Hock injections for your senior horses, how often do you do them?

[Limitless]

I had a 24 year old injected at the end of January. Horse is in regular, light work, no jumping. He’s fit and in great shape, and the injections were a big help. However, he’s clearly needing them again, and I have him scheduled.

How often do you find your seniors need their joint injections? Is the fact that he’s needing them again after only 5 months an indicator of retirement? I feel like keeping him moving is the best thing for him, and I want him comfortable. I don’t, however, want to push him beyond what he’s capable of with medication.

[Quinn]

I swear by IRAP.

[SecondInCommand]

Which joints are you injecting, and with what?

[Limitless]

IRAP sounds interesting, but probably out of my price range for a 24 year old at this point. Joints are DIT and TMT, and I can’t remember what was used although I wrote it down and can’t access at the moment.

[beau159]

If you are getting 5 months out of hock injections on a 24-yo, I think you are doing pretty good.

If the horse is happy to go to work and ride, then I say keep injecting him when he needs it. Horses have a way of letting us know when they want to be done.

You could also consider putting him on Adequan or Pentosan, if you don’t already.

[MrPerfection]

“Horses have a way of letting us know when they want to be done.” Does that include when I get on my 26 year old and he walks up to a tree, stops and scratches his neck on the tree then just stands there no matter what i do, done?

[JB]

Not surprised at that timeline. I would either do them again, and then add an Adequan or Pentosan injection monthly, or see how a loading dose of Adequan works. If the latter works well, then you might be able to maintain with monthly injections.

[Limitless]

I’ll definitely ask about the Adequan or Pentosan. I feel like he still wants to work, although he’s clear that he only wants a part-time position But he’s a pretty stoic dude, and he would never mis-behave out of discomfort, so I want to be sure to stay within his limits.

[beau159]

@MrPerfection

“Horses have a way of letting us know when they want to be done.” Does that include when I get on my 26 year old and he walks up to a tree, stops and scratches his neck on the tree then just stands there no matter what i do, done?

No but when he tries to clothesline you on a branch, then he may want to be done.

[TWH_Girl]

5 mo is a pretty good timeframe to go for a 23 yr old. I think it’s perfectly fine to re-inject to keep him comfortable. Is he sound at walk/trot and just having performance issues, or is he actually off? If just not performing well, I would try Adequan, Pentosan or Legend. If off, than obviously injections make the most sense.

Add daily Equioxx too and see if that helps the longevity of the next round of injections.

[drkarins]

May also be outside of the budget, but we have had tremendous success with Prostride in our older mare. I would be very leery about using steroids in the joint of an older horse without doing IR/EMS testing first, as an aside.

Enjoy your senior. I cherish every ride, especially as she is usually friskier and naughtier than her four year old daughter.