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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 4:57:25 PM
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My old mare has very very stiff back legs and an old stifle injury. Her back legs are so stiff that she was struggling to pick them up and they creek alot.
Shes 23yrs old, 14.1hh part bred arab. I ride her very lightly once or twice a week as she likes going out but she joggs all the way home and acts like a 4 year old!
When she came to me 8 weeks ago she was in poor condition and had rain scald and mud fever and lacked energy.
Ive been feeding her 2 scoops of hifi, 2 scoops of sugarbeet, 1 scoop of conditioning cubes, garlic, veg oil, glucosamine, no bute liquid, codlavine joint supplement.
At first she wolfed her feed down but over the last 1-2 weeks she has been leaving 1/4 of it so i reduced it down to 1 scoop of hi fi and one scoop of sugar beet and 1 scoop of conditioning cubes plus all the supplements. This amount seems good for her and she has improved in condition, her energy levels are good and her stiffness has noticeably improved. Her ribs are still visible though.
She has always had very loose droppings, more like cow pats that run down her legs!!
Some people on here have advised me to stop feeding the sugar beet which i will do but what would you feed her if she was yours? And ami feeding toomany supplements?
Is there a really good joint supplement out there that will helpwith her stiff joints?
I want to feed her the best that i can at the most affoedable price.
Thanks
Ive included somes pics of her how she is at the moment.
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Crusaders Angel
Gold Member
England
531 Posts |
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vjc
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4952 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:16:21 PM
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My old girl is on glucosamine and i do have to give her the occasional bute these days, movement is vital as they stiffen up very quickly if standing in for to long. I am very wary off putting to much differant things into their feeds as their digestive system gets more delicate as they get older...bit like humans!... she looks well for her age though...a lovely mare. |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:18:13 PM
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I know I will not be alone in recommending Newmarket Joint Supplement. It appears expensive but last a long time, one tub lasts my boy at least 4 months. MSM is also very good and can be fed alongside NJS, its a natural anti-inflammatory. I used the NAF MSM.
I used to feed my old girl Blue Chip Dynamic.
If she were mine I would swop the veg oil for Linseed oil, cut out the garlic and Codlavine, but continue with with the glucosamine and no bute. She should be getting enough vit/mins from the cubes.
By the way there is no evidence to say the devils claw liquid is any better then dried devils claw - which is much cheaper! |
    
Hampshire |
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Pauline
Platinum Member
England
3185 Posts |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:27:35 PM
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Thanks guys.
I will call a feed specialist for a chat.
xxx |
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garnet
Platinum Member
2382 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:41:23 PM
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| Garnet is 25 and is now retired with two big arthritic knees which don't stop her galloping down the field when it suits her. She has been on Super Solvitax for about 8 years, since we started winning it in veteran classes. For about the last 4 years I have used S.S. RA which I think is more effective and she is also on Cortaflex and every 6 months has a course of Cartrophen injections. She retired less than 2 years ago and this was precipitated by the fact that I was out of action for 4 months with dislocated ribs following a fall from someone else (who shall remain nameless!) and when I was able to ride her again she felt super but I could see from the video that she looked quite stiff. As I had put on quite a lot of weight I did not feel it was fair to keep her in work any longer, but I think that without that layoff she might not have retired so soon, so do keep your girl ticking over as I am sure it will do her good. Best of luck with her. |
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Pauline
Platinum Member
England
3185 Posts |
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Miska
Gold Member
United Kingdom
627 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:44:22 PM
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I have just started feeding my girl, global herbs 'Old age' which seems to be working brilliantly. At only £18.50 a tub its pretty good value and lasts quite awhile. This september it had buy one get one free but alas tomorrow is October!
I also feed my girl on Veteran mix :D |
RIP Ettie 2003 - 2010 |
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garnet
Platinum Member
2382 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:53:18 PM
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| Me again. As far as feed is concerned, Garnet gets Hi Fi Lite in summer and Alfa A in winter, along with Lo Cal and haylage. She also has a Mobility lick (forgot to mention that before). She lives out all the time as she refuses to come into a stable and throws a tantrum - I have to tie her up on the yard while she gets fed and groomed. She is well rugged when necessary and I think the fact that she is not standing in helps to stop her stiffening up. I know sugar beet makes some horses cow patty and suggest you stop feeding it and see if that makes a difference. |
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Pixie
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
6586 Posts |
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ashabarab
Gold Member
England
1378 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 5:58:41 PM
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most feed company's spend a fortune on getting the feed just right...then we come along and add bits and more bits...guess what the feed is no longer quite balanced as we have un balanced it...
talk to a feed company and get their advice
then talk to your vet, see what your horse needs
keep it simple
you are feeding quite a high level of protein which she is not used to thats is why her dropings are not solid
you are also doubling up on a lot of stuff
you might find a vetran mix will suit her better than a stud/conditioning cube and it is only 11-12% protein
cortaflex is a very good supliment for what you describe, but again your vet is the best person to ask
ask |
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lulu
Gold Member
763 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 7:18:45 PM
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Thea is on veterans mix plus Hi-fi senior and Cortaflex not the very expensive one next one down it's about £14.00. She also gets cider vinegar and has done for years. She went out like a train last weekend and I came back exhausted, she wasn't.
Linda |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2008 : 9:32:52 PM
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Thanks for the advice.
I will stop the sugar beet and contact a feed specialist about whats best to feed her. Ive got the vet coming out soon to check my other mare so i will get him to look her over too and check her feet. ive also got a chiropractor coming out to look at my other girl so i will get her back looked at too.
I forgot to mention earlier on that she has always has runny cow pat poos for years before she came to me. I used to own her when i was 11yrs and she had runny poos then, being a child i wasn't worried and put it down to her being excited as we did a lot of fast pony club stuff. But now i realise that somethings not right. Children can be so naive!
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 09:47:35 AM
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Is her worming program up to date, if not worm her ASAP.
I know Cortaflex doesn't work for all horses but when it does it is fantastic. I used it on my stallion when he had a joint injury and was chronically lame. He is now sound but don't know if that is the cortaflex or time! However, my friends two old ponies who live out were very stiff and arthritic and she was considering whether their time had come as they often had trouble getting up. I gave her some cortaflex to try and they have now been on it for 3 years and a running round the field with no sign of stiffness. It certainly gave them a new lease of life. You need to give it about 6 months, although in her case it worked in about three weeks, and if there isn't a noticeable by then there is no point in continuing with it. It has a lot of things in it that Newmarket Joint Supplement doesn't.
Good luck with your mare.
Barbara |
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Big Mover
Gold Member
United Kingdom
999 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 10:44:56 AM
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Hello
As well as all the suggestions & ideas above - I have found that rubber stable matting to insulate the floor in your stable will help tremendously with stopping the cold of concrete creeping up her legs and nto her joints - yes it can be expensive, but if your looking to do it on a budget - visit your local as possible quarry and ask if they have any old conveyour belts rolled up hanging around? It would need a nice deep bed ontop of it aswell - as it can be a little slippery if allowed to show and get very wet. My friends old girl used to be very stiff espeacialy bad when she first walked out in a morning & we found this helped alot - Im not sure where abouts you are in the UK but I work in a quarry and if its any help I can get you some put to one side if you like
Sarah x |
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Ziadomira
Platinum Member
England
1635 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 5:28:22 PM
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We have a 22 year old mare who has arthritis and was very stiff. She had bute on a fairly regular basis and while it kept her moving her condition did not improve. We had tried cortaflex. We then heard about magnetic therapy and found some bracelets meant for horses that she can wear 24/7 as long as she is not in foal.
She does not know what they do so it canot be the placebo effect but they certainly have made a difference. She has been given a new lease of life and becasue she moves around better she keeps her weight down. She has one on each of her front legs around the fetlock. Only her front legs are bad.
You may like to try this for your mare.
Ziadomira |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 6:17:45 PM
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Thanks for your suggestions.
I wormed her and my other 2 when she came to me 8 weeks ago but prior to that i don't know how often she was wormed or if ever!
She also lives out 24/7 and seems happier being out with my other girls, i do have a stable but enless the weathers horrific id rather not bring her in but keep her out and increase her rugs.
i did think about magnetic items, i looked at the rugs which are quite pricey! does any one know if the cheaper brands of magnets are any less effective than the expensive ones?
i know someone who sells magnetic stuff so i will find out if she offers trial periods.
thanks again
holly |
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suneagle
Gold Member
England
727 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 8:16:31 PM
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i have a 18yr old (who to all these being mentioned seems young hehe), and hes a nightmare keeping weight and condistion on. its taken me 5years of getting things just right to keep him in great condistion all through out the winter. not one this works with each horse so if you find something stick too it. mine i feed him on bran (because he loves it), mollychaff extra and dodson and horrel build up mix, that build up is fantasic for freddie as even tho it doesnt say its not heating it hasnt made him excitied at all. also split the feeds up if you can, like say 3 meals aday little and often is good. freddie is also on haylage so on good quility.
but after a nasty XC fall freddie damaged his shoulder, and every winter he had been stiff and lame, thinking it was joint problem vet recconmended newmarket joint supplerment, didnt work. and spent loads of money on all these joint supperments but still none worked. the vet and back man was certin that it is a joint problem, i spoke to my brother who was doing a sports therapy course and he looked at him (not knowing a thing about horses other than they eat and poo...) he pulled poor freddie about and said its actually a mussculer problem where hed must have torn the musscle in the fall its got alot of scar tissue, and is hurting him alot and making him lame. so i went looking for a aunti imflamotory supplerment. and found devils relive, a bit of that every eve before the little monster goes to bed has done a treat. so make sure that you are treating for whats really there. |
clare xxxx |
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Slave 2 Magic
Gold Member
England
1023 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2008 : 10:19:57 AM
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| One of the girls at my yard has a 23 year old pony who suffers from arthritus quite badly. She has recently put him on Pernamax and the effects can be seen already. He rolled the other day for the first time in 2 years! I am going to try the human version for my aching joints. |
West Yorkshire
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