Those with artiritic horses

[nikki_07766]

My boy has got arthritis in his front fetlock and he seems to be suffering a little more than usual, especially after the last couple of shoeing’s, he has naf 5 star joint supplement everyday and has Bute when he’s very sore, I think I shall have him re x-rayed in the next couple of weeks to see if it’s progressing to anywhere else etc but is there anything else I can do/give him, what do you guys with arthritic horses do/ give your to help them.

Thanks Nikki

 

[Angua2]

I have my arthiticy boy on devils claw and top spec joint suppliment which seemed to help. My sharers, bless them, have invested in a set of magetic stable wraps too, and I am very greatful to them.

 

[malibu211211]

My boy has arthritis in his coffin joint and is now fully retired but in the past he went well on Newmarket Joint Supplement and Buteless supplement

 

[Theresa_F]

Cairo has magnetic straps which he wears all the time - they are designed to be left on.

I have found feeding him linseed very beneficial and really noticed him stiffening when I ran out once. He has had cortaflex in the past, but personally I found linseed and Glucosamine and MSM to work as well.

He is kept with no excess fat - he is 730k (clydesdale) so is not allowed to get fat to avoid further joint stress.

I try to gently exercise and turn out as much as possible. I do avoid any fast work on rough or uneven ground and doing tight circles.

He has lots of feather which are natural leg wraps but on my old TB I did use them in the stable in winter which seems to help. I have found keeping my oldies warm and dry to really work.

Recently he got much stiffer behind and has had HA injections into the vein (very expensive) - to benefit all his joints - seems more perky though the vet did say he had a fair amount of flexibility - turned out his problems were more soft tissue damage from being a hoolie with my youngster too often.

He seems better for not wearing shoes.

Finally I give bute when they have a bad period - Cairo is on 2 a day at the moment, sounds a lot, but not for his size. Keeps him mobile and comfortable and I'll try taking him off in the spring.

 

[nikki_07766]

thanks for your reply's guy's, my boy has magnetic boot's but i have to admit i have been slack with them laterly, he get's very nasty might's so i have trouble bandaging him at night as he get's warm and itchy and the stamps (this is where his problem has come from stamping all the time), i may look in to starting him on a buteless supp as well as the joint stuff, he only hacks these days and only walks on the roads with tiny bursts of trot just to see how lame/sound he is, he doesn't go out in boggy/slippy field's etc, is it's good to know i'm doing what most others do.

 

[katylee]

i dont know about horses but i wear a copper braclet for arthritis and notice a difference. quick look on google found this http://www.forbescopper.com/
actually now ive seen that i might get one for my horse!

 

[Nudibranch]

I've used NoBute in the past (devils claw) and it seemed to work...

 

[Donkeymad]

Our heavy cob has had arthritis in his hock for a number of years now. We used to give him No Bute but had to change to Bute Free (Gold Label) which also contains MSM and Yucca. No Bute worked but Bute Free works even better. He now still works hard driving. he also gets yukky cod liver oil.

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

On vet's advice - my old horse had very arthritic fetlocks and he was on a bute a day, msm and pure glucosamine which came from the vet's. I was told that Cortaflex wouldn't do much. I could try Cortavet but it was hugely expensive.

He had magnetic fetlock wraps and magnetic boots although I'm not sure how much good they did.

He seemed ok on that but sadly had to be pts for another reason.

 

[emma_lg]

My mare has it in her hocks...she had injections (course of 2), remedial shoeing and newmarket joint supplement a few years ago and I carried on riding for 3 years...she had more bounce than before!!!
I retired her last year...took her back shoes off - their feet will grow and find the balance naturally (she had to have them off for another reason but we just kept them off after discussion with my farrier)...(though I could ride her in the summer for a walk occassionally)..she goes out every day.
She now has her njsupplement, apple cider vinegar (always used it tho), and last summer we put her on 1 bute every other day.
The wet weather affects her more than anything else...
I tried magnetic wraps etc but didnt really find any difference in her.
It seems njs is the preferred supplement for most arthritis cases (but that is what I find with hock cases), so not sure about other areas tbh..I have had horse hospital and various vets endorse my use of it.
She can still buck and charge about in the field...she will do what she feels she can...

 

[lowbardon]

i have a clydsale cross who has artiritis in both front legs, her treatment has been wedges in her shoes to support and correct her feet slightly which has helped alot as she has complety stoped tripping up and the vet has put her on syniquin (sp) and this has helped also, i also have the stable chaps that you just wrap around the legs which i find got as they dry the legs and keep them warm, also i am trying to keep her weight down and keep her fit as possible and make sure she is turned out everyday.

 

[Paddywhack]

I was adviced and tried Green Lip Mussels Capsules and Bromelaine tablets and it worked a treat on me and the horse,the horse started off with 1500 gr GLM per day and 4 Bromelain tablets per day go in on www.healthspan.co.uk
They offer free UK delivery and you usually receive it within 48 hours
And also a friend of mine sells Aloe Vera so if the horse's joints get really bad i get a couple of bottles of Aloe,also fantastic stuff

 

[sfward]

You could try Riaflex - http://www.riaflex-equine.co.uk/ - just started my arthritis 5 year old on this, and seems to be helping. Good value for money too.

 

[Natassia]

I have recently taken an arthritic horse on loan, hes only 7 and is sound at the moment (arthritis in 1 of his pasterns), I am slowly bringing him back into work and he's going really well so far. He's in at night and I have rubber matting with deep-ish (for rubber matting) easibed on top. Hes turned out every day and ridden as well now, about 4 times a week at least, I'm trying to get him fitter slowly.
He has 25mls of Mobifor supplement (from the vets) every day and it has everything in it; MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and antioxidants. I'm thinking of using cod liver oil as well but don't want to over do it, will see how he is when he's working a bit more. I am not using anything else but thinking of getting some stable wraps now.

 

[toomanyhorses26]

The only thing that has really helped mine is the veradus stable wraps which look a bit like smb boots but with a thick padding inside they keep his legs toasty warm but also support the fetlock joint he walks out soooo much better in the morning and I can really notice a difference if they haven't been put on. Nothing I gave him ever helped don't know if that is to do with his size(he's 17.3hh) or just because it was quite advanced. The only time I noticed a difference was when he ate a whole tub of cortaflex by mistake oopps!!!