“In my experience, horses almost never say no,” says Steve Allday, DVM, an equine lameness specialist with more than 35 years’ experience caring for an impressive list of equine athletes. “Horses can talk, and it is our job to learn how to speak their language and above all, to listen and be their advocate.”

Allday has been the lameness specialist for equine legends that include Triple Crown race winners, 29 Breeders’ Cup race winners, and five Thoroughbred Horses of the Year—including legendary racehorses A.P. Indy and Cigar—among other elites, such as World Equestrian Games jumpers. In addition to being a top sport horse veterinarian, Allday has also founded and developed a line of joint supplements.

1. What is equine osteoarthritis?

Sometimes hidden and other times obvious, equine osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that impacts horses regardless of age, breed or discipline. It’s estimated that OA is responsible for up to 60 percent of all lameness in horses, according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).

Also referred to as equine degenerative joint disease, OA is a chronic disease-causing degeneration of the joints and resulting in pain, inflammation and reduced flexibility and range of motion. To understand OA, it’s important to understand the three different types of joints horses have:

1. Synovial joints: These allow different degrees of movement and rotation, acting as a hinge for the primary mode of flexion and extension. Examples include fetlocks, knees and hocks.

2. Fibrous joints: These do not allow for movement between the bones, such as the joints between bones of the skull.

3. Cartilaginous joints: These connect bones with cartilage, allowing limited movement and shock absorption, like the joints between the vertebrae of your horse’s spine.

Osteoarthritis can occur in synovial and cartilaginous joints, and it’s a common condition horses can experience.

“Osteoarthritis is ubiquitous in all mammals, and progressive as a rule,” says Allday. “It can occur anywhere on the horse: in their hips, hocks, stifles, knees, fetlocks and other joints.”

2. What causes equine osteoarthritis?

You may have wondered if different equine sports affect specific joints. Although any horse in any discipline can be affected by OA, there are common themes and joint problems that occur in the varying equine sports.

For instance, cutting and reining have greater impact on the hocks and stifles, causing horses to have heightened OA risk to these joints. And jumpers are more likely to have front-limb lameness in the coffin or fetlock joints. The bottom line is that any joint that is more significantly used on a horse increases its likelihood for developing OA.

3. Can osteoarthritis be prevented?

To help avoid joint health problems, you need to get ahead of what problems can—and unfortunately, likely will—arise due to a horse’s conformation flaws, stabling or training environments and everyday injury risks.

“Whether a racehorse, dressage horse, cutting horse or a barrel horse, by maintaining things preventatively and staying a step ahead of potential problems before they become a major issue, you can help ensure your equine partner’s performance,” says Allday.

You can help prevent equine joint health problems by:
◆ Offering quality nutrition for strong bones and healthy cartilage.
◆ Prioritizing hoof care and keeping horses on a regular trim schedule.
◆ Keeping horses at optimum weight and avoiding obesity, which stresses the joints.
◆ Riding on softer footing and limiting work on hard surfaces.
◆ Incorporating joint supplements to help maintain their joints and cartilage.

4. How is osteoarthritis diagnosed?

Allday assures us that as the No. 1 human in your horse’s life, you are the best diagnostician of any changes in your horse’s joint health.

“This is simply because you know your horse,” he says. “I don’t have a crystal ball. When I go look at a horse, I’m taking a snapshot of that moment, while you have known the horse for days and years—sometimes, his entire life—before I got there that day.”

Every time you’re grooming or tacking up for a ride, check your horse for symmetry: If you fear one side is larger than the other, you can just compare it to his opposite side.

Give your horse a proper once-over: Rub his back and palpate it, checking for soreness.

When you pick up his hind leg, check the hock for any fluid. This daily interaction with your horse, coupled with knowledge of his particular history, will be invaluable to your veterinarian when diagnosing any joint problems.

Should your veterinarian suspect joint problems, it’s likely he or she will perform a routine lameness evaluation. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, this includes summarizing the horse’s medical history; a visual appraisal of the horse at rest; a thorough, hands-on examination, including palpating the horse’s muscles, joints, bones and tendons for any heat or swelling; an evaluation of your horse’s three gaits in motion; and a joint flexion test.

“Every horse deserves a full and thorough veterinary examination,” says Allday. “It’s not just a choice—it’s a necessity to help maintain these equine athletes and keep them at their best.”

In addition to lameness evaluations, diagnosis of OA can also involve diagnostics such as:
◆ Radiographs
◆ Fluoroscopy
◆ Nuclear scintigraphy
◆ CT
◆ MRI
◆ Nerve and joint blocks
◆ Ultrasound
◆ Thermography

5. Is equine osteoarthritis curable?

While there is, unfortunately, no definitive cure for OA in horses, the pain and inflammation associated with it can be treated. Prevention, along with early diagnosis and treatment, is critical to keep the condition from progressing.

“OA isn’t the end of their career, but it’s certainly something you have to be on top of, address rapidly and maintain routinely,” says Allday. “You have to remember that osteoarthritis is progressive, and as it gets worse as the horse gets older, you’ll need to be very proactive. You may even have to go to anti-inflammatories to maintain a horse’s athletic career.”

6. What are treatment options?

Treatment for equine OA focuses on alleviating pain and inflammation in the joint, allowing horses to have improved mobility. For horses diagnosed with osteoarthritis, veterinarians may recommend prescription medications, like Equioxx, Adequan I.M., Legend or Surpass Topical.

Should OA be diagnosed, your veterinarian will work closely with you on joint health supplements to prevent further progression of joint damage, as well as anti-inflammatory treatments available to manage the pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis.

Allday recalls a conversation he had with Allen Paulson, founder of Gulfstream Aerospace and renowned owner of more than 100 graded stakes race winners. Paulson’s horse was the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, but due to a joint injury, he was scratched.

“I told him, ‘A horse isn’t like the planes you build—you have to go with the original equipment.’ And it’s true—you can’t put a horse up on a rack and switch in a new part. Taking care of their original equipment is the epitome of how you can preventatively maintain your horse throughout his career.”

The post Answering 6 Questions About Equine Osteoarthritis appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Causes of Arthritis in Horses

To better understand the causes of arthritis, it’s helpful to know the structures that make up a horse’s joint. When two bones are joined at a pivot point, their ends are lined with a specialized type of tissue called articular cartilage. This very thin layer of cartilage provides cushioning and a smooth gliding surface between the two bones. For further buffer within the joint, synovial fluid helps lubricate it for movement. A joint capsule made up of stiff connective tissue surrounds the articular cartilage and synovial fluid, encasing the components making up the joint.

Arthritis in its strictest definition is the inflammation of a joint. This happens when there is deterioration of the articular cartilage within the joint. Lameness results because the cushioning ability of the joint is reduced, or in severe cases, completely gone. When the articular cartilage is worn, bone can grind against bone in the joint, resulting in pain. Inflammatory cells within and around the joint release chemicals that cause pain, too.

Multiple factors contribute to the development of arthritis. These include horse management, genetics and environment. An acute injury to a joint such as a kick or fall can sometimes damage the cartilage enough to induce arthritis.

Most commonly, arthritis develops over time after years of repetitive use, similar to arthritis in humans. As concussive forces continually act on a joint, particularly high-motion joints such as the hock, fetlock and knee, the articular cartilage wears down. This development of arthritis is usually slow and can often be managed fairly well.

Even a horse’s natural conformation can lead to the development of arthritis. Severe conformation faults that result in the misalignment of the joints in the leg can create uneven forces when bearing weight, causing excessive strain on a particular joint. Depending on the severity of the conformational fault, arthritis could occur fairly early in life.

Arthritis Symptoms

Clinical signs of arthritis include mild to moderate lameness that improves as the horse continues to move. This is called “warming out” of the lameness and is typical of arthritis.
Some affected horses will have decreased range of motion in the affected joint, and it may be swollen and painful to the touch.

Diagnosis

Arthritis is diagnosed via a few different methods. Physical examination, a lameness exam, and radiographs (X-rays) are all ways in which a veterinarian will diagnose arthritis in a horse.

Radiographically, an arthritic joint will often have rough edges where they are supposed to be smooth. Sometimes bony proliferation can be seen in more chronic cases, while other times an arthritic joint will appear normal on a radiograph.

Treating Arthritis

It’s important to understand that there is no cure for arthritis, only ways to manage it and slow its course. As they age, most horses will develop arthritis in various joints to some degree.

Mild to moderate age- or use-related arthritis is manageable, and the horse can still retain some degree of athletic performance. Arthritis brought on by trauma is often more severe in a shorter amount of time and can be career-ending.

For most horses with mild to moderate arthritis, there are three common methods of arthritis management: an exercise program, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain, and joint supplements to help support the cartilage and joint fluid.

Although years of hard exercise may predispose a horse to developing arthritis, continuation of mild exercise is beneficial to a horse with this condition. The reason behind this is that during inactivity, a horse’s joints become stiff. As a horse moves, this encourages flow of synovial fluid through the joints, lubricating them and easing pain. This is why many horses with mild arthritis can still be ridden, although often at a lower level than in their previous career. For older horses that are retired, or those with more severe arthritis, frequent and regular hand-walking can be beneficial, particularly in the colder months.

Pain Relief:

Phenylbutazone (bute) is the most commonly prescribed NSAID for arthritis management in horses. Some horses can be given bute only as needed, such as after a long ride or on a cold morning. Other horses may require a more regular dosing regimen. Always talk to your veterinarian before starting your horse on any NSAIDs.

A topical NSAID called Surpass is now available for application directly on the affected joint. This more localized application helps prevent some of the classic side effects of systemic NSAIDs, such as gastric ulcers.

Equioxx is another oral NSAID on the market that aids in pain management associated with arthritis. It is different from bute in that it doesn’t inhibit the enzymes that produce protective stomach mucus, making it a safer choice for horses prone to gastric ulcers.

Oral Supplements

Oral joint supplements are readily available and can be given with your horse’s feed. The most commonly used ingredients in these are chondroitin and glucosamine. By providing extra amounts of the building blocks of joint cartilage via daily supplements, the theory is that these ingredients for cartilage health and joint lubrication are absorbed into the bloodstream and make it to the joints to repair damage that has already been done and prevent further damage from occurring. Some of the ingredients in joint supplements also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Other ingredients you might see in joint supplements include omega-3 fatty acids, avocado and soybean unsaponifiables (ASU), methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), and herbal ingredients such as devil’s claw and garlic. When contemplating starting your horse on a joint supplement, always consult your veterinarian.

 

Injectable Treatments:

FDA-approved injectable arthritis treatments are administered by your veterinarian. These include Adequan, which is administered IM (into the muscle), or Legend, given IV (in the jugular vein).

Joint injections are another way some horse owners manage arthritis. A veterinarian will inject an affected joint with a combination of hyaluronic acid and steroid. The hyaluronic acid will act as a synthetic joint fluid to help lubricate the damaged joint and the steroid will act as a strong anti-inflammatory agent. Joint injections are only temporary measures for long-term arthritis management and need to be repeated on a regular basis as needed.

New Horizons in Arthritis Treatment >>

Preventing Arthritis in Horses

There are several things you can do to help prevent or at least slow down the development of arthritis in your horse. An appropriate exercise program is one of the most important things to consider. Making sure your horse is conditioned enough for the performance you ask is imperative, as frequent, sudden, intense exercise in an under-conditioned horse can cause excessive wear and tear on his joints. Good footing is also important. Whenever possible, avoid rough, hard ground such as pavement, and opt for arenas with soft footing and fields with grass.

Shoeing is another key management issue. Keeping your horse’s hooves regularly trimmed helps ensure proper weight distribution and bony alignment as your horse moves and stands. If your horse has particular conformation issues, such as a long toe and under-run heel, specialized trimming and even certain shoes may further help protect his joints by helping to keep his movement correct. This avoids uneven weight distribution, which can cause excessive stress on joints.

Dietary supplements can also help protect your horse’s joints. Some horse owners, particularly those who know their horses will regularly engage in demanding work such as competitive jumping, dressage, speed events or reining, will give their horses daily joint supplements as part of their diet.

The understanding of equine arthritis is still ongoing. Researchers are learning new aspects about the disease process, and there is continual work toward developing new and improved therapies for this common condition in our horses.

This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Arthritis in Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.