Rugs and arthritis.

[Chestnut mare]

My 17year old pony has arthritis in her back legs only really came on in the last 2/3 months. Shes on devils claw and cortaflex and is ticking along nicely. She is living out 24/7 through the summer.
Shes also a little fatty so is wearing her grazing muzzle during the day and has it off at night.
Her field mate also has arthritis and her owner still has her ruged (her choice) as she said getting cold will not help her arthritis. She also said I should be keeping my horse warmer with her arthritis . Temperature is dropping to about 7/8 at night so not desperately cold and has been dry.
I feel that carrying a extra weight certainly is no good for arthritis and if she is getting a little cold will help loose weight so no harm done.
Obviously if it's cold and wet I will probably rug her as the damp will not help.
What do we think?

 

[foxy1]

I've thought about this; I suffer with back problems and the farmer where I keep my horses suffers with arthritis and both of us have alot more pain when we are cold, even on a sunny but windy day.

I can see where you are coming from about the weight issue, but if it was my pony I would keep her rugged.

 

[Dizzydancer]

i did post in NL but i will post here to. My horse has srthritis, he also has it in his legs (fetlocks) putting a rug on will keep there backs warm. legs wraps keep there legs warm. From my human physio knowledge (literally about to graduate) arthritis is affected by the cold, and damp. not one or the other. To be honest the best thing for your pony is to keep moving as that is one of the best pain releivers (ironic i know). The extra weight on her back at this time of year should be minimal (lightweight) as otherwise you will overheat her.
My boy is having his rug on at night (temps going down to between 3-5), this is because he is a wuss and if weather chnages (ie extra windy/wet) he would wait at the gate, not because he has arthritis, as warming his back wont help his legs when he is lying on the cold ground. I have been advised by vet that if it is v cold he should be in at night or atleast have an area of straw/hay to ly on in the field. I do this and have managed for about 5years now and have a happy pony!

 

[chestnut cob]

My lad has arthritis (hock spavins) and is also an incredibly good doer. He is out unrugged as much as possible, or the minimum rugs I can get away with. He only has to look at a blade of grass to get fat and my vet constantly complains about people with arthritic horses letting them get fat. I spoke to him last week and he said an arthritic horse should run up a bit light - much better than carrying any fat, as this is bad for the joints. The less strain you can put on the joints, the better.

So I'd say leave your horse unrugged. Vet told me I was doing the right thing by leaving the horse out 24/7 and unrugged. Also bear in mind that your horse will keep herself warm when outside by moving around and eating.

 

[Galliarde]

Hi,

I also have an oldie with arthritis!! She has it in all her fetlocks. My mare is 28 years young and still going strong! In the winter I had her rugged up to the eyeballs - I think I worked out that all the rugs I had on her one night totalled approx. 700grams!!! However that was during minus 10 degree temperatures!

I am a strong believer that keeping them outside and moving around is the best thing for arthritis. I still have my mare rugged at the moment (medium weight) as it does get cold during the night in the North of Scotland. Also her field is very exposed as it's on top of a hill next to the North Sea so we get the cold winds from there.
However once summer kicks in properly I won't have her rugged at all even during the night (that's if we get a summer!).

 

[Chestnut mare]

Thanks for your replies. Obviously horses are all different, have different needs etc. Mine seems comfortable when ridden, she's not shivering or cold in the morning. I'm doing everything I can to shift the weight

 

[Sophia.]

My old boy had arthritis but he was a real wimp so was always quite well rugged, i do think that rugging helps to keep them warm and lessen arthritis but as you say being overweight won't really help either. I guess it is a case of ascertaining which is the least of the least two evils. If he/she was mine I'd keep a close eye on him/her and be prepared to keep think again if necessary.