The tricky stages of arthritis

Joint inflammation and lameness are the most common reasons why our horses need to be treated by a veterinarian. The trickiest thing about the disease is that it is intermittently low grade. This means that at various stages there may be a small inflammation and pitting in the joint without the horse showing any obvious symptoms of lameness. The risk then is that we continue to put stress on the joint as usual, triggering the inflammation to break out and become acute instead of healing. These silent stages of inflammation make it especially important for us to get to know our horses' healthy condition well. Only then can we notice the small abnormalities early on. They may be small signals like reluctance to perform certain movements that are normally no concern, or it may just be something as small as a difference in gaze or wrinkles around the muzzle.

The vast majority of horses will get arthritis at some point in their lives.

Veterinarian Eva Skiöldebrand has told us that almost all horses used in sport will develop arthritis at least once during their career and that it is of the utmost importance to ensure that it heals 100% before returning to normal training and competition. Joint inflammation is the basis of osteoarthritis and arthritis, which causes chronic disease in the long run. This is why recovery is so important when the horse has been subjected to extra hard periods of training and competition, to ensure that there is no low grade inflammation waiting to flare up during the next intense period.

Even if you are careful with recovery, it happens that the horse gets an acute joint inflammation with lameness as a result. In this case, the horse must usually be treated by a veterinarian and receive an anti-inflammatory injection into the affected joint. The injection often consists of high-molecular hyaluronic acid. In some cases, one treatment is sufficient, but often two or more injections are needed to cure the horse.

Rehabilitation

When the horse is found to be unrestrained at a return visit, the rehabilitation phase begins. You will be given a plan to take home and start-up shall be made in agreement with your veterinary. At this stage it is important to remember what we wrote above, that even if the horse is unrestrained there may be low grade inflammation left in the joint that needs time and help to heal completely. If you are too eager to get started and in too much of a hurry to get back out on the racecourse, there is a high risk that the inflammation will flare up again, with a much longer recovery process and a greater risk of chronic inflammatory stages.

Be patient and let the rehabilitation take its time!

Conquest - For horses in rehabilitation

Conquest was developed by a veterinarian specifically to support rehabilitation after joint inflammation. By reinforcing the rehabilitation work with a Conquest cure, you optimize the conditions for complete healing of any remaining low-grade inflammation in the joint.

Conquest contains a high dose of high molecular hyaluronic acid and Boswellia Serrata. The high molecular weight of hyaluronic acid promotes the formation of new healthy high molecular weight hyaluronic acid in the joint and Boswellia Serrata prevents the hyaluronic acid from breaking down. It sounds complex, but simply put, both substances help to restore a thick, viscous joint fluid that allows the joint to function normally without risking damage to the joints and cartilage surfaces. The best thing about the combination is that both substances "trigger" each other so that they have an enhanced and better effect than if they had acted separately.

A course of Conquest lasts for 2 months. It starts with 8 days of Start Up treatment with extra high doses for fast and effective inflammation suppression and is followed by 50 days of Conquest Follow Up.

Hyaluronic acid

The substance is naturally present in the joint, but in inflammation it is broken down faster than normal and the joint fluid tends to become thin and watery. It then loses its protective, lubricating and shock-absorbing properties and is no longer able to transport slag products away from the joint. This is when galls occur.

Boswellia Serrata

Boswellia Serrata is extracted from the codan of the Indian Boswellia tree.

These two substances in precisely balanced quantities work very well together to produce synergistic effects, i.e. they reinforce each other so that the overall effect is very high.

Conquest is recommended by veterinarians both for rehabilitative purposes but also as a recovery after hard exertion to prevent possible flare-ups of joint inflammation. Starting time 96 hours.

Background

When veterinarian Eva Skiöldebrand learned in the 1990s that veterinarians at the world's largest equine hospital, Rood & Riddle in Kentucky, had produced research showing that hyaluronic acid could be fed at the right molecular weight and then actually reach the joints, something happened to the prevention of joint health in horses. The Conquer 200Pro and Chondrogen 100Pro products revolutionised the market as the first hyaluronic acid products for oral administration, finally there were products that could be used for preventative purposes.

Conquest is part of the Healthy Joints product group and is formulated by veterinarians to support the rehabilitation of horses that have undergone treatment for joint inflammation. It is also an effective recovery treatment for horses in intensive work, for example after the end of a racing season or hard meeting."