Old horse, arthritis, winter experiences?

Ive got four old horses. One of them has been formally diagnosed with hock arthritis, and the others can be a bit stiff. They don't seem to be any worse in winter - except for when they have been stabled overnight. They mostly live out, and stayed relatively flexible/comfortable throughout the vile winter we had last year. I feed Copra in large quantities in the winter, so they have plenty of oil, and a bespoke joint supplement, which they all did very well on. Movement is key..
 
Don't really notice any difference in our older pony between summer and winter but he lives out 24/7 so is always moving around. I think that's pretty key. The only time he has a problem is when the ground is frozen and hard and if our other horses are hooning about and he does the same, that causes him some discomfort. Consequently he now goes into a separate, adjoining paddock at night (with his own shelter) and then goes out into the main field in the day time. This seems to work perfectly as he has some rest over night and we know he is never blocked out of shelter or chased off his food (he is bottom of the herd) but then he has plenty of time playing with the others, mutual grooming and moving around with them too.

The biggest difference for reducing his stiffness came in weight loss.
 
Both my oldies have arthritis. One in the hocks and the other in the stifles/pelvic area. The eldest gets very stiff if stabled overnight, and we can't risk him getting stuck indoors if he sits down and can't get up. So they both live out, extremely well rugged and the eldest gets an extra layer or two under a full neck turnout if the weather turns really cold/wet. The extra warmth from that encourages him to keep moving around the field rather than standing huddled under shelter all day.
 
I have 2 oldies, one Arthritis in the hock on a bute a day, no difference in the winter really, again both live out 24/7 they have the odd bad day, then kept in paddock for 24hrs purely to allow movement but not hooning around) and then back out again. I will start bringing them both into paddock with shelter over night when temp drops and then out during the day with access to paddock and shelter.

much happier living out
 
Thanks for all the positive replies. We are on bute and out 24/7 and have the facilities to continue this way through the winter. I was worried I may see a downward spiral as the temperature drops, but the experience here seems to suggest otherwise!
 
Just keep an eye, and as long as they can easily get up and down, and you can keep weight on, then they're doing ok.
 
We have a 23 y/o mare, Maria with bad arthritis, who is obviously retired. She is unfortunately very bad in the winter, and much better in the warmer months. Last year she was regularly lying down in the freezing snow and blizzards. She is in the stable in both winter and summer, all of ours are actually. In the winter or on colder days she has Feedmark Zerobute which really helps, as well as ExtraFlex HA with Rosehips to help her mobility as she very stiff now. As others have said, it is important to keep them moving, and as she's out in the day in a fairly large pasture with her other friends it really helps, but in the winter she can't be left out too long, even with really warm heavyweights, as she gets far too cold and almost 'freezes' in the cold. Also, she is an Andalusian imported from Spain four years ago, so the cold climate here doesn't help.

Just keep them super warm, have shelter or a nice warm *large* stable with a deep bed available and you must keep them moving.
 
We have a couple of oldies who are out 24/7 and have access to field shelters so they can take their pick! Rugged and on no-bute. We had a scare last year when one of them had got cast upwards in the field. It was freezing cold and fortunately she hadn't been down long but it was a worry. We've since kept them on flat fields.
 
I'm finding it hard to know when or how to make the decision to PTS, I'm hoping that he lets me know when he's ready. He's currently on horse dose no-bute (he's 14.2/3) and 1.5-2 sachets of bute per day. I'm not entirely happy about him being on so much bute, but the vet assures me that there is no harm at his age (26). It's such a tricky decision as we don't want to let a family friend go before he's ready, but he has had many happy years of retirement and I'd hate to see him go cold and in pain.
 
Yard full of oldies, oldest being 36. Out 24/7 rugged and no bute etc. They all come in for hay twice and day and feeds. Only difference is the older ones drop weight quicker
 
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