Advice needed on arthritis in horse

flyingdagger

I was home at the weekend to see a horse that my father owns with a syndicate. The horse has been taken out of the trainers yard and dad is looking after him at the moment. My father explained that the trainer has told them that he had a vet in and was told the horse has the beginnings of rheumatoid arthritis.The horse is currently being kept out in a field and fed a mix of grass,horse nuts and hay and has access to fresh water.The field that he's in is fairly wet and soft due to weather over past few months.He is an ex racehorse and is not currently being exercised.

I wanted to ask for some advice on the subject. I realise that i am providing basic info but this is all that i have at the moment.The syndicate are talking about putting him down as he can no longer race but my dad feels that an otherwise healthy animal shouldn't have to be put down.Is it possible to still exercise a horse if they've been diagnosed with this condition?Are there many treatment options available as there doesn't seem to be much info online.

I would be grateful for any info or help anyone can give.

needadvice

Whatever his problem his racing career is obviously over and the syndicates financial dicision will have to be met however the horse may have a quiet future with someone. Firstly I'm not about to hand out veterinary advice but rheumatoid arthritis does require bloods to determine as its a progressive disease know what your dealing with. It can be very painful and you must be realistic. Good luck noone enjoys these situations.

byhookorbycrook

High impact activities like jumping may well be out, hacking on roads may be limited to walking..so think carefully.

flyingdagger

cheers for the replies so far.I think dad may have another vet look at him,take bloods and get a 2nd opinion.He's a really sweet horse and I think dad was hoping that someone would give him a good home where he'd get mild exercise and lots of tlc.

convert

If the second vet does diagnose the horse with arthritis you really need to think carefully about his future. While he may be ok at the moment, as some of the other posters have said, it is a progressive disease and the horse's welfare really needs to be considered very carefully. While you may initially be able to hack him out gently, soon roadwork may prove too much for him as walking on hard surfaces may only aggrivate the problem. There is always the option of administrating antibiotics and steroids, which may initially help, but such antibiotics can have negative side effects, in addition to being quite expensive.

It's a really awful situation to be in as I've experienced it before, and I hope everything works out ok for you whatever decision you reach.

kick-on

i dunno if this is of any help but i heard a old horseman i know talking of how when he worked in a racing yard they rubbed "poteen" into a horses joints cos it had arthritis, i dont know if this actually works but would probably be worth a try