Anyone with a horse that has osteo arthritis- i need info!

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ChestnutConvert

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My girl was diagnosed 2 months ago and given a corticosteroid injection, al went well and she was sound until the last 2 times I've ridden. She isn't hopping but has a very slight bob on one leg which i know is still a lameness.

Vet said at diagnosis that we would see if/how long the injection works for but i am disappointed to think that she could be unsound again. Does anyone have experiences of the injections?
I know every horse is different but thought i would get longer since she came sound.

I could be clutching at straws but would having her saddle and back checked be of any help as well since i haven't had this done in the time i have had her?
If it is her arthritis then we have to try buting her and see again.
Would there be a chance that she could just hack and not school? He did say that she could carry a foal but would have to see.

My farrier and other people gave me hope by saying that they have known of other younger horses to get this and that it levels out and they can still be ridden, I'm just a bit confused.
Will be contacting my vet don't worry, just wanted a few ideas. :(
 
How old is she?

My boy was 5 when he was diagnosed with OA in his knees. He is sound following arthroscopy (touches wood!) and I was told injections might be something for the future. But am hoping to get more than 2 months at a time if that is the case.

I wouldn't rule out saddle or back though.
 
My mare has it in one hind fetlock, and she also has bilateral spavin. She did have a steroid injection along with hyaluronic acid injection in March this year. I don't actually think it made any difference at all, but I brought her back into work slowly and had her hacking out all summer (now off work with unrelated issue!). I give her Boswellia and also a glucosamine and MSM supplement. It doesn't seem to cause her any problems and as long as she is kept moving steadily has come sound....
 
My 7 yr old has it in his neck and sacroilliac joints. He has had steroid injections, plus some kind of lubricant (Is that the hyaluronic acid) in neck and might do in SI joint next week.

I am in week 6 now after first injections and we are only doing 30-40 mins of walking so no idea if it has made a difference. Never was lame and he only showed real soreness before after hard work.

Building muscle back correctly and managing muscle pain at the moment. I am certainly hoping for more than 2 months at a time!
 
My older boy has it in all 4 legs. Hocks and fetlocks. He has had 3 lots of steroid injections in various legs. First lasted few years, last ones lasted about 10 months. He is now sound on bute but we only do hacking as the circle work agrivates it. Regular work helps him and keeps him looser.
 
My gelding had it.
he had a year of treatment but went down hill quickly.

he was sadly put to sleep in june.
I miss him so much.

But he was about 18/20
and had a tough life.

Lots of horses do really well with correct management.

I wish you lots of luck.
 
ChestnutConvert said:
My girl was diagnosed 2 months ago and given a corticosteroid injection, al went well and she was sound until the last 2 times I've ridden. She isn't hopping but has a very slight bob on one leg which i know is still a lameness.

Vet said at diagnosis that we would see if/how long the injection works for but i am disappointed to think that she could be unsound again. Does anyone have experiences of the injections?
I know every horse is different but thought i would get longer since she came sound.

I could be clutching at straws but would having her saddle and back checked be of any help as well since i haven't had this done in the time i have had her?
If it is her arthritis then we have to try buting her and see again.
Would there be a chance that she could just hack and not school? He did say that she could carry a foal but would have to see.

My farrier and other people gave me hope by saying that they have known of other younger horses to get this and that it levels out and they can still be ridden, I'm just a bit confused.
Will be contacting my vet don't worry, just wanted a few ideas. :(
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It's always a good idea to have back and saddle checked regularly, regardless of any other concern. In fact saddles should be checked by a qualified saddle fitter twice a year or more often if it's a high performance horse.

Please, please, don't put her in foal just because you can't ride her anymore. Breeding involves a lot of care and expense and there are enough poor little souls being born without adding another one to the statistics. In any case the extra weight during pregnancy will aggravate the arthritis pain.
 
My old boy was sound ish for a couple of years in straight lines and hacking. Schooling and circles he couldn't do. Then on to a bute the day before i was going to ride, to one a day. He is now field sound on one a day. When the ground is hard for long periods he is up to 2 a day bute to keep him field sound. I have not riden him for just over a year. And to be honest when he gets to 2 bute a day just to stand in a field I think will Will call it a day hate to see him like this! We are 7 years on from diagnosis.
I to would not want to put your mare in foal, from what i have read learned i feel some horses are pre disposed or even hereditary disposed. I know many will not agree! My horse was bred by a friend i had him as a foal i backed him, feet done every 6weeks with out fail, never worked hard his entire life, there is no reason why he has what he has x its just v un fair!
 
Just wanted to add my old boy was only eleven when diagnosed. I now give both my young horses joint supplements prevention is better than cure. And if it happened again at least ill feel better for having given them it i will never know if this would have helped my old boy sadly.
 
She is 9 but i just feel a bit lost as I'm wondering if she will ever come sound. I know it wouldn't be the end of the world but i would be heart broken to have to leave her in a field esp as she loves to be out there doing tings even if it is just hacking. She is on supplements so maybe i need to leave time for these to work, also magnets and keeping the legs warm in this damp weather.
You hear so many good stories and just hope that you can be one of them, i hate the idea of having to bute her up. She doesn't seem that bothered by it, is never naughty, doesn't change in any way. Will get the back and saddle looked at, ring my vet and go from there.
 
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Bute is not the end of the world in small dose x but yes you may need more time to let the supplement do its job. He did have periods when he would be worse for seemingly no reason i think the arthritis went though active stages then needed time to settle again, I got another six years happy hacking my old boy and as much as it makes me sad and I felt robbed at the time he is now 18 coming 19 and lived longer than his mother (who was lost at 14 nothing related) keep positive!!
 
Charlie77 said:
Bute is not the end of the world in small dose x but yes you may need more time to let the supplement do its job. He did have periods when he would be worse for seemingly no reason i think the arthritis went though active stages then needed time to settle again, I got another six years happy hacking my old boy and as much as it makes me sad and I felt robbed at the time he is now 18 coming 19 and lived longer than his mother (who was lost at 14 nothing related) keep positive!!
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I agree. I'm not saying byte up to keep them in hard work but to help them have some quality and do something they enjoy. When the time comes I would be willing to do that for my lad. Crikey I'm held up by ibuprofen :o
 
My beautiful old boy had arthritis in both his front legs. He started to just put in the odd nod at 15/16 when the ground was hard, but only now and then. He had never shown any lameness up to this point. His front legs were x-rayed with the view that we would see what was going on and possibly then medicate his joints. My vet told me before hand that some times this worked for a year or two, and other times not very long. My boys legs turned out to be quite a mess with loads of arthritic bone re-modelling and my vet said it would be pretty hard to actually get a needle in his joints as they were so bad! Along side this the x-ray showed up another issue with one of his pedal bones which gave us both a bit of a shock. After much discussion and consultation he ended up being put on Danilon. I hadn't been that keen on going along this route originally but it worked really well in managing my boy for a number of years. His gait was shorter, a little odd but he was happy to hack out and didn't appear to have any pain, he was just physically handicapped by how far his lower joints could actually move. Gradually his hacks changed to just an easy plod, and then his last year was spent retired to the field as I felt he wasn't as able as before. I would have gladly kept him like this on his Danilon a day if he hadn't had taken a turn for the worse and become quite lame on one of his legs. We think the small amount of remaining cartilage had broken up, and although you can operate my vet didn't recommend that for him due to the issues in his other leg, and at 22 I don't think that's a route I would have taken for him any way. He was put to sleep in the autumn and it is the most heartbreaking call I have ever had to make, he was so well in every other way, and I miss him so, so much.

The positives you can take from this is that you can maintain your horse on bute for many years so really don't be put off using it. But do make sure your vet (same one each time) see's him/her every 6 months or so because you need an outsiders eyes to keep a check on things, for the welfare of the horse. Seeing your horse's odd way of going everyday it becomes difficult sometimes to see whats right and whats not, having a regular vet check gives you peace of mind that your horse is not suffering. Also bear in mind the extra stress put on other parts of the body/joints because the horse will alter his way of going because of the arthritis. My boy had a physio every 6 months to help with this.

I have read some positive posts on here about the injections, so they may work for you, as may the supplements, everything is worth a try and as your farrier said some arthritic conditions do settle, so your girl may have many, many years ahead of her yet. Good luck.
 
To add to my post.
My geldings could no long be schooled just hacked. Straight lines better no circles.
Ground conditions affected him.
Too hard hurt but wet made him feel bad too.
Bute helped, I used devils claw aswell.
He was out as much as possible but liked being stables so could get stiff.
They can have heart bar shoes etc.


I wish your horse good health.
As I said some horses can carry on for quite a while with good management.
 
We had a mare with arthritis in her fetlocks and pasterns. Unfortunately this is a degenerative disease so it will get worse. Our horse had steroid injections into the joints but they didn't work. We kept her hacking sound on one bute a day for a year, then retired her. We were advised not to put her in foal as it may be hereditary.
 
My arthritic boy was PTS last November (he was the equine Unsung Hero in the recent reader issue of H&H :) ).

We kept him active and in comfort for several years using:
- pads under shoes (latterly thick ones with putty underneath)
- synequin joint supplement (pricey, but with more glucosamine than others on the market)
- cod liver oil
- NoBute
- as few circles as possible, light/medium work, taking it slow on hard ground
- bute as needed (the odd few to cover an off day or the day after a show, then a more regular dose later on)
- rubber matting in stable so he was never stood on concrete
- physio session every 6 months

We did try corticosteroid injections but I didn't see a difference - my vet said it works for some horses but not others and they don't know why!

I'm not sure what of the list above worked best (apart from the bute), but I'm certain he was able to have an active life for much longer thanks to them working in combination.
 
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Thank you so much for putting my mind at rest about bute, i see now that it can be viable for a time, like someone said we take painkillers, it just seems such a shame though i know it's just one of those things.
I think the main problem is the vet that diagnosed her at the hosp (not my everyday vet) he was good and thorough but seemed a bit gloomy on outcomes. I know they can't tel you that things will be ok falsely but left me very down about it all. Will keep positive and take each day as it comes!
 
Can I suggest taking a look at www.thehorse.com. This is the website of an American publication, that has an amazing archive. There are a number of video and audio articles on arthritis and pain management.

I've found it invaluable.
 
My 25 year old mare has it in all 4 legs plus back and hips. She is unsound in trot but she need never trot if she doesn't want to as she is fully retired. She is out 24/7 well rugged up, gets 1 feed a day - containing 1 bute - she is a "good doer".

She does go very lame though usually after having a hoolie about the field, I then increase her bute for a day or two. She also has spavins and soft tissue damage. Her quality of life is good, she hates being stabled, her teeth are checked regularly and I think she is happy in her self. :)

xx
 
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