Scared of damaging older horse

Orchardbeck

Orchardbeck

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2010
Messages
1,299
Visit site
I have a 21 year old 14hh mare who is a good doer, who got laminitis for the first time this spring (it was grass induced as another younger mare developed it at exactly the same time after a flush of grass). She was on box rest most of the summer, and is now stabled at night and turned out on to a stubble field during the day which has a little grass regrowth for her to nibble on.

She gets a scoop of D&H Safe and Sound with half a scoop of Speedibeet twice daily, Supplease Gold and Magnesium Oxide added in her evening feed, and two sections of hay (I used to stuff my nets full before she had the lami, now they weigh about 3kgs).

As a result of the box rest, she lost a lot of weight which was great, but has also lost a lot of muscle, not so great. I can only ride around once a week due to childcare duties (my baby is 9months old, I'm hoping this will get easier as she gets older) so am wary of doing any hard/fast work with her for risk of injury.

My problem is that I'm getting more and more nervous of doing anything more than walk with her, for fear she will hurt herself - she seems to be stiff in her hocks and hind fetlocks which does ease with walking. Is this fear of her damaging herself reasonable, or is it a psychological problem I need to get over? At this rate she will end up being a field/stable ornament. :confused:
 
If you can only ride once a week, I realise that you cannot do more at the moment, she is not really doing enough to get any fitter or build up muscle.
Could you find some way of her doing another few days of exercise, maybe a friend to ride her or just 10 mins on the lunge would help.
As you increase her fitness there is no reason she should not get fit enough to do some faster work.
 
At 21 years old and after a summer of prolonged boxrest with resultant muscle loss, yes she's going to be stiff when she comes back into work, just like any old human would be. We all get arthritic as we get older, and sometimes regular gentle exercise keeps everything ticking over nicely, which maybe has been the case with your mare until she got laminitis and then the exercise had to come to a stop so the patient seizes up.

So yes she needs gently building-up again, possibly with some painkillers to help her or maybe even some injections into her joints, and definitely just walking and only a little to begin with and progressing it gently/carefully over several weeks/months. Chat it over with your vet if you can.

At some point yes she will become retired/ornament, and maybe with a young baby, that time is now. Maybe a once or twice-weekly 20 minute plod in walk-only would suit you both for the time being esp with winter's short days coming, change or build it up if you can see she's comfortable. Then as spring days come, decide if you've time and if she's got the health to put her back to the level of work she was doing earlier this year.
 
To be honest i wouldn't worry overly about it - she is older, she is quite likely to be stiff, it comes with the territory! Are you riding her from the stable or the field? If from the stable then I would expect her to be stiffer to be honest and you just have to be sensible and walk for the first few minutes of the hack. Build it up slowly. I assume supplease is some sort of joint supplement? I have my oldies on Top Spec 10:10 as this was recommended by our physio as contains MSM which apparently is what they need to help maintain the joints/cartilage (don't quote me on that though, I am not expert!) Still, our oldies seem to do pretty well on it and our 25 yo just won a veteran class at the weekend in which the judge commented how he shows no stiffness at all. Therefore something we're doing i right! He lives out 24/7 though which is more ideal for a horse/pony prone to stiffness.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry - just carry on as you are if she's happy in herself. Ours don't get out that much in the winter as we have no facilities so they get out at weekends basicallly. Start thinking about getting her fitter if you want maybe come spring time. In the meantime the odd hack once a week should not be too much for her.
 
I brought my old boy back into work at the age of 36 after he was wasting away retired in his loan home. It was the best thing i ever did. We built up VERY slowly, Starting with in hand walking but he came back to life. His coat was shiney he put on weight and muscle and started to be a bit naughty at times like he did when i was a kid!!

I had him ages but really cherish those last few years- do it!
 
Thanks all. I guess I just feel guilty because I'm not able to spend as much time with her as I used to, and although it's fab keeping horses at home, it does get a tad lonely and tricky when you are on your own!

The other thing is that she usually lives in the paddock at the back of the house so I can usually see her through the window at all times, but we've had to drain and re-seed the field so it won't be ready til spring. So at the moment she's stabled at the farm which is just in walking distance, but I have to take my baby down in the buggy to feed and muck out.

That isn't a problem in itself, but when it comes to turning my mare out, the field she is currently in is a bit of a trek through muddy tractor tracks, no buggy friendly and baby has to be transferred in to a carrier - luckily my mare is quiet enough to lead at the same time. Baby is getting heavier each time though...

I had considered getting someone to ride her out a couple of days a week but figured it might be tricky with the dark nights. I had also considered 24 hour turnout bearing in mind the above, but then to deal with her I would only be able to see her when I didn't have baby responsibilities so stabling her makes this possible. Maybe I just need to weigh up how sensible this would be for her health? I think the painkiller route may be a useful idea, I could perhaps try some devils claw or similar in her feed as a trial?


I'm so sorry for my long post, I just need a bit of a sounding board! It's being stuck inside, I'm thinking too much and not doing enough doing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top