, which is a joint supplement. It's eye-wateringly expensive, but the insurance covered it for the first year and I've kept him on it ever since. It costs me £120 two or three times a year. The actual outlay hurts at the time, but the result is a sound horse who lives a happy and active life so I'm reluctant to change to anything else.

Bea was off work for about three months in total and on box rest for six weeks initially. He came gently back into work (which was exciting because he felt so WELL! He wanted to gallop and jump and do all that exciting stuff and couldn't understand why I would only let him walk LOL We had lots of bucking and farting and generally behaving like an idiot!)

He has been sound ever since and enjoys his life. I take care not to ride him fast on hard ground - his power-trot is particularly jarring to his joints. I wouldn't jump him round a course of more than 2'6" although we pop an odd jump now and again. A course of 2ft is fine.

I've just put him on cold pressed flax-oil for the winter because research shows that this contains beneficial elements for joints. He's rising 16 now and behaves at times like a horse half that age!

I also watch his weight carefully - carrying too much condition puts strain on joints. We keep him around (but not over) 500kg which gives him a condition score of 4/5 on a 10-point scale. This is on the lean side, but he is generally fit as well.

As he gets older I do anticipate that he might need bute - but hope to keep him comfortable without it for as long as possible.

I'm sure that once you find the right regime for Dan he'll be fine. Getting him sound again will be the hard bit, and then the right management will keep him comfortable and in work.

Big hugs xxx

[Rowndan]

Thank you for that Sue, i had no idea about Bea and having met him and seen him in action it reasuing that i can still enjoy my lovely boy as mush as possible.

Dans lameness is intermitent.. Last thursday he came in in the morning, i just brought him in to keep him of the grass a bit. I came to turn him out around 3pm and he was lame on his near fore. Kept him in over night and he was sound friday morning so he was turned back out.!

He did nothing all weekend as i was working.

I lunged him on monday and let him free school over a little jump as we were having a lesson this satuarday. He was sound then and well in himself.

Tuesday we hacked down the lane, we only did about 3 miles, trotting for about half of that. Sound and VERY well in himself.

Wednesday he was ever so slightly lame in walk, but seemed miserable and couldnt really be bothered to meet me at the gate to eat his feed as he normally would. I left him out as I was begining to thin arthritus.

Thursday he was worse, so I brought him in, and callled the vet. The vet told me to turn him back out so he could see properly on monday how he is.

Friday, he was much better and came down the field quite happily to me for his corn.

Satuarday, YO saw him galloping round the field!! and last night he cantered bucked and farted all the way to the gate for his corn!!!!

The vet coming tommorow and it will be interesting what he has to say!!!

[mickey]

Mickey had arthritis but pretty severely. It did come on over a number of years, cold damp weather was the worst. Looking back I wish Id used a vet we found after I'd lost him as he specialises in lameness. From diagnosis we did have a few more ridden years on bute before he retired.

[mickey]

And have a huge hug as I know how upsetting it is

[Rowndan]

Well my boy does has arthritus in his near fore..

But all is not lost and as usual im ever grateful to have such a brilliant vet.

We didnt xray as he was pretty sure from seein him trot up thats what it was. He gave him a injection that will last about 6 months and has given me some bute for his bad days.

Hes also said about Synequin as sue said but im not sure whether to use that or not or just have the injections...

Ita a lot to think about. but im happy as me and dan should have many good times ahead of us and it is still my hope that johnathan will be able to enjoy him as he gets older

xxx

[mickey]

Is he insured for vet fees? If so I'd also try synequin and I'd also push for seats- only so you have something to compare with in the future.
Glad it seems a bit more positive for you x