In one survey, 85% of responding veterinarians used IA corticosteroids to manage chronic joint inflammation; 75% used them in horses with radiographic evidence of OA, and ||70% used them to treat acute joint pain. | Photo: Alexandra Beckstett/The Horse

Veterinarians have relied on intra-articular (IA, administered into the joint) corticosteroids to manage osteoarthritis (OA) in horses for more than 60 years. They have both anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects and are fairly inexpensive, making them OA’s current gold standard treatment, said Jonathan D.C. Anderson, BVM&S, Dipl. ACVS, MRCVS, equine surgery specialist at Rainbow Equine Hospital, in North Yorkshire, U.K.

However, their use has been blamed for several complications, including laminitis and septic arthritis. So Anderson explored whether they should remain the gold standard OA treatment during the 2018 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 12-15, in Birmingham, U.K.

How They’re Used

Intra-articular corticosteroid use in horses with joint issues is prevalent