arthritus & retirement

[smiler]

hi the mare i ride was badly mistreated when she was younger and because of being galloped to young she has a recurring stiffness in her withers.she is now around 16 years old and is absolutely full of life (she recently tried to take me over a 5ft hedge). at the moment i am feeding her cod liver oil to prevent the stiffness showing up.but my instructor seems to think a slight stumble on the mare's behalf is because of the injury and thinks she should be retired, the instructor does not like christie (mare) anyway. but because of her rumours people are agreeing with her. because i'm the only one who rides christie i know she's just fine.
i would be grateful for your views and any remedy's i could use to prevent on ease any lameness.:)

[myEllie]

As long as your horse is not having problems, then I would say keep doing what you are doing. Every horse stumbles from time to time, and if it is not a reoccuring thing, I would not worry about it. Even if she was doing it quite frequently, I don't think that it would be a problem with her withers. You might want to try giving your horse a joint supplement, to keep her from having any problems. We have an old, old, old pony with quite severe arthritis in her knee. She is on Grand Flex and a product called B-L solution (buteless, it is made of Devil's Claw and Yucca) and now she is perfectly sound. We can't ride her anymore, but she is really old, so it's just kinder to her. Talk to your vet and see if he would reccomend any products. Give your horse plenty of exercise so that she does not become stiff. If you cannot ride her every day, make sure that she has turnout. You might have to spend more time warming her up, and she may become stiffer in cold weather. But you should be able to manage her arthritis.

[skye]

Get your vet to check her over just in case there is a problem.My horse is 30yrs and has arthritis in his fetlock & shoulder .I started using a magnet for him about 4 months ago.He was always stiff when first ridden and would do a slightly shorter stride with the affected limbs whilst he was warming up.He is fine now he wears a magnet ,no shortened stride or stiffness , enjoying work and life to the full! I would retire him if he was not happy to be hacking out etc,or if his arthritis gets bad.Have you tried aloe vera? i give him this if we have really cold /damp spell as a precaution and it works really well! Good luck let us know how you get on!:)

[Wally]

Take no notice of this "helpfull" advice, if you feel there is a hidden agenda and you feel the horse is fine ignore.

Who diagnosed stiffness in the withers?

[Spydgal]

What do you mean galloped too early?
There are so many different levels of arthritis which affects different joints in different ways .... it needs to be diagnosed as that first off. Secondly treatments depend upon the horse - I have dealt with many horses with arthritis and what helps one does not necessarily help another so until you know what you are dealing with dont be messing on with the horse apart from what you are doing with the oil etc.
If you know the horse and the horse is doing okay then dont stress about this lass's judgemental comments.

[lamprellsarah]

i have an arthritic mare and she is fairly bad, but work keeps her soo much better light work regularly keeps her in top shape, and she shows no signs of slowing down as long as i keep her going!!!

[smiler]

thanks for all the advice- i have invested in some 'joint flex' which was recommended at the shop, christie isn't too keen of it but if it makes her better she'll just have to live with it :) .i will keep you posted

[Dizzy]

If you don't get much joy from 'Joint Flex' I've had some amazing results with 'Gluco Max D 5000'. I've given it to my arthritic Border Collie, who has arthritis in her back - the results were amazing, I was on the verge of having her put down, she was so uncomfortable. She is now racing around, and playing again - something she hadn't done in a long time.

My friend has used it on her arthritic mare and also had good results. It contains Glucosamine Sulphate, MSM and Vitamin C.

Good luck with your horse,

Lesley

[intouch]

Magnetic boots can have a really good effect, they are economical compared to supplements, as they last forever and u can use them on other horses too. I have a pair that do the rounds, they help with healing injuries and brusing etc as well as stiffness.

[belle]

Where can you get the magnets and are they expensive?

[lamprellsarah]

robinsons sell them
tendon boots £53.95 a pair
hoof boots like over reach ones £46.95 a pair

[myEllie]

No offense, but I don't really think that the magnetic products are effective. As I have said before, my old pony has very severe arthritis. I tried magnetic tendon wraps and knee boots for nearly a year without any effect. My friends horse has arthritic shoulders and has bought the magnetic blanket, used it for about six months and did not see any change in her horse. My aunt has arthritis in her wrist, and she tried one of those braclets, but it did not change anything. I think that the only thing the magnetic products are good for is wasting money. The tendon wrap and knee boots cost me a fortune, and I could have spent that money on supplements that actually helped her condition.

[intouch]

I agree that the magnets will not work for everyone, neither will supplements nor veterinary medicine, but the boots I use are from Bioflow, they cost £65, and come with a 90 day guarantee, if you don't find them effective you get your money back except for a few pounds towards admin. They have a website, www.ecoflow.ltd.uk I think, they have distributors all over.

[lamprellsarah]

hmm, i am not sure it's not something you can measure!!
my mare has a copper anklet she used to stubble and trip, and i put it on and this practicually disappeared, i then took it off and in a week she was back to stumbling again, put it back on and a week later she's not doing it!!!
whats this about then !!!! :)

plus they only cost £10, which is cheaper than supplements!!

[Dizzy]

I agree thats its trial and error, though I have no experience of magnetic treatments, and would not right them off, as I've read of many successes. But I do know that my friend with the athiritic mare has tried many supplements, some have done absolutely nothing, some have been short term improvement, some have lasted longer, sadly she now down to pain killers - using no-bute at the moment, but the horse's future is very bleak.

But on the flip side of the coin, I do know of a very old arthritic pony on similar supplements to I mentioned in an earlier post who has been kept very comfy and happy for about 2 years now, they also feed cider vinegar. Its just trial and error. Unfortunately none are a cure, its just finding something that works for your horse.

Good luck

Lesley