Anyone riding their horse with DSLD? I’m considering it, based on article in Practical Horseman.
Light exercise is beneficial, if only because they often hurt themselves worse going for a gallop in the pasture. Yes I would continue to ride your DSLD horse until she worsens.
I continued to use my mare for kids riding lessons. She always carried the little ones around safely. Up to the point she developed a heart issue and we had to fully retire her.
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Yes, currently still riding one. She’s packing my son around w/t/c and low jumps happily still. I think we are going to retire her from jumping, but my vet said to still ride her as she’s still comfortable and enjoys it and it will be beneficial for her.
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What did the article say? Like any chronic condition, it just depends on the horse and its comfort level. I’ve had a few friends whose horses have had DSLD and they still rode them. Eventually the condition progressed and the both horses were put down. Treatments included Equioxx and shockwave. One did Adequan but I didn’t see the rationale for that. However, also have not had Adequan make much difference in other situations either.
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My experience with DSLD is I noticed it because I noticed my mare was getting touchy, and not picking up one canter lead. Unusual so I started doing testing, U/S of her hinds showed deterioation in her ligaments in both hind.
Since DSLD is systemic it also explained why she was starting to show touchiness and a dislike of grooming where she once loved grooming.
Being very stoic if I didn’t know her very well I could have missed the early signs, maybe called it a bit of arthritis and carried on.
However, once diagnosed and understanding this insidious disease affects every ligament in her body I decided I couldn’t ask her to keep working. Light riding, 20 min walk around the trails, sure, but even by the next year you could see, I could see her movement changed. All characteristic of DSLD. I couldn’t ride her like that.
She would come to the spot where I always saddled, and stand there, looking at me.
I am sure other horses progress differently but if a horse is continuing to be ridden I wonder if the diagnosis is correct.
Pain meds helped her feel more comfortable.
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I think the degree of lameness depends on how well the horse can compensate elsewhere. Do they have additional arthritis or ringbone? My friend had a pony with DSLD and he remained sound far longer then I would have expected given his age and condition. His fetlocks were very dropped but he never seemed lame and he didn’t seem arthritic. My old mare with DSLD was very arthritic. The vet said she probably had arthritis in every joint.
How an animal experiences pain, and the degree of pain they experience is very individual. Some are definitely less sensitive then others. I do think they try to tell you when they don’t feel that good. There are some horses who love the attention- I have one right now who isn’t sound but she always wants us to pick her for riding. I try to make sure she gets ridden and taken out because she loves it so much. She’s brave, safe, and fun to ride, so why not ride her? Yes she has some degree of discomfort but she hates being left out.
DSLD seems to progress at different speeds for different horses. Some have the slow degenerative kind and others go downhill rapidly. At a certain point all DSLD horses will need to be retired from riding and eventually euthanized. The question is, how long can we keep them comfortable in the meantime? If riding them means they are less likely to gallop and hurt themselves in the field, then yes they should be ridden.
My mare with DSLD and the pony are both gone from this world. You keep them comfortable for as long as you can (and you enjoy them) because their time here is limited. I will say both had a normal lifespan (late 20s).
Thanks! I agree. My guy had a bout of pain that looked bad - a year plus ago! The vet told me to expect intermittent bouts when the ligament stretches and tears, then it “heals” and is not so painful.
Despite the DSLD, he is in good shape and I think I will ride him a bit at a walk and see where that goes. I sure appreciate your response, and it lines up with what I’m hearing.
Kathy
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