EQUUS

7 Arthritis risk factors

- By Christine Barakat

In horse creakiness­is it’s one simplyfair­ly who sense, easythe livesin arthritis byproducta­t to long least manage, enoughonei­s of inevitable.perhapsjoi­nt.an will active,This developwit­h Virtuallyl­ong typea dietarylif­e,of a bit arthritisa­ny andof supplement­But other and/orcases of the arthritis occasional pose dose more of of medication.a challenge. Joint deteriorat­ion that develops early in a horse’s life or progresses to the point where his day-to-day activities are adversely affected can be career-ending and even lifethreat­ening. In those cases, significan­t interventi­on, including cutting-edge therapies, may be necessary to keep the condition in check and the horse comfortabl­e. Which type of arthritis a horse is likely to develop is impossible to know for sure, but you can prepare for the likeliest by looking for specific risk factors in his past as well as his current situation. Some of these can’t be mitigated---what’s done is done ---but knowing they happened can put you on alert for the earliest signs of arthritis, allowing you to get an early diagnosis and a jump start on managing the condition. Other risk factors may be ongoing, which means you can still take steps to eliminate or reduce their effects. Here’s a rundown of events and conditions that put your horse in a higher risk category for the eventual developmen­t of arthritis.

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