Horse arthritis symptoms and maintenance?

[arcticsportpony]

I usually just read the posts on this forum, but currently I’m at a loss with my lame mare and am wondering if anybody else has experienced something similar or has tips for maintenance.

Last spring I bought a nice 10 year old mare. She had been sitting around at the same farm for over 5 years with sporadic rides in between. After I bought her, I rode her on trails and on the flat 3-4 days per week until she went lame in late July with swelling under her knee. There was not much heat in the swelling but obvious by just looking at her. The vet flexed and radiographed her one leg and was pretty sure it was arthritis although most of the pictures were unclear. Vet thought they saw some bony hooks on the pictures.

I gave her a month off and applied DMSO. The swelling went down and she was sound to ride lightly. The day after riding her, she was lame and puffy again. Now I take her out for a bareback walk ride on flat easy ground for about 15 minutes about once a week and her knee is still swollen even before riding. I haven’t applied DMSO since the beginning of the month, and the vet isn’t too keen on bute. I’m in a fairly remote area with limited resources.

Are these normal arthritis symptoms? What can I do to help my horse?

[SuckerForHorses]

Fairbanks, ugh!

That is all I have to offer to this thread. :lol:

So the vet took xrays, said it looked like arthritis, and then what? That was the end of his suggestions or knowledge?

[stanza]

It doesn’t seem like your vet is very knowledgeable. Can you find another vet to give another opinion?

I have a horse who was diagnosed with Ringbone, or osteoarthritis, in his pasterns. Bute is not an evil drug. It can be very useful in this kind of situation. It was diagnosed for my horse for a short period to help bring down the swelling along with rest to see if that would bring the horse sound again. Some horses even tolerate Bute for long periods without any side effects. There is a newer drug on the market that has very good results, Previcox, that has less side effects than Bute.

Do a search on this forum and you will get a lot of good advice.

Joan

[arcticsportpony]

I woke up to snow this morning! Good thing I enjoy winter

Vet said if the swelling continued we could talk about options such as injections but didn’t go much further than that.

Maybe I’ll try to get hold of some bute or previcox.

Horse arthritis isn’t common in my area especially for a younger horse so I’m just wondering how others might maintain their horses.

[FineAlready]

Your vet does not sound competent, and the x-rays the vet took sound like they were not well taken. Knees are difficult to x-ray properly and require an experienced vet. Also, you should get digital radiographs done rather than the old school x-rays. They let you see a lot more.

You don’t have a diagnosis at all, and you really need one.

[FineAlready]

[QUOTE=arcticsportpony;7178216]

Horse arthritis isn’t common in my area especially for a younger horse so I’m just wondering how others might maintain their horses.[/QUOTE]

I have no idea what you mean by this. Arthritis in horses isn’t really a “regional” thing.

[arcticsportpony]

Right - I mean I’ve asked other horse owners in my area but they don’t have experience maintaining an arthritic horse so I haven’t been able to discuss maintenance with anybody here. It’s good to know that knees are difficult to image - I’ll need to look into getting another opinion.

[asterix]

I don’t know much about arthritis in the knee specifically, but I agree you need good digital xrays (there are portable digital machines that the vet can bring to your barn) and a good sporthorse vet to evaluate.
If it IS arthritis, there are a range of options – injecting the joint can help, shockwave can be VERY helpful, a maintenance plan of Adequan or Pentosan (IM joint supplement shots given periodically), possibly a shoeing change, as much turnout as possible, etc.
Long term pain management with something like bute or previcoxx is also used – bute is really hard on their stomachs long term so previcoxx is a better choice.
But first see if you can find a sporthorse vet with experience with arthritis and a digital xray machine.

[TWH_Girl]

There is a lot you can do to help arthritis. I would do a short course of bute (5-7 days) and try either or both Legend iv or Adequan im for now to see where that takes you. Surpass is a topical anti inflammatory that is supposed to be very good for athritis too. I think you use it for 10 days. Agreed about getting a vet who is more up to speed on current arthritis management tools- there is a lot of good stuff out there worth trying. Oh, and a daily joint supplement is always good support. I like the choices and information offered on Smartpak myself.

Good luck and keep us posted! My 11 yr old was diagnosed with some stiff stifles today so we are on the bute and Legend iv protocol right now ourselves.

[Helicon]

For a ten year old horse to have a chronically swollen knee is pretty scary.
Was the swelling at the front or back of her knee?

Did your vet rule out a soft tissue injury? I would be especially worried about this if the swelling is at the back of the knee. When you pick up her foot, as if to clean it out, and palpate the tendons/ligaments does she flinch consistently or ignore you? That might indicate a soft tissue injury. When you bend her knee to lift her foot, does it feel stiff and creaky? That’s how mine with arthritis felt. Also they can be pretty unhappy with the farrier holding either leg up or forward.

Are the radiographs films or computer files? If they are the latter you can have them emailed to another vet for a second opinion. The old-fashioned films are hard to read, especially if they are blurry.

I have cared for two horses with knee arthritis. It is difficult to manage because it is a high motion joint. Once you are sure of the diagnosis, You can ask your vet to inject it with HA and triamcinalone to calm things down. You can’t maintain knees with injections ongoing like you can hocks. Still, I would put that at the top of my to do list (use a vet you trust).

Next, ask your vet for a prescription for an Intramuscular joint medication like Pentosan from Wedgewood pharmacy. Pentosan is a great value. If he is not comfortable with that, Adequan and IV Legend and/or polyglycan (cheaper but IV) are other good choices. These may help preserve the health of the joint.

You can ice the knee whenever it swells. You can also try rubbing Surpass on it (get it from your vet). You can also ice it after you ride. You can warm it up before rides and on cold nights with Back on Track bandages and sore no more liniment.

You can keep your mare on low grade pain reliever like MSM and/or Devil’s Claw. Or ask your vet for a prescription of Previcox (firocoxib). It takes a little longer to kick in than bute, but it is gentler on your horse overall.

Last, If you believe in joint supplements and you don’t mind throwing money into the great unknown…it probably would not hurt to put her on one. For unhappy joints, I like Conquer liquid. Recovery EQ is another one that gets rave reviews. I have also been pleasantly surprised by Equinyl Combo which has some kind of milk protein? anti-inflammatory added. If one does not help, you can always try another.

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=arcticsportpony;7178237]
Right - I mean I’ve asked other horse owners in my area but they don’t have experience maintaining an arthritic horse so I haven’t been able to discuss maintenance with anybody here. It’s good to know that knees are difficult to image - I’ll need to look into getting another opinion.[/QUOTE]

Probably because they use the same vet and he isn’t diagnosing them or treating them properly either. How frustrating!

Good ideas above.

PS…my boyfriend would LOVE LOVE LOVE to move to Alaska…me? yeah…no thanks.

[1tblvr]

Best of luck! My 29 year old TB was recently diagnosed with arthritis in the knee too.