Oestrio Arthritis

[meantobea]

Hi Everyone,

I need some advise of anyone who has a horse with Oestrio Arthritis, i have a 16 yr old mare, i had not rode her for a couple of weeks due to family circumstances,work and weather, i got on to ride one night and she was fine in walk but when i went into trot she almost callapsed on me ........ she has been on 3 months box rest has had various trotting tests, lungeing tests and flexion tests, which led to nerve blocks and x rays which diagnosed the Oestrio in her right pastern joint front leg ..... The vet advised i walked her in hand twice a day for two weeks which i did, then i could ride tacked up but just in walk which i have done, vet came out again did all the trotting up and lunging tests again and she was very please with her, so told me i can now start riding her again so have just recently tried to ride her again, all the ground work is good no lameness at all, BUT i am getting the same symptons as i had before still lame when under saddle i only weigh 9 stone 6 not to heavy lol............ so i am really confused to why she is only lame when tacked up


can anyone help me solve this i am devastated i cant ride in trot when i thought i could

 

[Jessey]

Arthritis is changes of the bone, once it happens its permanent though sometimes giving a joint supplement can help them be more comfortable or getting the joint medicated by the vet might be more appropriate if its more advanced. Arthritis is a degenerative disease, but its normally very slow progresing.
Is it ringbone that your mare has? Doing little things like ensuring you have her feet done every 6 weeks or possibly less can help keep them more comfortable.

 

[Lissie]

One of my horses has ring bone which is osteoarthritis in the pastern or coffin joints, As Jessey said once it's happened it can't heal or get better you can only manage it and try and slow down how fast it's developing. Why was she on 3 months box rest? Usually with arthritis it's best to avoid box rest and keep them moving as this keep the circulation going which helps to stop the inflammation.

My lad is semi retired as found the same, he's sound enough on the ground and in the field but when I rode him I knew straight away he wasn't happy not totally lame but not himself. He has good days and bad days. Some people try joint injections of steroid or HA these can be successful but if they are generally only up to 6 months. I didn't want my horse having injections and the vets agreed he's extremely vet shy putting him through the stress of having it done for something that may or may not work wasn't worth it for me. My main priority was he was happy and ok and I didn't want to put him through stress just so I could ride him. The vets thought the best thing for him was me having a supply of Danilon and if he's having a bad day I can give him some as required, although he rarely needs it. I will not give him Danilon for me to ride him though.

You could look at putting her on a good joint supplement, a lot of people swear by turmeric. The joint injections are something you'd need to seriously discuss with your vet, as there's also a risk of lami with steroid injections. I think the main thing for me is I've come to terms with the fact he's got it and there's no magical cure once I accepted that it got easier to manage him. Plenty of turnout, a good joint supplement, taking care not to ride on too hard or too soft surfaces and a lot of horses can still enjoy some level of riding.