Arthritis Care for Senior Horse

[Pico_Banana]

I took in a senior horse last year as a foster and have since adopted her. She is what I affectionately refer to as a “super senior” because she is 28 but has the energy level of a much younger horse (more energy than my 10 year old!).

She has pretty bad arthritis in her hind legs (am guessing hocks but who knows). It is bad enough that she is very, very reluctant to pick them up for any reason. I am unable to pick her hind feet and I have to give her Dorm for farrier visits (and even then the farrier picks her feet up as low as possible to try to keep her more comfortable).

I have her on Equioxx daily. First question - I see all of the directions about not using this long-term and my vet is personally not a fan of long term use of an NSAID. But it seems like a lot of people do use it long-term and the foster agency who sent her to me intended her to be on it permanently. So I guess I just am looking for some reassurance that long-term use is a reasonably acceptable practice for a senior horse.

Second question - I’m looking for suggestions on what I can do for her in addition to the Equioxx to get her more comfortable. The Equioxx definitely helps. She canters around voluntarily. She rolls with gusto, although I question whether she’s actually laying down to sleep ever as (1) I never see her do this, and (2) I sometimes see her so sleepy during turnout but unable to lock her knees and see her kinda sway/stumble. But I want to do more so that I can hopefully get to a place where I can pick up her hind feet without her getting anxious and doing that little kicking/balance thing. (It’s not a malicious kick, just one borne from discomfort and anxiety.) Should I add in a joint supplement? If yes, what kind?

For those wondering, she gets free choice second cut timothy hay, about 8 lbs Triple Crown Senior Gold split into 3 feedings, 1 qt. alfalfa cubes with dinner, 1 cup ground flax split AM/PM, 2 Tab salt split AM/PM, and SmartTranquility (which is mostly valerian). She is turned out with a friend in a paddock with plenty of room to roam around, although over the winter she’s on a dry lot so not moving as much as during the summer when she’s on grass. Stalled from about 4:30 PM to 7:30 AM.

I am putting in Dutch doors to give her an in/out option but I don’t even know how she’ll like those - she is very opinionated. Before she came to me she lived out 24/7 with a run-in shed and it took a while for her to get used to being stalled, but now she loves her stall. (Actually, I think she loves her grain, which she equates with her stall.)

I also started using my Back on Track quick wraps on her this week. I have to start slowly with anything new because I have no idea of what she has been accustomed to in her life, so I’ve used the front quick wraps for about 5 days and added in the hind leg wraps for the last 2 days. I only have her wear them for about 4 hours before I take them off. I have a BOT mesh sheet that I’m going to add into the mix tonight. She seems to like the quick wraps so I am thinking of getting her the hock wraps, too, if the BOT seems to make her more comfortable.

I have her at home with me so I can spend whatever time I need fussing over her and making her comfortable, with no need to worry about burdening barn staff, so that is not a concern.

[Amy3996]

A systemic like Adequan or Legend could help if you want to target more than one area, although the results may vary depending on the severity of her arthritis. If you and your vet are confident that the issue is localized to hocks, joint injections might be an option?

My senior gelding was on Equioxx daily for the last four years I had him with no ill effects. We did bloodwork periodically to make sure it wasn’t having a negative impact on his liver and kidney function. Every horse responds differently, but I don’t see an issue with continuous use for a senior horse as comfort care.

[PaddockWood]

She sure is lucky to have found you! You’ve thought of so much for her care. My only idea is how deep you are bedding? I have a 28 yo and read a study that horses bedded in 6in laid down more which is good for them (get off their feet).

I’ve been doing that and noticing how much he enjoys laying down and getting off his feet.

[QuestionMark]

Acupuncture might be worth trying for her. I have a (not as) senior mare, also very opinionated and with good energy who is on daily Equioxx. It has made a difference in her arthritis symptoms but not as much as the acupuncture. She also LOVES it and we both look forward to how happy she is during and after her sessions. My vet who does it for her also treats dogs and cats and has many, many senior patients whose mobility and comfort has been improved by acupuncture.

[punchy]

Equioxx is fine for an old horse to stay comfy. Movement is their best friend, so Dutch doors are a great idea. I just want to caution about adding boots and things; just make sure you’re not adding things that make it more difficult to move around (e.g. exaggerated hock movements with hock boots) or that will get her hung up on something. Moving around is their best friend, over standing still with boots and sheet, IMO.

[Pico_Banana]

@Amy3996

A systemic like Adequan or Legend could help if you want to target more than one area, although the results may vary depending on the severity of her arthritis. If you and your vet are confident that the issue is localized to hocks, joint injections might be an option?

I forgot to mention that I discussed these with my vet. She doesn’t think Adequan would make a difference and I don’t think I’m at the point where I can justify the expense of Legend and all of the vet visits it would entail without trying some other options first. My vet is wonderful but she is certainly not cheap.

I am not sure the issue is localized to the hocks so I’d have to do a full lameness workup to figure that out. As much as I love my girl, on balance, the issue is not so difficult to deal with to justify the cost of all of that.

But thank you for the ideas!

[Pico_Banana]

@PaddockWood

She sure is lucky to have found you! You’ve thought of so much for her care. My only idea is how deep you are bedding? I have a 28 yo and read a study that horses bedded in 6in laid down more which is good for them (get off their feet).

Thanks for the kind words! I love her dearly and she’s super affectionate so she makes it easy to spoil her.

She gets bedded pretty deeply relative to what I’ve always had in boarding facilities but I will try to add more and see if that helps! She is pretty active in her stall overnight … she ends up moving a lot of the bedding to the sides. That’s what also makes it difficult to know if she’s laying down at night. She’s usually got some dust on her but I can’t tell if it’s from laying down or just kicking up her bedding (large flake shavings).

I have noticed one thing she does is that she backs up against a wall and kinda leans against that for support. Although I have not seen her do that too much lately. Now I’m wondering if it coincided with starting her on the Equioxx.

[Pico_Banana]

@QuestionMark

Acupuncture might be worth trying for her.

Great idea! How often do you do it?

[walkinthewalk]

You’re going to get a lot of opinions on what works and what doesn’t.

I have a 27 year old with minor stifle issues and what the livestock vet diagnosed as “dry hocks but not to worry about them”

I have had this particular horse on Lubrisyn for 3? Years and it seems to help him a lot. There is also another hyalouronic acid which allegedly has a more bioavailability but it is more money.

https://cogentsolutionsgroup.com/products/hyaluronex-joint-hyaluronic-acid-supplement-for-horses/

Neither product is cheap but nothing is that stands a chance of helping:)

2. I am also a HUGE fan of red light therapy and cold laser therapy. I have had my “gospel” (named after her horse) red light therapy pad since 2004. I have used it extensively on my horses, my dogs, my leg when I had sepsis and my blown shoulder.

It has paid for itself many times over. I have the 6” x 9” because it’s all I could afford and that size makes the most sense for everything I do with it.

According to "Gospel"...Equine Light Therapy®-Canine Light TherapyWelcome to...

2.1. After seeing what the vet’s cold laser therapy treatments did for the ACL on my Rottweiler, I beseeched DH for one for Christmas and let me say, I’m already getting his money’s worth😇

Brandenburg Equine

Not all of these devices are created equal by any means. Both of the products I linked (and bought) are made in the U.S.A. I was fine paying extra for what I hope would be ethically made products that hold up.

I also actually got to have conversations with the owners of both companies​:+1:. The man from Brandenburg was in the drug store looking for cold meds for himself but he still answered his phone instead of letting it go to voice mail. That was an automatic five stars for service and another five stars for the product arriving at my home two days later​:+1:

2.2. My point to all this is to try to help you with things that do help the horse and are products I feel are worthy of the phrase “value received”

3. I love Back On Track - have several of their products. Keep using those on her to keep her legs warm and circulation going:)

[Pico_Banana]

@punchy

Equioxx is fine for an old horse to stay comfy. Movement is their best friend, so Dutch doors are a great idea. I just want to caution about adding boots and things; just make sure you’re not adding things that make it more difficult to move around (e.g. exaggerated hock movements with hock boots) or that will get her hung up on something. Moving around is their best friend, over standing still with boots and sheet, IMO.

Definitely agree and have thought about how I would manage the in/out situation with the BOT products. I think I’d be fine with her being in her in/out with the quick wraps and a sheet on, but nothing else. Her in/out is not very large … definitely big enough to walk around but not big enough for anything more really.

[QuestionMark]

My horse gets it every 3 weeks (I am very fortunate to have a package deal going with my incredible vet and also acupuncture tends to be fairly affordable compared to many other vet services), but she said frequency can vary a lot individually. I think we did it once a week for a month when she first started and then experimented a bit with frequency to see what worked best.

[joiedevie99]

@Pico_Banana

I have her on Equioxx daily. First question - I see all of the directions about not using this long-term and my vet is personally not a fan of long term use of an NSAID.

I’m also against daily NSAIDS for most horses, unless the issue is diagnosed properly and other options have been tried. That said, I’d say your horse is the perfect candidate. At 28, and not in work, I’d be much more interested in making her comfortable and happy for the years she has left than worrying about side effects. If you start to notice gastrointestinal issues, you can figure out how to proceed.

Heck - I’d even consider double-NSAIDS for the day of farrier visits. An extra gram of bute along with the Equioxx isn’t great practice long term for the kidneys/liver - but that wouldn’t even cross my mind as a worry here.

You could try putting the BOT wraps around her hind legs (and hocks) 30 minutes before picking them, and see what happens.

I agree I’d be unlikely to put this horse through a full lameness work up.

[beau159]

@Pico_Banana

I took in a senior horse last year as a foster and have since adopted her.

She has pretty bad arthritis in her hind legs (am guessing hocks but who knows).

Second question - I’m looking for suggestions on what I can do for her in addition to the Equioxx to get her more comfortable.

My vet is wonderful but she is certainly not cheap.

I am not sure the issue is localized to the hocks so I’d have to do a full lameness workup to figure that out. As much as I love my girl, on balance, the issue is not so difficult to deal with to justify the cost of all of that.

Suggestions? Take the horse to the vet and do a full lameness workup. Spend the money, find out what body part(s) are bothering her the most so you can properly come up with a directed management program for her. I applause you for taking in a senior horse but now you need to take care of her. Taking care of senior horses is expensive. And it would be way more cost effective to know exactly what you are dealing with, than to trial and error a ton of things that you aren’t even sure if they are treating whatever problem she has.

When a horse needs them, I am a big fan of doing direct injections into the joints, with steroids. Because it’s extremely effective to control inflammation and pain. And then supplement with other things, like Equioxx, if it is still needed. So if her hocks are really as bad as you think they are, injecting may help a lot. See where she flexes the worst and see what xrays look like. Maybe she’s also got a front feet issue that you don’t know about (as we all know that it’s very common for horses to have more than one issue).

Things like Pentosan, Adequan, Summit, Legend are all extra options if the horse needs it. It’s unfortunately trial and error to figure out which one a horse may respond to the best. Every horse is unique.

My Red has a lot of issues. He has done fantastic with Pentosan every 2 weeks (after the loading dose). No stiffness whatsoever. He did alright with Adequan too, but thankfully did even better with pentosan (which is way cheaper). He gets Equioxx daily from about April/May through October (competition season) and then I take him off during the winter months to have a break from it.

I also purchased PEMF system late this year so I am really curious to see how they do on it on a regular basis during the competition season.

[lenapesadie]

I also have a senior horse I “adopted”. He’s quite comfortable as long as he stays shod up front and turned out. His “stall” has an attached paddock say 75x100.

My vet sees no problems with giving NSAIDs continuously for Senior ponies. My guy doesn’t need it currently but I wouldn’t hesitate to put him on it when/if needed.

I wouldn’t invest in a full work up myself. At 28, I’d be satisfied with pain management. Perhaps a few targeted things depending on circumstances.

[cayuse]

I’ve had several aged ponies on Equioxx long term (think years) with no problems. I’ve also had very good luck with the HA Conquer.

[Marla_100]

You may want to check out 100X Hylaluronic Acid , it’s a gel and just squirts into their food.
The first couple days my senior was on it he actually trotted out from eating and into his paddock.
Before that he just hobbled around. It’s $113.50 per gallon so it lasts a while.

[Bluey]

Could you add a sand pile for her to roll in and maybe take naps also?
Our horses love theirs, especially the older ones, that can lay down and, making a little tiny hill, have a pillow and is easier to get down and back up on the slight incline.

[stryder]

It may be less an issue with her hocks, and more a problem that her front knees don’t lock, especially if she’s leaning back on a wall. I’d take that as an important sign.

[Mango20]

What does “long term” mean for a 28 year old? I think that if it is helping and the cost is low, that it’s probably just fine to keep her on it (as in she will probably not live long enough to see any long-term damage from it).

I have one that will be 28 in April. I’m taking the same approach as you as far as a definitive diagnosis. I’m sure she has arthritis somewhere or most likely in multiple locations, but at this point it’s not worth an extensive search for it. My farrier thinks her pasterns have fused. I also think she’s got something going on in her hind end. Mine is comfortable on a daily basis with no meds. She’ll trot and canter voluntarily, and will lie down in her stall and outside. She’s always happiest to go down in her stall when it’s freshly bedded. I give her bute before a farrier visit, or if she seems stiffer than normal for a day or two.

I do like Bluey’s idea of a sand pile which also serves to help them get back up. I might have to try that. Otherwise, I think the best you can do is feed her well, keep her comfortable, and keep her moving as much as possible.

[Posting_Trot]

I would strongly second (or third) oral Hyaluronic acid as a supplement. You’ll know within a week or 10 days whether it’s helping the horse at all and you can continue or not depending on what improvement you see.

Lubrasyn is good, as is Conquer. Do try the gel or liquid forms since they seem to work more effectively.

Good luck!