Adding Arthritis to Injury
When you hear arthritis, you think the worst: long-term lameness and discomfort. A floppy-eared, slow-moving babysitter comes to mind as you consider your horse’s early retirement. In truth, many horses can experience bouts of joint inflammation, or arthritis, without it being career-ending.
The level of severity most think of as arthritis is described by vets as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, with often more severe and long-term repercussions. Arthritis, on the other hand, describes any inflammation in your horse’s joints, ranging from acute, recoverable trauma to the more chronic variety.
Arthritis-inducing injuries don’t have to spell long-term ailment if you take the proper steps of recovery, management, and prevention. horse’s mobility. If you suspect there has been trauma or your horse suddenly has soundness issues, reach out to your veterinarian for diagnosis.
Imaging is typically best to catch soft-tissue injuries or cartilage abnormalities early. If you think you’re late into recovery, radiographs will show any new bone formation as a result of trauma.
The goal is to help your horse regain full joint function. Patience and stall rest are most effective to reduce long-term damage. More recently, ultrasound and other shock-wave therapies are thought to increase circulation, especially blood flow-lacking cartilage.
Some conditions may require nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain and swelling. If given for long periods, which can be the case to manage chronic arthritis or osteoarthritis, alternative NSAIDs may be given.
Joint injections can also provide long-term relief and allow a horse to return back to work. Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory agents that stunt your horse’s body’s natural immune response and reduces the cascade of negative developments like rough bone regeneration. Hyaluronan (HA) is naturally produced by your horse’s synovial cells to provide lubrication; exogenous hyaluronic acid (HA) injections can also supplement or replace lost HA production caused by damage.