Things To Know About Equine Joint Health

keep inflammation down. However joint disease is progressive so some horses benefit from injections at regular intervals. Work with your veterinarian to determine an accurate diagnosis and individualized plan.
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5. Repeated corticosteroid injections can have negative longterm consequences. Positive effects of corticosteroids are reported at low doses in horses but high doses andor long exposures can result in deleterious effects on cartilage. Timing and disease status are important with damaging effects reported when administered in healthy joints as opposed to the desired antiinflammatory effects observed when treating diseased joints.
6. Joint injections can alleviate hock pain but can be discontinued once hocks are fused. When cartilage that normally protects the bones is worn away in the lower hock joints synovial fluid production decreases. The exposed bones rub together causing irritation and promoting bony growth. Hock bones can fuse together typically in the two lower joints which do not have significant roles in movement. The process is uncomfortable and often managed with corticosteroid injections. Distal hock OA can progress to complete fusion in advanced cases making joint injections difficult and ineffective due to lack of joint space. Bony fusion can be confirmed radiographically however the horses degree of soundness is the best indicator of a successful outcome.
7. Horses are more sensitive to joint infections than other species. A rare complication of IA injections is joint infection. Utilizing appropriate needle sizes and types not reusing needles and adhering to sterile techniques limits complications.
Continued research is needed to determine the safety and efficacy of bisphosphonates for treating joint disease. Healthy bones undergo continual natural turnover remodeling. Cells called osteoclasts break down old bone and osteoblasts create new bone. Bisphosphonates block osteoclasts reducing remodeling. Approved for use in horses four years of age and older clodronate disodium Osphos and tiludronate