arthritis in a horse

[ilovehorses<3]

hi, i was very interested in buying a horse, so we got him vet checked thinking everything would go well, the vet trotted him round and said that he was walking stiff, and that he was suggesting it was either a hurt or arthritis. he is 17 years old and loves to jump and has bundles of experience, i just query whether he has arthritis or not, he loves to jump and can jump well over a metre without refusing and he's 14.2. He is such a sweet natured pony, and i also wonder is £1750 too expensive for that age, experience with tack as well. thanks..

 

[maletto]

£1750 seems quite a lot for a pony of that size and age, although if he comes with a full wardrobe then that will save you a fair bit.

My horse is the same age and has spavin (osteoarthritis) - do a search for spavin on the forum and you'll see that there are lots of us with horses like this!!

Mine's on joint supplements and has had one treatment of hock injections (they inject cortisone directly into the joint to slow down the wear).

My understanding is that some horses may only need one set of injections, others may need them every year, others every couple of months, but if it is arthritis and you choose to buy the pony, at his age, you are going to end up spending a lot on vets bills over the coming years.