Warm up routine for your arthritic horses

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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Louie has been diagnosed with arthritis in both hocks and since steroid injections he has been less humpy and bucky especially better on hacks. He also has one veterbrae touching on his back although the vet doesn't think this is bothering him.

I do think sometimes in the arena I'm getting his warm up wrong, and I'm sure it's just a matter of working out what is comfortable for him.

So we do lots of walking with a quarter sheet on then we'll do some light lateral work in the walk and then move onto stretchy trot work working on tempo more than anything else as he has a tendency to rush.

We'll then do a canter on each rein very loose and me in a light seat. If he does this happy then we'll go onto 'proper' work. This will take 20mins roughly.

The issue is we have good days where I feel like I'm on top of the world then we have days where his ears are back, he's chomping on the bit and reluctant to move forward which before the arthritis was never an issue. On a day like this I'll try and get a couple of steps of nice work then we'll go on a walking hack.
 
Your warm up routine sounds the same as mine would be apart from the lateral work, he may find it more difficult to do even moderate steps if his hocks are causing him some discomfort, unless I really had to do some before trotting I would miss that part then come back to it once he was fully warmed up and forward, I may do less anyway as it is going to be putting more stress on the hind legs only doing it as part of the schooling as required rather than routinely.
I agree that if you are having a bad session it is often best to leave it and do something else, I feel they will have days where they are more stiff or sore and to push through is not always the best route as it can make them resistant or sour, better to go off and have a stress free hack and save the work for another day, arthritis is degenerative so although the steroids can reduce the inflammation and pain they will not remove it completely which is why they will have good days and some not so good ones.
 
The reason I do lateral work is because he's a mischevious little so and so and when just walking he gets bored and plays up. Maybe I need to consider something new to keep his head.

I'm looking at hock boots to keep them warm too, I Would bandage but the odd night my dad sorts him out he won't be able to bandage.

He's only young so I hope he still had a full life ahead of him. If he does end up a happy hacker I won't mind as I adore the little guy and he's with me for life.
 
A horse with arthritis in the hocks will generally find working on a surface (especially if it is at all deep!) much harder than working on the road, where they are on top of the surface. When my old horse was diagnosed and had injections I used to take him for a walk hack on a long rein for 15-20mins, perhaps including a short trot and suppling work, before going in the school to work. Similarly, cool down was done around a field or on the road.
 
My instructor and I agree that my boy (arthritis fore pastern and both hocks) warms up best when I follow walk work with canter (starting in 2 point on a long rein, gradually sitting and picking up a contact). He does the same with his 16yo PSG.
 
gunnergundog said:
A horse with arthritis in the hocks will generally find working on a surface (especially if it is at all deep!) much harder than working on the road, where they are on top of the surface. When my old horse was diagnosed and had injections I used to take him for a walk hack on a long rein for 15-20mins, perhaps including a short trot and suppling work, before going in the school to work. Similarly, cool down was done around a field or on the road.
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This. Lots of work in walk - if possible a walk around the farm or down the lane to get him really loosened up and then straight into canter before trot work - forward and loose/on the buckle rather than collected up/in a frame. When it's really cold, he needs a good 20 minutes, sometimes more, in walk before he's loose enough behind to do anything productive.

P
 
I do very similar to you with the walk work. Lots of walking with some gentle lateral work, although I let her do it very slowly if she needs to. Lots of leg yielding and travers seem to help, but just letting her take them at her own pace.

Then I would do a tiny bit of trot but near enough straight into canter as has been said above, light seat and long rein and just let her free herself up. I probably warm up for 15 minutes :)
 
Just to add my horse was stabled at night and initially I used to ride in the morning; however, as things progressed I found it was better for him to be turned out first and then for me to ride in the afternoon. Appreciate this is not always possible, but it did help.

He hunted until he was 23 and lived until he was 25; it did mean putting in more effort.....things like walking him in hand before cubbing at 5am etc etc. Cortavet HA also seemed to help. Initially (when in his late teens) he would be turned away in the summer and not receive any supplementation....when he came back in you could really see a difference 3 weeks in after the Cortavet HA had kicked in. Latterly, he was kept in work all year round which I believe also helped.
 
First 20-30mins all on as loose stretched down rein as she wants, mostly walk & canter before any trot as she dictates the pace before 'proper' work commences. Agree with someone above, my girl has arthritic hocks & finds working on a surface quite taxing whereas she will trot for miles out hacking the lanes or on the grass arena she finds much easier. We really pick and choose our venues carefully now.

Edited to add my girl has been on Turmeric for the last year, major difference in movement and she lives out 24/7, way too stiff when she is kept in for any length of time.
 
I haven't put him in any supplements yet as still researching them although I am leaning towards tumeric. As of the end of this month he will be living out (yay)! So I'm hoping we'll see a difference then.

I'm about to ride him now, so I'll take him up the lane then in the school and see if this makes a difference. Thanks all for the tips :)
 
Just to add to this, I warm my loan mare up in plenty of stretchy walk, 15m circles and shoulder fore until she's swinging through her back which can take between 5 and 20 mins. Then we go straight into a light seat canter, one on each rein. Then a slightly more together canter before starting trot work. You wouldn't know she was stiff after that, she swings right through. It's the canter that seems to be the key with her. She's also on turmeric which has made a big difference.

I will say that others don't really see the stiffness in her from the ground, so she's not very arthritic, but I can feel it on top.
 
Hey, just to add that I also always did the short walk hack (minimum of 30 mins walking in winter, about 20 in summer) with my mare who had arthritis in her hocks and then moved straight into canter, bypassing the trot. Stretchy trot especially can be quite hard work for them as it requires them to bend their hocks.
 
Mine is 19 and has a bit of arthritis, I've tried most supplements and didn't see much difference, but what has made a difference is 24/7 turnout and if I get chance to ride everyday that helps too.

Also agree with walk then going straight into canter to loosen them up :)
 
Tried straight into canter after 20mins of walk today and resulted in a humped back, ears back and bucking.

I then did 15mins of trot after this and attempted the canter which was 100% better, ears forward and supple.

I'm just waiting for the vet to call as I'm concerned about the reaction he gave me today. Although he's always been a bucker he isn't normally a head between the knees guy.
 
I think if he lived out night and day that would probably loosen him up to a much greater extent, and he would probably be happier in his work
 
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