b'OAEarly InterventionsTackling osteoarthritis in its early stages can help keep your horse sound, comfortable, and happy in his jobSHELLEY PAULSONNATALIE DEFEE MENDIK, MAY our 12-year-old sport horse has been com- changes to or degradation of the articular cartilage and can ing out of the stall stiff, tracking up a bitprogress to include bony changes in the subchondral bone (the short in the warmup, and just doesnt feellayer just below the cartilage surface) in chronic, long-term like hes giving his usual 100%. Before youcases. Subtle pain is an important early clue that may indicate a joint-related problem.simply shrug off these anomalies as age- or evenIn sport horses osteoarthritis can develop in a variety of weather-related, consider the real causetheyjoints, says Moretta. The majority of cases occur in limb joints might be early indicators of osteoarthritis (OA).that are used for propulsion or are subjected to more concussive Detecting and managing osteoarthritis in its earlyweight-bearing, she says. The horses occupation (dressage, stages can go a long way toward keeping yourjumping, etc.) plays a role in the location and type of biome-chanical loading and repeated stress the joints will have over horse sound, comfortable, and happy in his job fortime.years to come.Recognizing Subtle SignsSuzan Oakley, DVM, Dipl. ACVSMR, ABVP, and AnneTo pick up on OA early, make sure youre tuned in to any Moretta, VMD, MS, CVA, CVSMT, who work in private practicechanges your horse might display in his overall movement and together at Wellington Equine Sports Medicine, in Florida, sharewell-being. Prompt identification and intervention are critical to their tips for keeping this ever-so-common wear and tear at bay. slowing the diseases progression and keeping the horse agile. In private practice we have the opportunity to see and treat What Is Osteoarthritis? horses in the very early stages of the disease, says Oakley. Arthritis is, simply, inflammation of the joint. OsteoarthritisOften, changes in movement patterns and (uneven) muscle is a chronic, progressive disease, says Oakley. It can initiallydevelopment are evident before the horse is actually lame. Its begin as synovitis, or inflammation of the synovial membraneimportant to be aware of early signs of pain and to evaluate the which lines the joint surface. Eventually, synovitis results inwhole horse. 14January 2020The Horse|TheHorse.comOsteoarthritis USE.indd 14 12/4/19 10:28 AM'