Arthritic suffers more in the heat?!

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Sophstar

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Arthritic cob has been feeling the weather this weekend and was very sore Saturday morning but loosened up after pottering round the block. Managed to convince him to eat some danilon (the face of disgust said it all eating his feed) but anyone else's arthritic horses suffer more in the heat than in the cold?! He lived out all winter and coped with the cold well but apparently heat of nearly 30 degrees makes him incredibly sore.

Not sure whether it's the temperature or the fact they all stood for long periods of time huddled in the shade and he has completely seized up.
 
Yes my girl did. I heard so many people say "don't put her through another winter" which may be the case for some but it wasn't for mine.

My girl was a black shire x cob, she wasn't built for the summer or hot weather at the best of times, she really did just prefer to be cool. But she did seem stiffer during the summer months, I can only really put this down to the hard ground, and she got very aggravated by flies so constantly stamping can't have helped much.

And like you said they don't want to be walking round when it's hot so maybe that attributes to it as well.
 
My 20 yo IDxTB 17 hander is getting a little bit stiff and he certainly seems to be a bit more stiff in the heat - the flies really bug him and hes not a great self exerciser in the field.

This is despite him being turned out for longer than ever before (20 out of 24 hours min).

I think he's looking forward to the winter and his woolly PJs. He's doing great otherwise tho, sleek and glossy and still rearing and nipping when turned out....:-)))
 
Well, I have arthritis and feel dreadful in hot and humid weather. Everything swells up and my feet burn and joints very sore.

Don't see why it would be different for a horse.

Just off to hose my legs down now.:D
 
I didn't know this. I knew the cold winters can be a hard time but very interesting that the hot humid weather can cause discomfort too. Hope your cob feels better soon
 
That is so interesting! My 17 yr old part bred welsh cob lady has only just started to have probs with arthritis and was written off last winter by a vet who said she had bone spavins in both hocks and needed injections etc etc. After light work all winter and no injections etc she came really good again- till now -with this weather the probs are re-emerging. She is also plagued by flies, it hadn't occurred to me that all that kicking could be hurting her or that the damp weather could be making it worse. Stands to reason tho! Perhaps I should put her back on glucosamine which she had all winter, is that also why I feel so achey? Oh no! That's just my age!!!
 
This has really made me think! My mare has DJD and I have definitely felt that over the last few days (the hottest so far for my area) She really has seemed to struggle and seemed quite stiff! :confused:
Flies also really bother her and she stamps her feet so hard when they bug her that thinking about it, it must really make her joints sore! :eek:
 
Another human arthritis sufferer (my spine & both SI joints) here and I too have more pain on hot, humid days as well as cold damp days. My joints burn and become very stiff in these conditions.
Ice packs bring some relief on hot days, hot baths bring some relief when it's cold and damp.
I don't have any experience of arthritic horses, but I'd think they would also feel more pain in hot/humid or cold/damp weather.
 
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I also suffer from arthritis in my hands and when its clammy they flair up - been quite sore these last few days actually as its so humid up here
 
I've notice both my horse and dog suffer in the heat, i could only manage a short walk on my boy in the heat. My dog doesnt want to go out at all and he has hd.
 
I thought it was just me!

My boy feels like a 4yr old in the winter!

in summer sluggish stiff and has odd lame weeks.

I put some of it down to hard ground but I am megga careful just walking hacks and doing a bit more in the school but he still suffers

BRING ON WINTER :) :)
 
Varies horse to horse but I know when it's hot, dry and the ground is solid it makes them worse. Not to mention the irritating flies.

I found the cooler days with light, moist/ soft ground is ideal.
 
Apologies for bringing an old thread up out of nowhere but does anyone find cold hosing the joints during the summer helpful?

Little Shetland is arthritic through his back end and it has only reared its head in this heat which is interesting as I'd always thought it would have been the cold..
It was very warm on Thurs/Fri here and he was awful lame so much so I had to give him another bute, but today in the rain he seems much better!
 
Lintel said:
Apologies for bringing an old thread up out of nowhere but does anyone find cold hosing the joints during the summer helpful?

Little Shetland is arthritic through his back end and it has only reared its head in this heat which is interesting as I'd always thought it would have been the cold..
It was very warm on Thurs/Fri here and he was awful lame so much so I had to give him another bute, but today in the rain he seems much better!
Click to expand...

I put ice boots on my old girl. Keep them in the freezer at home and put them on before I ride, by the time I've groomed, tacked up etc theyve melted! But it seems to help loosen her up
 
This is very interesting. My boy has a mystery summer ailment he becomes so stiff and I barely ride him cause I don’t think he’s happy - xrays of his hind Fetlocks were he tends to swell show no arthritis but without a full body scan I won’t know for sure if there isn’t any in his backend. When it’s cooler and in winter he is a beast and goes back to nearly full work.

what are people doing in this situation to help?
 
A horse i used to have had bone spavins and he was worse in extremes of weather. Like if it was very hot, very cold or if he got very wet in the winter. If I kept him warm enough in the winter and didnt let him get soaked he was usually ok but his arthritis definitely flared up when it was hot as well
 
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