Arthritis in back and hocks 😔 advice please x

[Kirsty87]

Hi everyone, new here. Just looking for a little advice please. Restarting my horse she is 19. She has been off work 2 years now due to my pregnancy. I started walking and a teeny bit of trotting in the field with her for 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a week, 3 weeks ago. I tried twice, a couple of strides at a canter to see how she felt about it and she skidded to a stop and span violently, I fell off unfortunately. She is wonderful to ride and handle other than that incident and has always been willing with no problems. Vet did a stage 2 yesterday, she failed the pen test with no reaction at all. With the trot up the vet said no apparent lameness however her hind legs are stiff. Vet suspects arthritis in legs and her back. Told me to lunge her to get her fit for four weeks building up the time etc. However, I have heard lunging would be too difficult, make matters worse? I asked the vet if it was cruel to try to restart her given age and arthritis but she said there's nothing cruel about getting her fit? I'm not convinced. I was using a treeless saddle but think il have her fitted for a treed one. Has anyone else a horse with arthritis in the back, is bute just going to cover up a worsening problem? Seems cruel to ride her even in the future with a arthritic back? Thank you in advance x

 

[be positive]

That is very strange advice and no way to get a horse of any age fit after 2 years off, I don't think it cruel to get a horse fit but think lunging a lame, unfit horse to be bordering on it, being stiff in both hind legs is normally because they are bilaterally lame, was she worse after flexions or did she not do them?

I think you need to have a bit of a rethink, to me she requires 2 months, at least, of walking in straight lines out hacking starting with 20 mins and building up to 1-1/2 hours before even thinking about trotting, having her properly assessed regarding her soundness and possibly medicating her hocks or giving bute initially to get her more comfortable.

If you cannot commit to a proper fitness plan riding her regularly and get a diagnosis/ treatment plan that is clearer than you have had so far it may be best to retire her but it is possible with the correct care she may be fine, her hocks are more likely to be causing her issues than her back, which is often stiff as a secondary issue due to her hocks being uncomfortable and can usually be improved with regular steady work and no lunging!

Having a decent physio on board can be useful, they will give exercises to help any compensatory tightness.

 

[Kirsty87]

Thanks so much. Very useful advice. She did flexion tests on the front two legs, she tried briefly on the hind legs but horse too stiff to hold her leg up too long so the vet gave up but told me to trot her up a few times anyway. I'm confused, she said my horse isn't showing lameness really but a touch arthritic, I asked the vet if she has horses herself she said nope, maybe that's why she thought lunging was a good idea. In your opinion would you do the gradual fitness in hand first and not ride her for four weeks as vet said (but in straight lines) or would she be OK to ride at a walk at the time you have suggested? I asked about kissing spine she said could be don't know without further testing. Thanks again x

 

[Kirsty87]

P. s. She said cantering by the end of the fourth week, too much I'd of thought! X

 

[Kirsty87]

That is very strange advice and no way to get a horse of any age fit after 2 years off, I don't think it cruel to get a horse fit but think lunging a lame, unfit horse to be bordering on it, being stiff in both hind legs is normally because they are bilaterally lame, was she worse after flexions or did she not do them?

I think you need to have a bit of a rethink, to me she requires 2 months, at least, of walking in straight lines out hacking starting with 20 mins and building up to 1-1/2 hours before even thinking about trotting, having her properly assessed regarding her soundness and possibly medicating her hocks or giving bute initially to get her more comfortable.

If you cannot commit to a proper fitness plan riding her regularly and get a diagnosis/ treatment plan that is clearer than you have had so far it may be best to retire her but it is possible with the correct care she may be fine, her hocks are more likely to be causing her issues than her back, which is often stiff as a secondary issue due to her hocks being uncomfortable and can usually be improved with regular steady work and no lunging!

Having a decent physio on board can be useful, they will give exercises to help any compensatory tightness.

Sorry I forgot to add, I mentioned hock injections is it? Vet was dead against it for the immediate future just bute, and I'm scared to put more pressure on her back by riding her, what do you think? X

 

[Kirsty87]

That is very strange advice and no way to get a horse of any age fit after 2 years off, I don't think it cruel to get a horse fit but think lunging a lame, unfit horse to be bordering on it, being stiff in both hind legs is normally because they are bilaterally lame, was she worse after flexions or did she not do them?

I think you need to have a bit of a rethink, to me she requires 2 months, at least, of walking in straight lines out hacking starting with 20 mins and building up to 1-1/2 hours before even thinking about trotting, having her properly assessed regarding her soundness and possibly medicating her hocks or giving bute initially to get her more comfortable.

If you cannot commit to a proper fitness plan riding her regularly and get a diagnosis/ treatment plan that is clearer than you have had so far it may be best to retire her but it is possible with the correct care she may be fine, her hocks are more likely to be causing her issues than her back, which is often stiff as a secondary issue due to her hocks being uncomfortable and can usually be improved with regular steady work and no lunging!

Having a decent physio on board can be useful, they will give exercises to help any compensatory tightness.

Sorry I have sent three replies not sure if you can see them, how I posted it x

 

[be positive]

Thanks so much. Very useful advice. She did flexion tests on the front two legs, she tried briefly on the hind legs but horse too stiff to hold her leg up too long so the vet gave up but told me to trot her up a few times anyway. I'm confused, she said my horse isn't showing lameness really but a touch arthritic, I asked the vet if she has horses herself she said nope, maybe that's why she thought lunging was a good idea. In your opinion would you do the gradual fitness in hand first and not ride her for four weeks as vet said (but in straight lines) or would she be OK to ride at a walk at the time you have suggested? I asked about kissing spine she said could be don't know without further testing. Thanks again x

The vet is unlikely to inject without xrays to confirm so that is fair enough but they should not be dead against it, the fact she could not keep her leg up suggests it is more than a 'touch arthritic' and that she is lame it is just equal so not obvious.
It is tricky as you do not know her back is arthritic so hard to tell if gentle ridden walking would do harm, I would do as much as you can in hand, long rein if that is possible, pop in a few easy ridden hacks but ideally get a full check done, a back xray and hock xrays would give a better idea of what you are dealing with.
It would be the best way to know what your options are and in the long run may be less expensive that buying new saddles, spending money on physio and putting in hours of work if she cannot improve and get back into the work you want to do with her.

 

[be positive]

P. s. She said cantering by the end of the fourth week, too much I'd of thought! X

Far too soon for a sound horse after 2 years, let alone a lame one, what planet is she on

 

[Kirsty87]

Far too soon for a sound horse after 2 years, let alone a lame one, what planet is she on

Thank you, should have just bloody come on here instead of get the vet. She didn't ask me to trot her in circles either just straight up and down, didn't check heart and only shone a torch in her eyes when I pushed for eye check. 😩 Thank you, I will be following your advice sounds much more like it x

 

[Summit]

I think you’ve received bad advice from your vet. My horse is 20 and we just enjoy light hacking. He started showing lameness on/off occasionally so I got the vet out. I must admit I didn’t want him put through rigorous testing due to his age, and after the vet had checked him out etc for about 30 minutes we both agreed that a bute before riding would be the way to start. This is currently working for us. At 20 I expect my horse to have arthritis somewhere and be a bit creaky, I expect the same would apply to your mare.

there is no way I’d be lunging a 19 year old horse with suspected arthritis and back issues, and these are only suspected.

a good physio can be worth their weight in gold.

 

[ester]

Having them fit can help them with regards to having the correct musculature to support their slightly dodgy joints.
I would be concerned about one that struggles to hold legs for flexion testing and I'm very confused by your vets advice on how to proceed.

If she were mine I'd probably get some xrays done first, so I could decide what was in her best interest going forwards. At the moment going on the hunch of a vet who is suggesting lots of circles and cantering pretty soon is not one I would be using for making important decisions.

 

[Kirsty87]

Having them fit can help them with regards to having the correct musculature to support their slightly dodgy joints.
I would be concerned about one that struggles to hold legs for flexion testing and I'm very confused by your vets advice on how to proceed.

If she were mine I'd probably get some xrays done first, so I could decide what was in her best interest going forwards. At the moment going on the hunch of a vet who is suggesting lots of circles and cantering pretty soon is not one I would be using for making important decisions.

Thank you I completely agree x

 

[Kirsty87]

I think you’ve received bad advice from your vet. My horse is 20 and we just enjoy light hacking. He started showing lameness on/off occasionally so I got the vet out. I must admit I didn’t want him put through rigorous testing due to his age, and after the vet had checked him out etc for about 30 minutes we both agreed that a bute before riding would be the way to start. This is currently working for us. At 20 I expect my horse to have arthritis somewhere and be a bit creaky, I expect the same would apply to your mare.

there is no way I’d be lunging a 19 year old horse with suspected arthritis and back issues, and these are only suspected.

a good physio can be worth their weight in gold.

Thank you, very true. Il see what happens with xrays. And look at a physio, I only want to hack her, we will see x

 

[hopscotch bandit]

I can't believe sometimes on this forum the level of competency and advice offered by vets and just thank my lucky stars that mine are so good.
I would definitely get x-rays and then you have something to go on and can treat accordingly. Good luck with that and remember there are lots of treatment options available if the horse is proved to have arthritis particuarly in mild to moderate cases.

Lunging joints that have the potential to be compromised is ridiculous advice.

In my day getting a horse fit involved much riding on roads at an active pace which would be interspered in time by riding straight lines initially in the menage to build fitness before varying the pace and ending up with circles, serpentines and figures of eight. I'd be looking at a minimum of 6-8 weeks to get an older horse fit and this would be riding at least four or five days of the week.

I lunged my horse but it was always on a good surface and a large circle and this was mostly to evaluate any lameness and not as a method of fitness.

 

[Kirsty87]

I can't believe sometimes on this forum the level of competency and advice offered by vets and just thank my lucky stars that mine are so good.
I would definitely get x-rays and then you have something to go on and can treat accordingly. Good luck with that and remember there are lots of treatment options available if the horse is proved to have arthritis particuarly in mild to moderate cases.

Lunging joints that have the potential to be compromised is ridiculous advice.

In my day getting a horse fit involved much riding on roads at an active pace which would be interspered in time by riding straight lines initially in the menage to build fitness before varying the pace and ending up with circles, serpentines and figures of eight. I'd be looking at a minimum of 6-8 weeks to get an older horse fit and this would be riding at least four or five days of the week.

I lunged my horse but it was always on a good surface and a large circle and this was mostly to evaluate any lameness and not as a method of fitness.

Thank you for your positive advice. It uplifted me today thinking what you said about the arthritis. I would be really gutted to call it a day with my girl because I lost the last 2 years with her. I don't know a lot about arthritis. I absolutely agree about the lunging. It makes me worry how right was she that my horse isn't lame? I mean she was too stiff the vet said to hold her hind legs right up for more than a few moments on the flexion tests. What should the eye test really entail? She shone a torch in each eye in the paddock not indoors I'm sure their meant to do that in a darkened stable. Anxious about the xrays. She doesn't want to canter anymore when on her back, though I only tried twice before taking the hint and getting the vet. I am struggling with nerves after being nearly flattened in a rare spook to top it off. Thank you again xx

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Thank you for your positive advice. It uplifted me today thinking what you said about the arthritis. I would be really gutted to call it a day with my girl because I lost the last 2 years with her. I don't know a lot about arthritis. I absolutely agree about the lunging. It makes me worry how right was she that my horse isn't lame? I mean she was too stiff the vet said to hold her hind legs right up for more than a few moments on the flexion tests. What should the eye test really entail? She shone a torch in each eye in the paddock not indoors I'm sure their meant to do that in a darkened stable. Anxious about the xrays. She doesn't want to canter anymore when on her back, though I only tried twice before taking the hint and getting the vet. I am struggling with nerves after being nearly flattened in a rare spook to top it off. Thank you again xx

Spooking is a good sign that all is not well with your horse although some do just spook for fun and because they like the rush of adrenalin that it gives them. My friends horse who was terrified of the pigs that I wrote about in another post kept looking in the direction of the pigs before hiding around the back of his trailer, yet he kept peeking round, trembling and snorting, hiding before repeating and my friend said he really seemed to get off on the adrenalin rush.

I would have thought eye tests are best done in a darkened stable like you say.

As for arthritis - this is best treated by plenty of turnout, sometimes remedial farriery but at the very least regular five or six weekly farrier visits to keep a good foot balance, weight loss if your horse is overweight, choosing a decent surface to ride on, not trotting much on the roads, using a decent joint supplement and regular exercise (once the horse has been treated). Mostly, its possible to go back to the level the horse was at before, whether that's schooling, hacking or competing but it depends on the degree of arthritis. When arthritis is in the hocks as in your horse this is referred to as bone spavin. Sometimes the joints will fuse naturally but I was told by my vet that this can be very hit and miss. So often they need a helping hand. This is when Tildren and Ethanol fusion come into the equation, but usually the vet will first inject the horses joints with a steroid which will reduce inflammation and take away the pain. This is to see how they get on. Sometimes the vet will offer you bute or danillon and this is fed to the horse in its feed - its the equivalent of Ibruprofen to us and is quite effective. Sometimes the horse can be treated with Tidlren or Ethanol but can still be given low level bute at maintenance level to reduce any stiffness in its joints. Then it can go back to the level it was at before.

With arthritis (as I personally know) it can be worse sometimes and better others. If you trot my horse up fresh out of the stable she will be lame. Trot her up and down a few times and she gets better and better. Its like me when I get out of the car after driving to work I can barely walk (and I'm on 17 pain killers a day). But by the time I've walked across the car park and climbed the stairs I am totally fine again and walking to my desk you wouldn't have a clue there was anything wrong with me. Arthritis gets worse in cold weather so its important to rug up the horse well. I put a neck on my horse, nearly all her turn out rugs have necks and she is now in one in the stable for the winter as she has arthritis in her neck.

Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to reassure you that its not the end of the world.

 

[Hokuspokus]

All very bizarre. If your horse has been out of work for 2 years, and a bit older, it's not going to be able to get back in to work so easily. Muscles will have gone, fitness will have gone, things will have stiffened up. You need to start off slowly, even by doing in hand walking to build her up. I wouldnt be lunging, that is strange vet advice, lunging can be quite hard on them.