Arthritis, bone fragments, difficult decisions.

[Fourtoomany]

So last year I bought 17.3hh WB after losing my previous horse very unexpectedly. She is 8 and had previously not really done a great deal, or so we were led to believe.

From the get go there were a few issues that I hadn’t expected with regards to behaviour that I put down to settling in. This all resolved ok but then at the end of the summer she was lame.

Cut a long story short after all the worries you can imagine in your head she has slight bilateral coffin joint arthritis with some tiny fragments thrown in. Steroids initially worked ok but then we had arthramid put in and the difference is unbelievable. She’s also undergone cartrophen injections. (Shoeing accordingly)

She isn’t insured so we are dealing with it best we can as to have anything removed isn’t going to be possible.

Vet seems happy with where things are. We are 2 months post arthramid. Everything we could do regards to her comfort has been seen to.

However I can’t help constantly feeling a sense of impending doo. When I rode yesterday she didn’t feel quite right in the sense that she continues to have slight difficulty initially on one rein in canter and disunites. (This has always been the weaker rein and the disunited issue has always come and gone) Her trot has improved no end, she’s certainly more comfortable and over all she is a different horse. By the end of our sessions she’s always going great but it just takes a while to get there.

Obviously I will do what I can to keep her comfortable, and only do what she’s ever happy with. I’m just riddled with paranoia after each ride that it’s not working or it’ll not last (in the sense that the arthramid may stop working after just a few months at worst.)

I just don’t really know how long to give it. She’s the loveliest horse you could imagine and any behavioural issues have completely dissipated because she’s feeling and looking better. But I just worry it’s not enough, I’ve googled and searched high and low all over the place to try and work out how to manage going forward but I never really come up with great answers. Every time she seems unhappy about anything I will always think I’ll worry that this is what it’s going to be stemming back to.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

 

[Traks]

Didn’t want to read and run…I can understand your fears! My mare has just had Arthramid injections for hock arthritis, she’s a month in and seems less stiff so hopefully they are helping!

I know how you feel though as I worry the effects won’t last long etc…she is insured at the moment but I know next year they’ll exclude hocks in all likelihood so we need to get saving to pay for another dose of it if it does work…

Horses are always such a worry, I don’t think you can ever really relax!

 

[Fourtoomany]

Thank you for your reply!

It’s just so difficult knowing that if anything changes again it could be that or it could be something else.

So glad to hear your horse is improving too. It’s fantastic stuff!

 

[Trot_on]

Hi there

Really sorry you're going through this with your new horse. My welsh has been treated for arthritic changes in one of his hind fetlocks since he was 8 years old, so I know your worries well. He's 18 now and has been retired for the last 5 years but steroids did well for him for a few years. He had arthrimed in December in the hope that I could hack him again to help keep weight off, but he's come nowhere near sound enough sadly - though he is happy jogging out on the long reins and stomping around the field. I watch him like a hawk to check he isn't struggling to get up or down when rolling etc. He is now managed on a bute a day which I'm happy to keep him on to be comfortable and enjoying life.

The things I'd suggest are:
- Use pain killer when needed... like humans with Arthritis, they will have bad days where they're sore. Make sure you help them out on those days with a pain killer, as it will help stop them causing issues elsewhere by trying to counteract the pain
- Turn out as often as possible. 24/7 is best, but not always achievable but try to keep her from being stationary for hours on end
- Warm up slowly, warm down properly
- Keep her supple and get regular physio who can get to know her well and spot muscle changes quickly
- Keep her as slim as you can. Once they get fat and you can't do fast work, it's really hard to get fat % down again

Just take each day as it comes and expect to be flexible about your plans for her. One day you might get on board and get straight off because she's not quite right, other days you could hack for hours. It will all be about knowing your horse well and knowing when she needs a break etc

While it's degenerative and won't get better, Arthritis isn't the worst outcome in the world. It is very manageable with numerous treatments to help your horse stay comfortable.

I hope you're able to still have many years of memory making with her <3

 

[Fourtoomany]

Hi there

Really sorry you're going through this with your new horse. My welsh has been treated for arthritic changes in one of his hind fetlocks since he was 8 years old, so I know your worries well. He's 18 now and has been retired for the last 5 years but steroids did well for him for a few years. He had arthrimed in December in the hope that I could hack him again to help keep weight off, but he's come nowhere near sound enough sadly - though he is happy jogging out on the long reins and stomping around the field. I watch him like a hawk to check he isn't struggling to get up or down when rolling etc. He is now managed on a bute a day which I'm happy to keep him on to be comfortable and enjoying life.

The things I'd suggest are:
- Use pain killer when needed... like humans with Arthritis, they will have bad days where they're sore. Make sure you help them out on those days with a pain killer, as it will help stop them causing issues elsewhere by trying to counteract the pain
- Turn out as often as possible. 24/7 is best, but not always achievable but try to keep her from being stationary for hours on end
- Warm up slowly, warm down properly
- Keep her supple and get regular physio who can get to know her well and spot muscle changes quickly
- Keep her as slim as you can. Once they get fat and you can't do fast work, it's really hard to get fat % down again

Just take each day as it comes and expect to be flexible about your plans for her. One day you might get on board and get straight off because she's not quite right, other days you could hack for hours. It will all be about knowing your horse well and knowing when she needs a break etc

While it's degenerative and won't get better, Arthritis isn't the worst outcome in the world. It is very manageable with numerous treatments to help your horse stay comfortable.

I hope you're able to still have many years of memory making with her <3

Hi there

Really sorry you're going through this with your new horse. My welsh has been treated for arthritic changes in one of his hind fetlocks since he was 8 years old, so I know your worries well. He's 18 now and has been retired for the last 5 years but steroids did well for him for a few years. He had arthrimed in December in the hope that I could hack him again to help keep weight off, but he's come nowhere near sound enough sadly - though he is happy jogging out on the long reins and stomping around the field. I watch him like a hawk to check he isn't struggling to get up or down when rolling etc. He is now managed on a bute a day which I'm happy to keep him on to be comfortable and enjoying life.

The things I'd suggest are:
- Use pain killer when needed... like humans with Arthritis, they will have bad days where they're sore. Make sure you help them out on those days with a pain killer, as it will help stop them causing issues elsewhere by trying to counteract the pain
- Turn out as often as possible. 24/7 is best, but not always achievable but try to keep her from being stationary for hours on end
- Warm up slowly, warm down properly
- Keep her supple and get regular physio who can get to know her well and spot muscle changes quickly
- Keep her as slim as you can. Once they get fat and you can't do fast work, it's really hard to get fat % down again

Just take each day as it comes and expect to be flexible about your plans for her. One day you might get on board and get straight off because she's not quite right, other days you could hack for hours. It will all be about knowing your horse well and knowing when she needs a break etc

While it's degenerative and won't get better, Arthritis isn't the worst outcome in the world. It is very manageable with numerous treatments to help your horse stay comfortable.

I hope you're able to still have many years of memory making with her <3

Thank you for such a kind post! Your horse sounds like he’s living a great life in spite of his own issues.

I absolutely get the importance of all those things. We don’t have 24/7 turn out over the winter, but come the end of April (weather depending!) They get out which I know will make the biggest difference.

It’s tough just seeing all your hopes and aspirations evaporate in front of you, but even more that sellers aren’t always the most honest! But that’s horses, I guess.

 

[IrishMilo]

What are your plans for her long term? Do you like to school and jump, or are you happy to hack? If the only thing she's struggling with is the canter, if she were mine I'd probably spend the summer doing gentle hacking, building up her muscle and posture on the floor, and reassess come autumn.

How is she shod?

And what did the vet say re. the bone fragments? I appreciate you're not insured but unfortunately if they're big enough to be causing her pain the only way to resolve that really is to bite the bullet and have them out.

 

[ThreeFurs]

I feel for you, dJD is such a fluctuating thing. I can only pass on my experience of, fourteen years ago, consciously buying an expensive, 15 y o smallish WB Prix St George schoolmaster with minor, but evident arthritic changes in his left fore pastern on the purchase xrays. I got a second opinion from a vet I trust and she said 'he's doing the work; he's in full work, I don't have crystal ball, your going to have to run with it'.

And I'm so glad I did. We put him on Cartrophen, loading dose then monthly IM injections. Kept his weight right. Joint supplements [glucosamine and MSM] in feed. Worked him five days a week, across a variety of surfaces; arena, grass, road etc. Physio monthly. He was turned out during the day, throughout the year. Good nutrition. One thing an experienced coach said was 'horses have only so many medium and extended trots and canters in them over a lifetime', so we didn't drill these at home, plus he knew them anyway.

Eight happy years ensued, competing [I almost got my riding ability up to his training level, and we competed at Advanced level] and we also did hacking, lessons, riding club, beach and forest rides. He segued from a dressage horse into a brilliant all-rounder.

At 22 he started to struggle with the arthritis, so we had injections into the pastern joint, which didn't 'hold' as long as they should've, and he was retired at 23, and now, at 29 he is still bouncing around showing off his canter pirouette [his party trick] at feed time. His walk though, is rickety. He's still on the cartrophen, to help with field soundness.

So I think it how each individual horse is affected by their arthritis, that as posters above have said, you need to play by ear. That said, my gelding didn't have bone chips when I bought him.

Subsequent to his retirement, and horse-hunting, this time with more experience, I did turn down a wb mare, greatly discounted price, with nice breeding and temperament, as owner was open about her chips, and said she would need surgery, so I once again, called my trusted vet, and she talked me through how the surgeons go in to remove them, and depending on where they are, they can be easy, or really difficult, to remove. With no guarantee that later, more osteochondritis won't form. But you say her's are tiny. And they don't seem to be the main problem atm.

So I would just keep going with her, and with the arthritis medications. You love her, and she loves you. She doesn't know her prognosis, only that some days she feels great, other days less so. Back off the work if she's struggling and uneven. Call the vet.

All horses have a supple and a stiff side. So maybe what might also help are groundwork exercises to build up her thoracic sling, so she can shift some of that percussive pressure to the back. good luck.