talk to me about managing arthritis in veterans??

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sophiebailey

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Hi all, some of you may know Bailey has just been diagnosed as arthritic in 3 legs.

I've pretty much decided I'm not going to go down the injection route given his age (nearly 21) but try and manage him on supplements and painkillers.

I've also been told to try him barefoot.

How do you manage your horses' arthritis? What do you supplement them, do you feed bute, how is their turnout/exercised managed and what workload do they do?

I'm totally out of my depth here, please offer me any advice you can!

Thanks beauties xx
 
Ems got it mildly in her front legs, luckily doesnt play her up to much just a bit stiff sometimes mostly through winter, ive found Maxiflex in her winter feeds really helps and its helped the elderly yard goat with hers to :)
 
Sorry to hear that. Not sure what breed he is but it's so important to keep the extra weight off them. Keep them moving as much as poss, my 21 yr old lives out so I don't have to stress about exercising him. I don't give any supplements but feed a simple diet. Good luck, I did find my boy was a lot worse as the arthritis was developing but it settled and touch wood he's pretty sound now
 
I have a 22 year old she has arthritis but is retired due to the suspensory ligament damage she also has. She has 1 bute per day and has Equimins old horse supplement with spillers high fibre cubes which are turned into a mash as she also has bad teeth. She lives out 24/7 which definitely helps keep her mobile. She has always been a chilly pony and she does need to be kept warm. She has access to good field shelters.

She is very cheerful in herself the more so with the good weather we have had here for the last month.

I have had problems with keeping weight on her in the summer but agree with other poster who said it is important to keep the weight at the right level.
 
you need to find a balance between too much and too little exercise, as to what works for your horse.

Also whilst more turnout is better, standing in the cold and wet isn't necessarily good either. Again, you need to try and fine what suits your horse.

With superflex type of supplements are good, (although I wouldn't feed anything with glucosamine to any horse that is lami prone), also linseed is good for their joints too.

I've tried to keep my horse off bute as long as possible, but now decided she does need it regularly, but at the moment she's fine on 1 sachet every other day, that keeps her bright and comfortable.

Don't panic either, my horse is 31 now, and started to show signs of arthritis in her late teens, ok I don't ride her very often now, but its only the last few years, I've taken her work down slowly.

If you can regular physio will also help, as they tend to compensate in other area's which does result in muscle tightness.

One other thing - I was advised by the vet not to jump.

Hope that helps
 
Hi sorry to hear that! My boy was diagnosed with chronic arthritis in April this year. He has it in all legs but is worse behind. He was really bad a couple of weeks ago which resulted in a vet coming out where I seriously thought the worst would happen but were increased his dosage of danilon and he is now like a different horse. This is what he gets everyday:
Handful chaff
Scoop of veteran mix
Small handful of beet (now winter is here)
2 sachets of danilon
1.5 sachets of senequin
15g linseed
15g of turmeric
15g of devils claw root
Garlic

It seems to work and ive seen a massive improvement. I haven't starting rigging yet as his winter coat is coming through and his coat is very thick as it is, but I'll be keeping him warm n dry over winter. He is out 24/7 in a 50acre field to keep him moving. Stabling just seizes his legs up!! Good luck. Pm id u need any more advice x
 
I decided that didnt want injections etc and treatments for my old boy(never loaded well and needed sedating for tests etc). Was about to have him pts in spring(he had arthritis diagnosed in 2005 so we had done well and we got him going with a light rider for gentle hacking up until spring last year then retired him). Cob so kept weight off out 24/7 all weathers un rugged.
End last year , shoes came off and after trying Devils Claw(waste time & discovered full sugar). I got him on Bute started one sachet every 2-3 days then it ended up daily. Bute was a miracle , he was so much better on it, so clearly in pain. Spring 2012 about to PTS but then we had all the rain and the ground got soft and he was so much better on soft wet ground. The hard ground was not good for him.Plus warm end summer.

So I would say if your horse is good in the stable it may be worth bringing in sometimes if ground is hard etc.

I decided that once we got to 2-3 butes a day then I would call it a day. The past two trims were the other decider, the first was awful my farrier couldnt get his feet up and ended up hacking the feet a bit. So last trim I dosed up 3 sachets and trim went well. The 2 butes a day over 2 weeks didnt have the miracle effect they had at the beginning so I went for PTS.

Someone did suggest the magnetic wraps as being really good for their arthritic horse but I never tried them? Good luck I hope you keep your horse comfy, I agree with others it is trying to strike a happy medium and keep them moving plus rest as well.
 
My 20 year old has arthritic hocks, not bad though. He is on PremierFlex HA supplement, I have got him properly slimmed down, and he is ridden about 4 times a week (up to 10 mile hacks and schooling). He has to work properly too, no slobbing along!
 
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