Stifle arthritis, do's and dont's

[JesterandPatch]

My boy has been on two danilon a day for pretty much a week now, initially I wasn't seeing any improvement but now he is really started to loosen up, he is turned out overnight from about 15.00 until 07.00 then has access to his stable and yard area to keep him moving, I have been walking him out in hand every day, he has been enjoying this, ears forward and seems happy.
The hacking around my area to go further than a 20-40 min hack is quite hilly and I'm not sure if I should be avoiding those from now On? I did lead him up and down a hill yesterday and he seemed OK, stopped once on way down but think this was to look at the cows as appose to an ouch moment.
Vet has told me to hop back on but want to be sure he is more comfortable first, he has lost a lot of muscle due to PPID so need to build this back up.
I'm not sure how much is too much when it comes to excercise? Should we avoid hills, pole Work? Trotting? Shpuld he be working everyday or can he have a few days off a Weekends? He had his shoes taken off a couple of weeks ago and is happy in hoof boots, would it be beneficial to keep shoes off to help him create his own balance Etc?
Sorry for all the questions, he is such a stoic little dude and I don't want to miss the signs of discomfort, thank you

 

[TotalMadgeness]

My connie has malformed stifles with a touch of arthritis and my routine involves minimal under saddle schooling with no canter work in the school when being ridden (he really struggles in my 20 x 40m school); at least twice a week he gets some loose schooling usually with an equicore; no lungeing; no polework other than raised poles walked in hand; no jumping; hacking once or twice a week - primarily in walk with no trotting on roads, hard or uneven tracks; I aim for up to 2 hours hacking including hills. He gets physio once a month and before I work him I generally do some physio with him (stifle stretches/carrot stretches). Before working him I will try and walk him up and down my driveway a couple of time (the driveway has a gentle slope) and do a wee bit of moving him sideways and backwards up the driveway. Any ridden work involves a warm up including shoulder in, quarters in and leg yield in walk also rein back. Sessions in the school are kept short as he tires very easily (he's definitely much happier out hacking!). He normally gets 2 days off a week. He is also shod - he was barefoot but after diagnosis the vet recommended shoes for support.

The other thing is he wears knee boots out hacking as he can be quite unbalanced at times!

Signs that he's struggling include stopping suddenly out on hacks (usually a hill); dragging hind toes in school; slipping or tripping up on his hind feet; falling onto his knees at random (hasn't done that for a long time thankfully!); unwilling to rein back; unable to work straight (usually twists to the left on the right rein for example); getting tired more quickly than usual, holding his tail to one side and sensitive back. Signs that he is coping - willing to go forward, straight and in an outline; lots of energy; doesn't drag his hind toes so much, holds his tail straight and is just generally a brighter happier pony.

 

[JesterandPatch]

My connie has malformed stifles with a touch of arthritis and my routine involves minimal under saddle schooling with no canter work in the school when being ridden (he really struggles in my 20 x 40m school); at least twice a week he gets some loose schooling usually with an equicore; no lungeing; no polework other than raised poles walked in hand; no jumping; hacking once or twice a week - primarily in walk with no trotting on roads, hard or uneven tracks; I aim for up to 2 hours hacking including hills. He gets physio once a month and before I work him I generally do some physio with him (stifle stretches/carrot stretches). Before working him I will try and walk him up and down my driveway a couple of time (the driveway has a gentle slope) and do a wee bit of moving him sideways and backwards up the driveway. Any ridden work involves a warm up including shoulder in, quarters in and leg yield in walk also rein back. Sessions in the school are kept short as he tires very easily (he's definitely much happier out hacking!). He normally gets 2 days off a week. He is also shod - he was barefoot but after diagnosis the vet recommended shoes for support.

The other thing is he wears knee boots out hacking as he can be quite unbalanced at times!

Signs that he's struggling include stopping suddenly out on hacks (usually a hill); dragging hind toes in school; slipping or tripping up on his hind feet; falling onto his knees at random (hasn't done that for a long time thankfully!); unwilling to rein back; unable to work straight (usually twists to the left on the right rein for example); getting tired more quickly than usual, holding his tail to one side and sensitive back. Signs that he is coping - willing to go forward, straight and in an outline; lots of energy; doesn't drag his hind toes so much, holds his tail straight and is just generally a brighter happier pony.

Thank you, we don't really school, we've always been happy hackers aside from some occasional trotting poles in walk, I guess I will just guage how he is each day, might attempt actually getting on for a short plod today to see how he feels, he did go galloping off down the field yesterday with a buck so danilon must be working, want to keep him active as long as possible, not for my benefit but for his