Tips for year-round joint health and management.

No Joint, No Horse. Should this be the new motto for 21st century horses? Joint injury, joint disease secondary to trauma or injury, and osteoarthritis (OA) are major causes of attrition and loss of function in horses. As a result, joint health in pleasure and athletic horses is an omnipresent topic.

Maintaining joint health is important to the overall well-being of the horse. Since there is no cure for OA (defined as a painful, progressive deterioration of the joint) a multimodal approach to treatment is currently recommended, including:

• Administration of pharmaceutical drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids;
• The use of oral joint health supplements;
• Weight management; and
• Dietary modifications (e.g., omega-3 fatty acid administration).

In addition, veterinarians might consider surgery (arthroscopic surgery to remove osteochondral fragments or “chips,” for example) and novel therapies such as IRAP (interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein) or stem cell therapy in some horses. We’ll discuss these and other items herein to provide year-round tips for either maintaining or maximizing your horse’s joint health.

Spring

Joint Medications At this time of year many athletic horses are gearing up for their peak competition season, and injections of joint medications are widely employed in equine practice. These are designed to decrease inflammation, restore the horse to the owner’s desired performance level, and protect the cartilage for long-term benefit. Veterinarians might consider using intravenous (IV) hyaluronic acid (Legend) or the FDA- approved intra-articular (IA)/intramuscular (IM) administration of polysulfated glycosaminoglycans (Adequan)