Stiffness-old injury

[merl]

I have just taken on a horse I used to ride years ago and as she is getting on a bit now she is getting a bit stiff.

She has been living out 24/7 and gets hacked out 1 every couple of months.

Before I rode her originally she was involved in an accident where she bolted into a stone wall and damaged the top of her leg. She was turned away and was sound when I started her back in work.

I would like to give her a supplement to help. She is generally not too stiff when left out so I try to avoid keeping her in for too long.

What is the best supplement for this and also has anyone experienced this as I am wondering if she would benefit from a short hack more regularly.

She is grossly overweight which I think does not help.

[lisah]

A little more fitness and some weight loss will certainly help with the stiffness Merl.

It's hard to recommend a supplement without knowing what the cause of the stiffness is, but exercise will definately help.

Good luck

LisaH xxx

[Alliecat]

Agree with Lisa that you really need to find out what the cause is, so that you can pick the most appropriate supplement. Having said that, if it's early stage arthritis, I can't recommend NAF Superflex highly enough - it's even better than Cortaflex.

[merl]

Cheers I will speak to her old owner tonight and see what the vet said. It is all very confusing as she was sound as anything and competed over a decent height with no sign of restricted movement. As far as I knew the vet had said that the injury would never affect her.

I know that she then fractured a pedal bone but again thought she had recovered.
Vet Ok'd her to do normal work but no tight circles but I don;t think she has been out of walk for 6 months

[lisah]

Let us know how you get on Merl

Sounds as if she has maybe been carrying herself unbalanced because of the pedal bone and what she needs is to be loosened off - she may benefit from a physio session to start the loosening process and the physio can give you some exercises to strengthen the muscles/tendons she has not been using properly since the injury.

This kind of stiffness is very common after long term lameness and it may simply be a case of a bit of physio and a good exercise regime.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

LisaH xxxxx