Managing stiffness: hot or cold?

[Keira 8888]

Hi guys,

Happy Friday!

Please may I ask for some advice.

If a horse suffers with stiffness - is heat or cold the best management? Prince is on bosweila and hasn’t been diagnosed with any notable joint problems but I noticed he was a little stiff coming out of the field a few days ago.

I always warm him up before we ride with stretches and 10 mins of gentle lunging but I think I need to keep a close eye on this stiffness now. He is 17 this year.

He has bosweila each day to help his joints. But if I wanted to help him with his joints in other ways - would cold hosing each day be best OR the complete opposite and heat packs?

Other than bosweila and carrot stretches, should I be doing anything else to efficiently combat any onset of more stiffness?

He is currently in all day and out at night so I can ease him into the new grass. At 17 hands he is a big old chap and I loathe stabling him - although I know the potential of laminitis is far more scarey than mild stiffness.

And my final question - sorry!!!! How much work do you think an unfit 17 hand horse should be doing on the currently hard ground? I’ve only been walking and trotting (very slow trot for about 10 strides at a time) because I’m worried about the impact on him. Our little sessions in the field generally last about 30 mins and mainly focus on me working on my own position and cues.

After seeing him showing stiffness I’m not going to ride him in the field again until the ground softens.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate any thoughts x

 

[Keira 8888]

Forgot to mention - he has a very deep bed to keep him comfortable when he is boxed.

 

[Carrottom]

I'm not sure hot or cold will do much good for stiffness unless you can isolate where it is coming from ?
I give my oldie Cortaflex extra strength powder at maintenance rate and can tell the difference if doesn't have it for a while.

 

[planete]

As a stiff oldie myself I find heat very helpful and letting myself get cold can make me feel under the weather all day, so I would say warmth is best. You could carry on exercising Prince in walk probably which should help with stiffness too. A 20 mn. walk with very shallow loops and no sharp changing of directions perhaps. The trouble with getting older is that fitness is hard to maintain and stopping all exercise tends to leave one even stiffer and makes it harder to start again.

 

[paddi22]

I have a few with joint issues and have found devils claw has really helped some. I also find the back on track rugs really brilliant for helping the stiff old ones when they are stabled.

We have the same issue with hard ground here but there's still tons of stuff you can do that will benefit both of you. I have a few horses with issues that I need to build muscle and core strength on and doing raised poles and groundwork (inhand) just in walk for twenty mins is the best thing for them. there are really easy beneficial exercises you can do; the best ones are backing up, bending over poles and doing simple lateral work in hand. if you google Jec Aristotle Ballou you will find some great videos and things you can do on YouTube.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I think you are right in easing off until we have some rain, the ground is like concrete at the moment! I would also say keep warm, as I know my own stiffness (I have some arthritis) is awful when I get cold. Perhaps rug him up a little more than you would a normal horse, assuming he isn't a hot horse, you don't want him sweating.
Boswellia is great, I believe some people on here also feed MSM which won't break the bank, although they will be more equipped to advise you on that than me.

 

[Wishfilly]

Just wondered if you had considered getting a physio or someone like that out? They might be able to advise on exercises to improve the stiffness, and maybe do some work with Prince to help him feel more comfortable?

 

[FireCracker238]

At the risk of sounding a bit hippy dippy I find the BrodPod magnetic wraps help my lad slightly

I also find the back on track rugs really brilliant for helping the stiff old ones when they are stabled.

I've heard good things about these too, had a friend that used their canine rug with great success

 

[TheMule]

Always warmth for arthritis. A horse looking a bit stiff on a herbal painkiller would go onto bute/ Danilon if it were mine. Chat to your vet, but I don’t think it's acceptable to let them be in constant pain when we have a nice easy and relatively inexpensive way to help it.

 

[rextherobber]

My oldie is at her best kept outside as much as possible, kept warm and has half a sachet of Danilon a day.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I have found magnetic legwraps extremely beneficial for one horse, although of no real benefit to others. Otherwise warmth is useful for painful joints but I would also speak to a vet about giving him bute/danilon. I agree that gentle exercise is useful for keeping up fitness, so that muscles can support the joints.

 

[ITPersonnage]

As another old crock with arthritis myself, painkillers are the only way to tolerate this, along with staying warm. Boswellia has its uses but if he's still stiff it might be an idea to ask your vet about a low dose of bute. ETA my old girl used to have hock wraps in the stable which she approved of so I think they helped.

 

[Red-1]

If stiff, I am another advocate for Bute.

Horses are hard wired to not show lameness or weakness; it makes them vulnerable to predators. By the time they show discomfort, they are generally in pain rather than just stiff. There IS such a thing as mechanical lameness, but it is a lot rarer than people claim IMO.

I have known horses in light work on Bute for years. Comfortable and cared for. Able to amble round the lanes and live out in comfort.

I don't use Bute to compete or keep in hard work for the edification of the rider, that seems unethical to me. It is not competition legal anyway.

I also hate seeing poor horses, who used to be on Bute, come to the end of their ridden lives and be turned out in a field stripped of their pain reducing medication. Some owners don't want to spend the time/money as no one sees the horse in pain when it is standing round the field.

 

[Alwaysmoretoknow]

Generally cold for acute and warm for chronic. MSM is good - see if you can find a supplement that also has glucosomine and chondroitin as I believe they assist with the efficacy.

 

[Keira 8888]

Thanks very much guys for all your replies.

Im curious to know more about the long term use of Bute. If a horse showed intermittent mild stiffness but no joint problems or arthritis was detected by the vet - would Bute really be needed? Could a horse “get used” to the effects of long term Bute - possibly rendering it ineffective after some time?

Prince sees a chiropractor every six weeks and no problems have been detected - just a little stiffness here and there that the chiro has asked me to combat with bosweila and a regular carrot stretch routine morning and evening.

I certainly don’t want him to be in pain - but take on board the comment regarding lameness and how a horse will try to hide this as much as possible. I just don’t want to go down a painkiller route too soon in case he builds a long term immunity to it.

I’m going to go with “warmth” as my ongoing managing plan - he has his keg wraps on tonight which keep him nice and toasty.

Angie - thanks so much for your comments regarding chronic and acute use of cold/heat - that makes a lot of sense.

The old fur ball is very happy today - looks much better and is sound in trot. I’ve sprouted another 20 grey hairs though ?

 

[Alwaysmoretoknow]

Looking at the post you put on FB the other day with you trotting round on him I didnt think he looked particularly stiff for horse of his age, type and back ground so maybe go with supportive therapies/supplements before starting on more serious meds? Maybe you should share that vid so the lovely HH Forum members can offer some advice? And congratulate you on how amazingly well you're doing with him.

 

[Keira 8888]

Looking at the post you put on FB the other day with you trotting round on him I didnt think he looked particularly stiff for horse of his age, type and back ground so maybe go with supportive therapies/supplements before starting on more serious meds? Maybe you should share that vid so the lovely HH Forum members can offer some advice? And congratulate you on how amazingly well you're doing with him.

Thanks so much A!!! That is very encouraging. Will post that vid here xx

 

[Keira 8888]

Here we are in all our glory!! ??

 

[TheMule]

Thanks very much guys for all your replies.

Im curious to know more about the long term use of Bute. If a horse showed intermittent mild stiffness but no joint problems or arthritis was detected by the vet - would Bute really be needed? Could a horse “get used” to the effects of long term Bute - possibly rendering it ineffective after some time?

Prince sees a chiropractor every six weeks and no problems have been detected - just a little stiffness here and there that the chiro has asked me to combat with bosweila and a regular carrot stretch routine morning and evening.

I certainly don’t want him to be in pain - but take on board the comment regarding lameness and how a horse will try to hide this as much as possible. I just don’t want to go down a painkiller route too soon in case he builds a long term immunity to it.

I’m going to go with “warmth” as my ongoing managing plan - he has his keg wraps on tonight which keep him nice and toasty.

Angie - thanks so much for your comments regarding chronic and acute use of cold/heat - that makes a lot of sense.

The old fur ball is very happy today - looks much better and is sound in trot. I’ve sprouted another 20 grey hairs though ?

You can’t become immune to painkillers, it just doesn’t work like that.
Why don’t you try him on bute for 2 weeks and see how he feels?
I'm a big believer in making their life as easy for them as possible and, to me, stiffness = pain. When I'm a bit stiff in the morning it's because moving any more than that would cause me pain.

 

[Red-1]

I agree with Themule. I would do a 2 week trial (with vets consent) of, say 2 a day, and see if he moves differently. Then taper back, if he seems more comfortable, to find a dose where he is still happy, but on the least medication.

 

[Griffin]

I would have a chat with your vet and see if it is worth a bite trial or if there are any obvious reasons for his stiffness. In terms of support, I think warmth is better and a good joint supplement is also worth a try, although it will take several weeks/months to really start to work. I really like Feedmark's joint supplements, they are often on offer and if you speak to them, they are very good at recommending the best one for you (and not always the most expensive one).

 

[spotty_pony]

Is it definitely stiffness? Just err on the side of caution if he is stiff coming out of the field that it is not Laminitis given the time of year. Not wanting to worry you, but it is a consideration if it happens consistently.