Arthritis and care for older ponies... advice please!

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My old pony (who's now 21) is coming back to me soon having been away on loan for the last few years. As she's getting more creaky in her old(er) age does anyone have any advice about how to give oldies a good life? I'm planning on doing most things the way I used to but thought that there might need to be a few adjustments now, given her age.
The vet thinks she has arthritis in her legs (nothing serious yet) and has suggested we go down the 'bute route' but before I commit to that, has anyone tried and tested alternative routes?
I've heard good things about Suppleaze and I think I might try that as a supplement, but come winter I was wondering if anyone had any advice about the pros/ cons of legwraps etc. She's out all of the time at the moment and in the winter will be out for as long as she's happy during the day and in at night.
I outgrew her donkey's years ago (hence her being on loan - I'm a wimp and couldn't bear to sell her...) and as she's not being ridden at the moment I'm going to reassess the exercise issue when she's come home; I do have a small, lightweight friend who's happy to give her some gentle work to keep her ticking over (or do more if my pony's up to it!)
I'm on a fairly limited budget (and also have another horse...) but I'd like my pony to have the best I can give her.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have.
(I'm also going to try and post this in NL)
 
You and your vet know your pony best, and what is best for her......

FWIW my oldie is now 26 and has arthritis in her knees. We have found that warmth in the form of legwraps and judicious rugging in cold weather and gentle exercise helps most. We also keep her in by night all year round so she has some respite from hard ground in the summer.
Don't dismiss the bute option, there's a balance between long-term usage and quality of life - when they are older horses the quality of life issues can easily tip the balance. It doesn't have to be a large dosage, sometimes a half sachet a day with some extra when needed (usually bad weather). Discuss the pony's feet with your vet and farrier too - remedial trimming/shoeing can sometimes help too.
 
My pony lived out for the last 3 years and he's now 20 and i've just brought him back in at night.

I think i'm going to use leg wraps at night in the winter and just do really gentle work on him, though i've got a little 7 year old riding him at the moment which he enjoys.

I'm feeding oil to help with his joints and i'll reconsider his supplements when it gets a bit colder
 
Thank you all for your advice! Of course I'll be working closely with the vet to figure things out initially and I certainly won't dismiss the bute option. I can't wait for her to come home to me!
 
I have my old boy on Mobifor for his joints,he comes in at night in the winter and has Equilibrium Equi stable chaps on,i'm pretty sure he has arthritus in one of his back fetlocks. Regular exercise,keeping pony well rugged and if poss giving her a good quality joint supplement or if really needed some bute daily. All this will def help her stay comfy and happy. I'd also make sure she is on a good quality veteran feed as after all you are what you eat!
 
ad41

21yrs old is still young for a pony. My pony continued to do endurance well into his late 20s

My advice would be to keep her out 24/7 365 days a year. The more she can keep moving the better.Throughout the winter keep her nicely rugged but don't over rug. Too many rugs can make them uncomfortable.

I would use magnetic wraps,they can help the blood flow.

At the moment I would not go down the bute line as you need something when things gets worse.

A joint supplement that contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin will help. NAF Super Flex is very good.

Try and learn to massage your pony, apart from being therapeutic they love it too.

Light exercise is good for them so if you can get a light weight rider the better.
 
Can you turn out 24/7 all year round? If they have adequate rugging/shelter, the oldies realy thrive on it, being stabled imho is the worse thing for an arthritic.

I woudl recommend linseed oil, as well as adding shine and weight, it is a natural anti-imflammtory so good for old bones too :)

Although fwiw, I wouldn't consider a 21 yo pony as old - we rode our 15.2 tbxCB until he was at least 27 (he lived til 36) and I've no idea how old my pony was when he was finally pts - mid 30's at the very youngest :)
 
Sorry, I didn't realize people had posted after I'd thanked everyone - but thank you to the last few posters!
I know 21 isn't that old, I'm hoping she will go on for many more years as long as she's happy and not in pain.
I'm lucky that there's plenty of turnout here so I'm planning on keeping her out as much as possible (24/7 at the moment) and then I'll review the situation again come winter, especially if it's as bad as the last one - we don't have field shelters and the snow was so deep last year...
Thank you all (again!) for your advice, it's great to have so many people willing to share their experiences with their (much older) horses... I think pony will be very happy to be considered a mere slip of a girl at 21!!
 
My old boy is about 35 and still going strong despite having arthritis. He is turned out regularly and has Omega 3 oil that i have in his feed. He has leg wraps in the stable when its cold and is rugged up in the winter. If i leave him in his legs swell so he is better off having exercise. The vet told me years ago that the best thing is cold liver oil!
 
You might want to think abotu adding linseed meal into the diet - it has Omega 3/6 and is full of goosd things for them

My arthitic boy does so very well on it, and it's quite affordable at £25 for 20Kg
 
my old girl is 32... she has arthritis in both hocks and in her back, but she isn't feeling her age - as no matter how hard u try u can't catch her!!!! - she has been retired many years now after an injury leaving her tendons barely attached to her hock...- the vets said she'd have to be put down.. but i persevered as she was coping with being on box rest ... she now has a funny action behind.. but seeing as i still can't catch her 8 years after she got the injury... i'm glad i did...

I think its really important that the golden oldies live out 24/7 - my mare is rugged during the winter... (catching her to rug her is usually the issue!!) she is on no bute and no supplements.. she is just checked twice a day.. lives out all year round and loves it!!!
 
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