Exercise and old arthritic horse

[lucylocket]

Horse is 20 and has arthritis in hock and is on bute, also had injection into hock. The vet has said to keep him active.
He has had 4 months off and I started bringing him back to work at the beginning of this year doing half an hour on road
every other day. Now doing an hour every other day weather permitting. No access to schooling area. I want to be able to hack out for about an hour 3 times a week. How long do you think It should take to get him fit for this without compromising his joint problems. He is dragging his hind legs slightly at the moment, but not sure if this is laziness, as incredibly idle horse or due to arthritis.

 

[badgerdog]

My old boy is 24 and has arthritis in his hocks and is on Danilon every other day. I ride mine out about 3 - 4 days a week for gentle hacks. Mostly walking, a bit of a trot and an occasional canter. He sometimes feel incredibly stiff when I start off but after 10 - 15 minutes he loosens up. I also haven't access to an arena but I do leg yielding and shoulder in while I'm hacking and this really helps supple him up.
I think if you continue as you are he should be fine. If you've been riding him since the beginning of the year he should be fit enough for what you want to do as long as his hind legs are ok. Does he drag them all the time you ride him or is it just at the beginning of your ride? It may be just initial stiffness but if it continues all the time you may have to ask your vet (maybe you could just phone them for advice rather than get them out).
It's really important to keep arthritic horses moving. If I haven't ridden mine for a few weeks due to holidays etc I can really tell the difference. He still enjoys going out and it's lovely that I can still ride him. I hope you still have many happy years with your horse, they may get stiff but they are like creaking gates and can go on for much longer than we think!

 

[Magicmillbrook]

My mare is 19 and has had arthritis for about 3 years. Often it shows as a slight stiffness, especialy if she has been a loon or been to a show/rally, ocasionaly she will have an episode of slight lameness. Winter is often worse for her as is hard ground in the summer. This winter I left her out 24/7 and she has been a lot better. I do leg stretches, carrot stretches and cicle her fetlocks (as shown by her osteopath) prior to riding and ensure we warm up and cool down thoroughly.

 

[lucylocket]

Thanks for replies. I hope I can keep him going a bit longer, I do feel a bit guilty at times when I know he is not totally sound and probably never will be again. He always seems to be reluctant when going out but can loony round the field quite happily. I think the rider might need to lose weight!
I know some people retire their horses with arthritis and some dont agree with dosing a horse up so you can ride, we dont crash round the countryside (which I do miss a bit ) but mainly walk with an odd trot on the roads to liven him up and a canter if he wants to. Im probably worrying too much!