Arthritis: management & comfort

Yard staff and owners navigating an arthritis diagnosis.

• ◆Understand which joints commonly degrade and why
• ◆Plan gentle, regular movement protocols
• ◆Use bute, Equipalazone and adjuncts responsibly
• ◆Decide when retirement from ridden work is right

1. 01.

   The arthritic joint

   Cartilage, synovium and what no longer works.

   • ·Cartilage degeneration and the inflammatory cycle
   • ·Most commonly affected joints in the senior horse
   • ·Reading a typical lameness work-up report
   • ·When imaging changes the management plan and when it doesn't
2. 02.

   Movement is medicine

   Hand-walking, in-hand work, turnout patterns.

   • ·Why box rest worsens most chronic OA — and the exceptions
   • ·Building a daily hand-walking routine the staff can actually deliver
   • ·In-hand pole work for the over-20s
   • ·Hill work and varied surfaces — when and how
3. 03.

   Pharmacological support

   NSAIDs, joint supplements, intra-articular options.

   • ·Phenylbutazone: dosing, gastric risk, monitoring
   • ·Meloxicam, firocoxib and the COX-2 case
   • ·Nutraceuticals — what the evidence actually supports
   • ·When intra-articular medication is worth the cost

List your residents with diagnosed OA and their current pain management; bring any recent vet reports.

Open-book quiz with case scenarios at the end of the session.

• §McIlwraith et al., 'The horse as a model of naturally occurring osteoarthritis' (Bone & Joint Research, 2012)
• §BEVA 'Responsible use of phenylbutazone' position statement
• §AAEP 'Care of the Older Horse' guidelines