Osteoarthritis

[MrA]

I don't really know if I'm looking for advice, more just to hear your experiences of this in your horses.

Ale was diagnosed almost 10 years ago stifles and front right knee. We haven't really had any issues up until recently. He's getting a bit worse to trim, I give him bute before hand which helps. My trimmer says he is a lot better than some. She's brilliant gives him all the breaks he needs, keeps his feet lower, very patient.

I've also noticed when he stands up from laying down those first few steps seem very painful on his RF. After the few steps he is sound.

What works best for you with yours? Any tips for making him more comfy. I will definitely speak to the vet again also.

 

[carthorse]

If your vet is happy with it I'd keep him on a low dose of bute, at least while the ground is this hard. Also make sure his foot balancee is spot on even if it means trimming a little more often.

 

[Frances144]

I give Haakon Bozmerix - one sachet a day. It is a game-changer for him. If it didn’t help him, I would’ve put him to sleep. He is 32yo.

I tried another mare on it and it had no effect at all.

 

[Trewsers]

Storm is on long term danilon - she's 31. Before the farrier comes I give her an extra one, vet said it would make it easier on her to be trimmed and it does. My farrier is lovely and patient with them all and gives her a rather unusual trim on one of her back feet, it works with the arthritis (difficult to explain but it looked a bit odd the first time) and really does help her.
She also gets Naff Devil's Relief, a small maintenance dose daily which also helps - particularly in the winter time when we have the gales which means she needs to stay in a little more. She has the biggest house out of the three of them though lol (she has more or less the entire byre) which is good for her if she does have to stop in longer. Zi has arthritis in his back end, I knew this when we took him, touch wood its really only been the last couple of years I've actually noticed it. We've had him nine years! He gets a low dose of Danilon too and has maintenance dose of Nutraquin Plus.
Interesting @Frances144 that your mare did not respond to the Bozmerix. Storm was trialed on Cosqeuin and it had no effect at all. However it really helped Joe who had DJD from a young age and you could really see a difference. I guess what works for one doesn't always work on others. Overall I think the Naff Devil's Relief is pretty good for all of them though.

 

[newforest]

Nothing useful to add as no knowledge of this.
Just reached to say what a super photo that is

 

[Jessey]

Lovely picture

Phoenix used to suffer, if the ground was hard or if it was particularly cold, he was better out and moving rather than being stabled. I used to put wraps on him to keep his joints a bit warmer in winter, I found some good ones with a silver lining that reflected his body heat back in which did the best job (not relevant just now though!)

He was on devils claw initially and that kept him comfortable for years but eventually he ended up on a low dose of bute, and it definitely made him happier.

I’ve heard lots of good things about the EQU streamz bands, a friend of mine absolutely swore by them for his arthritic gelding, said he noticed he was significantly worse if they were left off for any reason even just for a night. Those weren’t around when Phoenix was.

 

[Trewsers]

That's reminded me, I also have Equilibrium magnetic chaps for Storm, I haven't used them in a while, but they did help when she was stabled more and in a smaller box, with less room to move around.