Acute osteoarthritis

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Mather

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Does anyone have experience of this? My horse (just five) was diagnosed with this yesterday and I've been told the best I can hope for is three months off followed by hacking. I'm absolutely devastated and am desperate to see if there are any other options/treatments available. I am going to get a second opinion and am very confused as he passed a five-stage vetting just four months ago. It seems strange that no lameness came up in flexion tests etc. He has been challenging to ride - hence back treatments followed by x-rays. Any advice would be massively appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I am sorry to hear this - and I am afraid I don't have any magic answers, I just wondered what breeding he was, and what weight type would you say he is.
 
I just googled some stuff about it, and apparently very good results can be obtained from remedial shoeing, so it may be worth looking into that. You said he has been naughty, so maybe that was his way of expressing his discomfort. I think we all assume that a 5 stage vetting will show up problems, but it is only a snap shot of his health on a specific day. I assume you had some blood taken at the vetting, and he wasn't on bute at that time ?

I know you say his condition is acute, but there are many joint supplements that work really well, and so these may be worth trying. I know I used to use Cortflex on my dog and the effects were nothing short of miraculous for her - she previously couldn't get out of her bed. They don't all work, for ALL horses, but even Equine America's Cortaflex product which is one of the more expensive, is still less than £20/month.
 
I am on the Equine America's 10,000mg glucosamine (my horse is not me) and it is really good. Bioflow boots are also very good.
 
Thanks very much for replies. I intend to go down any/every route possible. Yes, blood was taken but the dealer is very reputable. I did query the vet whether worth investigating but am not sure it would help. Also, according to the vet, he could have been dosed up over in Ireland before coming to the UK and if more than two weeks prior to vetting any doping (steroids etc) wouldn't show up but would still be effective. At least, I think that's what he said.
 
Sorry, me again. Just to see if anyone had any more thoughts? I've scoured the internet and the forum and am coming up with ideas etc but any direct experience would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Hey

Sorry to hear about your horse. My horse has the same problem for 2 yrs now. Same situation i bought him after he had been shipped over from Ireland. The good news is my Thoroughbred is now getting better after 2 yrs in and out of work! We tried everything! but streiod injections seem to be the best route and a good Vet to do the process as i had the same injections done by another vet and they didnt work!
Hope this helps you out.

Regards
 
Hi, really sorry to hear about your horse. My friend is in a similar situation with her young horse who was diagnosed with a degenerative condition. I have recently read some interesting research on Type II collagen as a supplement for osteoarthritis, it made interesting reading as in trials it seems to have produced better results than glucosamine and chondroitin. May be take a look.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122364693/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Also I would say if you are supplementing with glucosamine it is thought it works best in combination with chondroitin (although more expensive) and also ensure you are feeding a high enough dose to be effective, many labels recommend a dose that is lower than a therapeutic level. There is an interesting thread in the new lounge by April who has looked into common products and dose levels.
 
If he is shod, i would take the shoes off him. Shoeing creates a lot of concussion on his joints, and as his feet cannot move as much in shoes, his feet are not able to absorb the concussion.
Its unfortunate he is so young. It must be devastating.

I feel that shoeless would be best for him, as if the vet says that all you can hope for is hacking, then you dont have anything to loose. By allowing the foot to function naturally and allowing the hoof to absorb the concussion, this should help to minimise shock in his joints. There is also a very large selection of hoof boots on the market as well. They protect the foot from abrasive surfaces if the foot is not very strong, and they allow the foot to function as well.
There are also a lot of nutritional suplements that can help. There is also a lot of info online for it. You should look into the shoeless approach, maybe it will help. the Equine Podiatry Association UK(EPAUK) website will have more information for you and you can find a list of any equine podiatrists in your area. At least they will be able to give you more advise on the matter if you wanted. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks very much for everyone's replies - hugely appreciate it. Am awaiting report from the vet and have had my horse's x-rays sent to the vet who passed him four months ago. We're going to meet up in about a week to discuss possible options. I told my vet I'm drawing up an EXTENSIVE list of questions as to how to manage his condition. I'm going to start on a supplement asap. She says they vary enormously so will try to research and thanks for everyone's input on this - it's a great help.
 
I've used Cosequin (supplement with glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM) with great effect but I know others have had limited success with it :confused:

Whereabouts is the osteoarthritis in your horse? Ie which joints?
 
good to hear hes an average weight, you have to be carefull as it will only get worse with time so pace yourself, you dont want 2 years of lost of riding on a ton of bute like 5 a day at some points and then have them put down as now unrideable. I know that since you go to the trouble of posting on hear you are not likely to do that but iv seen it done and its just awfull, but im not one to make a fuss, its a case of just biting you tongue. remidial shoeing may help but a horse i had on loan with arthuritus had old macs on and she did great, i posted something about her only about an hour ago on another post about arthiritus in the fetlock joint. I found synequin and cortaflex realy good. Best of luck!:)x
 
I have a very old horse with very bad arthritus. He is on a sachet of bute per day for it and I am also trying lots of other things to see what works. So far no success with cod liver oil, cortaflex and linseed oil. Currently trying frankincense but it's not making any difference yet. But I gather that these things often take a while to take effect. If it doesn't help then next stop is this

http://www.aviform.co.uk/Store/Equine-Products/Joint-Care/SUPPLEAZE-Equine-Joint-Supplement

and also considering some superflex by naf, green lipped mussel based supplements and devils claw which are supposed to help.

From what I gather it is quite literally horses for courses with these things. Others have had great success with things that aren't working for us.
 
There seems to be a lot of support for Riaflex Complete. It's expensive but seems to have the highest dosage levels of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM. If anyone has tried this would love to know. Will also think about Devil's Claw. The Type II Collagen sounds interesting but I guess I need to speak to my vet first and then start working out what might work. Thanks again.
 
I use Equine Answers 'premier flex plus' for a horse with spavin - it has the same ingredients as cortaflex with the added benefit of devils claw, and have seen a big difference in my lad. Also, in NL there is a recent post on 'vetrofen' - a new bute alternative, which has good reports for joint issues.
A word of warning on steroid injections - my lad had them and unfortunately got a joint infection and ended up in hospital for 9 days, so there are risks involved.
Good luck
 
Thanks again. Have just got my vet's very lengthy report but to summarise:
At the vet's on Wednesday my horse had muscle weakness over his hindquarters and some scuffing on his hind shoes/feet suggestive of lack of push and bend through both hindlegs. He was lame on the left hind in straight lines on a hard surface and unable to hold the left hind up in flexion for more than about 10 seconds. Right hind flexion was achieved and MC then trotted up lame on the right hind.
4 standard view x-rays of both hocks were taken. The small/lower joints of both hinds were noticeably narrowed and in some places absent indicating a degree of fusion within that joint. The left hind hock showed more changes than the right including some new bone formation in some areas and some sclerosis – lack of bone density – in others. The cartilage layer has been quite markedly disrupted already and bone changes are now happening. Hence it would seem likely that MC’s lameness/poor muscling/response to flexion/sore back and behaviour when asked to push/engage his hindleg under him can all be explained by these hocks which must be extremely painful for him. In terms of diagnosis this would be considered to be an osteoarthritis of these hock joints but can also be called degenerative joint disease and in horsey laymans terminology “bone spavin”.
Thanks if you've stuck with me for this long. Once again, thanks so much for all the advice - would love to hear more and good luck to everyone else.
Has anyone had any experience of IRAP treatment. My vet has little experience but thinks it might be worth trying.
 
Thanks very much re your answer. Are you just hacking still and do you think that's all you'll ever do or do you have hopes about any dressage work/jumping? The most important thing is to keep my horse happy and comfortable - I'm just trying to rationalise my expectations about what might be possible.
He's being turned out today after box rest and the vet is really trying to help - had a massively lengthy email from her and another vet is now reviewing the x-rays. Good luck to everyone and I really, really appreciate the answers. I just feel so depressed but am sure things could be worse.
 
Hello Mather,

Well, this afternoon we went for what was meant to be a light hack in the woods. We trotted along a couple of straight trails, had a slow canter up a gentle grassy incline and popped over a small log. I didn't give him any instructions - I rode the whole way with a loose rein and let him do what he felt like doing.

We were out for about 40 minutes in total and on the way back he bolted over scalpings through a deep scramble of weeds to the entrance of the road where we then have a steep hill back to the yard. He trotted top speed up it until he saw the baby cows at the top then spooked and sidestepped for 30 yards back to the barn. He was light on his feet with a spring in his step - as I said to my friend, he was very 'jolly'!

Today, you would never know that he had compromised joints!
 
PS - I've just reread your previous post and noted your comment on him being turned out after box rest. Don't panic if he appears stiff - Puzzle was horribly stiff when he was turned out after box rest. I was actually very anti box rest as I'm a great believer in keeping them moving and the circulation flowing, but I followed our vet's advice to the letter until that point. Personally I wouldn't necessarily follow the 'box rest' route again, but that is just my personal opinion.
 
Am so pleased for you. It must have felt fantastic. My horse looked very stiff/slightly lame after just two days box rest which put me into panic mode. His back end looks horribly angular now too. I am not a huge believer in the benefits of box rest for arthritic horses but he's only had two days and will now be out for at least 12 hours a day.
Having said that he looked stiff this morning he cantered around his paddock with his turnout friend and looked rather pleased with himself. Obviously with me shouting: Steady, steady. To no effect whatsoever.
I'm meeting up with the vets next week and will start him on a supplement. Seriously, am so pleased for your and your horse and do let me know how it goes. Any thoughts you have would be hugely appreciated.
 
Listen to Jenny!! I am so pleased to hear someone else mention a herbalist as this is what has brought my mare sound in 6 weeks without any bute and we may be ableto do some dressage again over the summer!! I could jump but I wont as I want to prolong her ridden life and would feel it is unfair as when she tucks up her knees the spikes or spurs cause her pain hence why she refused sometimes for no other apparent reason.

I have videos of my horse lame in walk nd trot in the field and now doing all these ridden and loose happy as larry and full of beans like she has a new lease of life.

Herbs like willow (aspiriin is derived from this), sweatmeadow, rosehips, nettles and so on plus devils claw and so on work great for arthritis but you nee a herbalist to make it up for you in a mix as the you can overload on quantites and some herb are incompatitbe with others so cancel them out. It may seem expensive initially but once into their system works out no dearer than a joint supplement none of which I found this level of success with and do not rate much to be honest as the use less quality herbs to cut corners and gain more profit and often add bulkiing agents etc.

I really hope you find something to help your horse as I know too the pain and heartache and stress. I felt like a weight has been lifted not to see her crippled and I have my horse back! Good luck xx
 
The thing is he doesn't look remotely crippled. A bit stiff but nothing drastic. He's also done some amazing ridden work for a very green five-year old so I just don't understand his diagnosis at all. His collected and extended work at trot was really quite good - not sure sure how he could have achieved this if he's in so much pain? I am clutching at straws, I know. Have meeting this week and have a list of questions as long as my arm for the vets. Thanks again and hope your horses are doing well.
 
X-rays are being sent to Ian Wright, orthopaedic specialist at the Newmarket equine hospital. Has anyone any experience of him? Thanks.
 
My horse has been written off with osteoarthritis, so I know what a horrible time you are going through, all to well :(

My horse had IRAP treatment, purely to make her as comfy as possible, as she will not return to ridden work, but my vet said it is very effective and she is certainly more bouncy in the field since :) good luck!
 
Thank you so much for your posts. It means so much and I so appreciate your kindness. Anyway, have just been told that it is probably more a slight infamation of his joints ... No where near as bad as the vet thought. So ?????? Am not sure what to think but his x-rays have gone done to New Market and he seems horribly well. Long lining is hilarious so any tips there would be great. Can't believe how things have got so much better. Thanks to everyone for all your time.
 
Oh I am so glad the outlook is better than you feared and it isnt as bad as the vet thought - I guess they have to cover themselves dont they in the event of possible bad news........

Anyhow so happy for you and hope it turns out okay xx
 
Thanks very much, Mja. He's being a complete arse at the moment, but am presuming he feels better, is not good out of work and is a terrible baby. He's also just five and, I think, needs to get back into routine. Also, not a great age?
The livery owner/my instructor, where he's stabled, is being so supportive and incredibly kind and helpful. So, I hope we get there, eventually. I really appreciate everyone's replies.
 
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