Rehabilitation after arthritis

The rehabilitation process is more important than you might think

When a horse has suffered from joint inflammation, it is usually not discovered until the horse begins to limp and by then the inflammation has already reached a fairly late stage. A low-grade inflammation has been simmering in the joint for some time and has now gone so far that it hurts a lot with lameness as a consequence. We take the horse to the vet and one or more joint injections are given to relieve the inflammation. After the treatment(s), a return visit is made and when the horse is clinically unfit, it is assessed as healthy and rehabilitation can begin.

At this stage, it is important to have ice in the stomach and really give the rehabilitation its time. There may be a low-grade inflammation remaining in the joint, one that is not active enough for the horse to show lameness but which can easily flare up again if too quickly returning to normal work.

Keep ice on the stomach during the rehabilitation - there may be a little residual inflammation that needs to heal.

Conquest can help bring down the "silent inflammation"

As previously mentioned, a silent stage of low-grade inflammation may remain even after the horse has become lame. Veterinarians therefore recommend giving the horse a course of Conquest (2 month treatment) as a supporting supplement during the rehabilitation work. Conquest's content of high molecular hyaluronic acid and Boswellia Serrata has a strong synergistic effect that acts to curb any underlying inflammatory activity. You can read more about Conquest here.

Step – Step – Step

We cannot talk enough about the role of walking in rehabilitation. Most of us know that we should walk a lot, but do we know why? We ignore the important aspects of getting the body started, building fitness, etc. We focus on what happens in the joint when we walk. More waste products than usual are formed in the joint in the inflammatory stage and these must be flushed away. At the same time, the joint needs all the nutrition it can get right now.

When the horse walks (marchs - not trots), the joint is activated in a gentle way without the overload that other gaits can give. The movement means that the joint surfaces are first pressed together and the waste products from the inflammation are sluiced out. When the leg is then stretched out, lots of nutrients flow in.

In other words, the step is a gentle way to keep the machinery running and empty the joint of harmful debris and replenish it with important nutrients. We once again strike a blow for #skrittamer. Help us spread the word about how we create long-term healthier horses in a simple way!

#skrittamer

Have a regular dialogue with your veterinarian

Now your horse has been declared healthy and you have received an agenda for how the rehabilitation will proceed. It is still important to maintain a regular dialogue with your veterinarian about how the process is progressing. If something feels different and you are unsure during the start-up, it is important to contact your vet and ask how to proceed. When you think sustainability, you should also think team - your vet is one of the team.

The substrate can be a culprit in the drama!

There are lots of good surfaces to ride on. We do not want to advocate one over the other. Our simple and important message is that you should vary between different substrates. There are modern and good surfaces that give a fantastic feeling when competing. But if you ride on these surfaces every day, the trail will be overloaded. Try to think variety as much as possible. Everything obviously depends on the conditions you have, but the most important thing is to do the best you can based on the variation possibilities you have.

Vary the substrate as often as you can

Please read this month's veterinary tips! Veterinarian Fredric Spång's tips on getting started after a joint injury in our current post Tips on getting started after a joint injury

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR REHABILITATION!