Cartrophen experiences

[throwawayaccount]

Hi all, my retired mare (10y/o) had a check up last week. Her front feet showed to have an improvement after 8/9 months of rest - just thin soles, so she’s having 4 shoes put back on to keep her comfortable (see previous threads if interested )

she also had her hocks xrayed- one hock is a bit of a mess following treatment from previous vet and the other has significant osteoarthritis

she is being started on a course of Cartrophen to help her with her osteoarthritis, and when she has her shoes on my vets suggested walking her out to see if this helps at all. I’m not overly bothered if she’s rideable or not as my first concern is keeping her happy as a horse. (And I’ve already resigned myself to keeping her as a happy lawnmower)

does anyone have any experience with cartrophen? I can see a difference already, she’s keener to move and seems more comfortable which is great!

Thankyou xx

 

[Annagain]

I do but it was about 18 years ago and I think the way it's used has developed since then. My old boy had 4 injections a week apart. It did make quite a difference to him in the short term but I lost him to colic about 8 months later so don't know about the long term effect. He was 26 having the injections and it was enough to keep him in gentle work, which was best for him as he got very depressed when I tried to retire him.

 

[teddypops]

My old pony had cartrophen injections and it made a massive difference. He had hock arthritis and after the injections he wasn’t lame or stiff at all. It doesn’t work for everyone though.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

My friends 19 yo warmblood had a course end of last year and he looks much better he was about 2 to 3 tenths lame worse on the left, and vet looked at him a few weeks back and was very happy and told them to start riding him his only ever going to be a light hack now.

 

[Nasicus]

My old cob mare had osteoarthritis and bone spurs in her fronts, she was considered retired at 12, had 6 months off, then a course of cartrophen and she came back into light hacking for another couple of years before she was retired for good.

 

[Flicker]

My late mare was trialled on cartrophen for SI dysfunction. The effects were instantaneous and she was immediately more comfortable. Unfortunately in her case there was clearly damage in there that was not just arthritis so when the analgesic effects wore off she went downhill again. But I would definitely try it again if I had another arthritic horse. It was expensive, but worth it I’d say if it keeps them comfortable over a longer period. And, of course, less invasive than steroid injections into the joint.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My Connie had Cartrophen injections every 12 weeks for hock arthritis and it worked to a point but the vet and I decided a daily sachet of Danilon was keeping him more comfortable.

 

[Auslander]

Alf has Cartrophen every 3 months, and it definitely helps.