Managing YOUNG horses with arthritis

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙂 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙨...

It’s 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 that 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 will develop 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙨, and there’s LOTS of articles around older horses who have joint problems or arthritis but not many articles on how to manage YOUNGER horses (not that it’s much different, but there’s loads we can do to increase our horses chances of longer ridden careers) and if you have a older horse that doesn’t suffer with stiffness, joint issues or arthritis then that’s an amazing accomplishment in itself!

So as horse owners what do we need to do?

* 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, one of the harder pills to swallow 💊 but one of the most important things we need to do. That is accepting the fact that with arthritis and most joint issues they often get 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 year by year, now I’m not saying it’s a “death sentence” or it’s all doom and gloom but change is key 🔑. Being realistic about your expectations on what your horse can do is crucial, many of you know that schooling work takes it toll on our horses joints so being mindful of that and changing your usual working routine is important to help keep our horses healthy for as long as possible. If your like me and purchasing another horse to do “the job” you desire isn’t an option then being flexible, selfless and willing to compromise you desires to help keep your horses joints healthy, pain free and happy is so so important and I’m sure your horses will be thankful!

* 𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 isn’t just amazing for the horses mental state it’s also beneficial for horses who have joint problems. If you suffer from sore joints yourself, you know what it’s like sitting down all day and not moving. As soon as you try to get up you feel 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙙 and the pain usually 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨. So turning out for as long as possible will have incredible effects on your horses joints. Now I know not 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙮𝙖𝙧𝙙 has 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩, or some horse owners like me are trying to 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨 so have limited turn out but there’s other things we can do to help our equines! Like keeping our horses in work that can be 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 or 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠. It’s important to keep in mind your horses limitations but just because they have joint issues doesn’t mean they need to “retire” in fact the more they’re moving the better! Alternatively, in hand walking is amazing to keep them moving and a brilliant way to build a relationship with your horse. WIN WIN! In my eyes 👀

* 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, imagine if I asked I asked you to jump out of bed, put your gym clothes on and immediately go for a 1 hour run 🏃🏼‍♀️ you’d probably look at me like I’m crazy, or if you did do it you’ll be incredibly 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙚 the next day. We shouldn’t expect our horses to walk out of their stable and start working straight away in all honesty it just isn’t fair. So this is where warming up comes into the account. Even the healthiest and fittest of horses need the time to warm up, I’d recommend those who do have joint issues to warm up for at least 15-20 minutes just in walk on a loose rein, even if you go out hacking. Once they are warmed up correctly then and only then should we ask for the contact. 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣! Unfortunately 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 usually gets missed by a lot of riders and mainly because we live busy lives! So time is so so precious to us, but 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 is just as important as warming up! So again 15-20 minutes walking on a loose rein, letting your horse work long and low. 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 helps the muscles repair, cool off and limits stiffness and tension the next day.

* 𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨, aches, pains and especially 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙨 gets worse in the winter months 🥶 so keeping your horses warm will help them in the long run. Evaluating your rugs, are they doing the job they’re suppose too? Do I have the right weight rug on my horse? Should I clip? Shouldn’t I clip? All these things to take into consideration. So let’s go through them one at a time. Evaluating your rugs, there are SO many rugs on the market but which ones are the best? I’d say for the horses that do have 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙨 and are 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 the rugs you’d want to invest in are the ones that are designed to not let ANY draft in. I personally love the Premier Equine International Ltd range, how they are made don’t let any drafts in keeping our horses joints nice and warm. What weight should you have on your horse? This all depends on how your horse keeps its warmth in the winter months, whether they’re clipped or not. If you do have an older horse that IS clipped then going for the Medium-Heavy weights is most sensible. To clip or not to clip? This is a personal preference HOWEVER, keeping the horses natural coat is beneficial especially helpful for those horses with arthritis or joint issues, so maybe considering a Hunter or a trace clip rather than a full clip throughout the winter months is sensible.

* 𝙃𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙃𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙃𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 🐎. Hacking is absolutely amazing for all horses but especially younger horses with joint issues. Hacking isn’t so strenuous on our horses joints, this is because when we hack we are moving in a straight line rather then tight circles/corners. Hacking is also great to build a younger horses confidence, topline and fitness without the added pressure from the arena.

* 𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, things like 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙮, 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙮 fall into the category of 𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 because these haven’t been scientifically proven to actually help injuries, arthritis and joint issues. On the other hand in my personal opinion I’d recommend all three of them!

𝙐𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩. 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝘽𝙐𝙏 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣!

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