do you trot your arthritic horses on the road

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swampdonkey

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I have had my mare for 6 months and bought her knowing she had arthritis of the hocks. she had had the steroid injection and although can be a little stiff at first she isn't lame and farrier who has shod her for 2 years says she feels looser and more comfortable than she has for years.
All good, she schools, lunges and hacks probably 6 times a week but I have never trotted her on the roads.
She is a good dooer and I know its really important to keep her weight correct so was wondering if trotting on our road hacks is something you would do? Obviously I don't want to ruin how she is feeling now, but the fields are rock hard so haven't been trotting in those either.
Enough waffling!
Would you or do you trot your horses with arthritis on the roads??
 
I've never trotted my horse on the roads and she doesn't have Arthritis, I'm also very careful about where I trot when on the common - if the ground is particularly hard I don't trot there either!!!

Maybe I'm a bit too particular but that's just the way I've always done it! :)
 
I NEVER trot any animal on the road - I know people who hunt trot and canter on roads but concussion is really bad for them and can cause all sorts of problems
 
My horse has arthritis of the Pasterns and I never trot him on the road... He is a good doer to, however I manage to keep the weight off with limited hay and hard food and by doing his harder work on a surface in the school..,
 
Yes, I do, but my horse is unshod.

Schooling and lunging would be much harder on a horse with hock problems than trotting on the road, especially if unshod.
 
Not unless I really have to and not on hard/rutted ground either. Actually don't do the schooling or lunging anymore and I have seen a big improvement in my boys way of going. Personally as much as I really enjoyed the schooling side of things I'm not sure that circles etc is great for horses with arthritis and navicular type of problems (mine has both!)
 
it was under the vets advise that I upped the schooling, his opinion was that the more she used her hock properly the better she would be. We only ride at prelim level, no small circles and only circles after a nice long warm up.
He also said that lunging was good for her, infact any exercise, except jumping any height. ( although I don't jump anyway so we stick to trot poles) she doesn't struggle at all with the lunging, ears pricked and nicely forward.
After hearing your views I'll stick to my initial thoughts and leave the roadwork for walking.
Thanks for replies.
 
My horse has arthritis in his hocks and is shod but I still trot on the road, if I didn't he'd never get fit as we don't have any off road riding. I am very careful about how much trotting he does, I never trot him downhill and I don't allow him to do a pounding trot.
 
Hi, My horse is 19yrs old and has had arthritus for the last 2 years, I use bio-flow boots, and they have been perfect. i put them on about half an hour before I ride and then I use my common sense, if she is being silly (19 going on four sometimes) then i have to trot out and I use the roads accordingly, she can be a bit short in her stride to start with and then seems to be fine after about 10 - 15 mins. I have no facilities, no school and can't ride in the fields so I have no choice but to do road work, and she has stayed sound for the last 2 years. I also use codlivine supple joint and that helps, she is well shod and I try to use level ground where possible.
Hope that helps. p.s I have had her from a foal and has only been lame twice so must be doing something right.
 
No, brisk walk can burn just as much calorues to burn weight off and keep fit. Trotting is just concussion on the roads, nicht good for arthritis
 
Yes I do. I was actually advised by my vet to start off with road work and hacking as schooling puts more strain on the joints. We do a bit of schooling but nothing too strenuous and no small circles. I always make sure I give him plenty of walk work at the beginning to warm up but after that, he is fine to trot. We hunt, so I have to make sure he is fit enough and so trot work is a big part of our fitness. We also trot downhill on grass as it naturally helps them to bring their back legs underneath them, which in turn builds up the back end.
 
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