Joint Injections

How do people feel about these? I was reading a magazine recently (Horse & Rider?) and ran across an article where Cleve Wells briefly mentioned that he will inject a horse whenever it needs it (this was pertaining to young horses). Based on my recent dives into conformation books, I have found the actual facts to back up what we already all know – the necessity for joint injections are the result of joints being over-stressed and over-worn, particularly on a horse who is too young to be doing what is being asked of him. What actually happens is the horse’s joints fail to produce adequate lubrication to the horse’s joint, resulting and stiffness and soreness.

I have to admit my knowledge of joint injections is rather limited. I have seen them done on the racehorses at the track and understand that there are a great many on the market that perform their jobs differently and affect the horse differently. I guess I am currently operating under the belief that joint injections can be greatly beneficial to a horse (depending on the type of injection) and that they can allow a horse to be much more comfortable than he would be otherwise…and I am always all about the horse. On the other hand, I struggle with the concept of a horse being given joint injections without other options being considered (such as supplements) and for the purpose of continuing to compete on that horse (perhaps allowing a rider to continue to push a horse past its capabilities). I think that supplements (etc) should definitely be pursued prior to turning to joint injections, but I think too that the purpose and use of a horse receiving joint injections must be evaluated and decided on a case-by-case basis. I think it can be easy to forget about the best interests of the horse (for example, why not compete a horse who is receiving injections if he/she is sound and comfortable doing so? On the other hand, could such use have detrimental effects on the horse in the long-run?) but that we must always be careful to pursue the best for our horses. It certainly is not black-and-white!

I think thought the huge thing to always keep in mind with joint injections is why they are necessary for a particular horse. I think it is likely rare (if possible?) for a horse to be unable to produce sufficient joint fluid on a natural basis (ie. the horse in a natural setting, without human interference), so then we have to take a step back and recognize that if a horse requires joint injections, it is likely due to said horse being pushed beyond its physical maturity and capabilities. If that be the case, then the next obvious realization is that perhaps it is necessary to re-evaluate our methods and work differently, in the best interests of our horse(s).

Horse health

One point first prior to getting to the real meat and potatoes of this post:

I recently learned that electric prod use on the Thoroughbreds at our local (A and B rated) Alberta tracks is common - not even simply a rare event. I did not realise it had such a high incidence. I have no idea how I missed it as a pony rider, but to be truthful, there is so much that goes on at the track and that is carried out in clandestine fashion, that it would take a lifetime to learn of all of it. I just wanted to point out yet another abuse of horses in the horse industry - it is literally everywhere, sad as it is to say.

So, back to the topic, courtesy of Cathy of FHOTD once again (sorry, just she keeps providing me so much fodder).

To her credit, her post today did feature horses who were clearly, for the most part, skinny and in need of some good feed. I have to admit though that I wish Cathy would simply feature horses and use them as an example for an informative post, rather than featuring ads, bashing the sellers, and then allowing her readers, even inadvertently encouraging them to, contact the sellers. I contacted one such seller featured one day (to encourage them in the face of the incoming pile of snarky and harsh emails I was sure would come - and did) to find a very knowledgeable, intelligent, and caring horseperson! As I have said before, there is always two sides to a story. But, back to the topic at hand, Cathy seems to feature a lot of horses she claims too skinny when they are in fact within a healthy weight. I think perhaps I may have finally gotten down to why she - and so many others - do/does so. The following are a few lines that Cathy posted (in purple):

I know a lot of people who are happy as soon as a horse is fat, but a round butt alone doesn't mean perfect health.

Your horse might be hog fat and shiny, but if his feet look like this, he's not healthy.

Since when is "hog fat" healthy for a horse??!! It seems there is a growing trend to keep our dogs, our horses, our cats, ourselves even, fat. Whenever I bring our pup in to the vet each year for her checkups, the techs and vets always nearly lose their marbles in excitement. All I hear for the entire short stay is how healthy our dog looks and how they rarely see dogs so fit. Yet I garnish complaints from passerby's out walking that she's too thin. My goodness, have people lost all concept of what a fit animal looks like?? Please refer to a body condition scoring system to check out what your horse/animal should look like. For humans, we've got our BMI's. The following are two examples of fit horses. The first is of our OTTB Link's Secret - at the time in a stall at the track. He'd been on the track a number of months by that point and was at a pretty fit weight - race weight. The latter photo is of our Quarab Silver - the photo was taken after he had spent a month working on the track.

"Hog fat" leads to conditions such as Insulin Resistance - Diabetes, or Cushing's Syndrome. And for the record, the two conditions are not the same, as Cathy seems to imply in her blog. Here are two sites to get you up-to-date on the info:

Cushing's Syndrome - Recovery Eq

Your Horse and Diabetes - MyHorse.com

From the latter site:
Not all horses with Cushing’s disease are insulin resistant, at least initially, but that condition does put them at high risk.

Neither condition are something you want to deal with.

Keeping our horses healthy is not about keeping them fat, it is about keeping them at as healthy a weight as possible. Most beneficial to a horse is not only to be at a healthy weight, but to be muscled accordingly as well (such as the two above photos). This only comes through use and conditioning (or through large pastures - though this only works for horses who will naturally roam a lot). These animals are here because of us, so we owe it to them to at least keep them as healthy as we possibly can.

Trimming

So, as promised, the (short) trimming blog. So, when is a horse in need of a trim? Going strictly by a specific timeline of 6-12 weeks is not really always all that accurate, because each horse is an individual in an individual environment. Trimming frequency depends upon weather, season, ground, genetics, use, ground covered daily, nutrition, etc. Hoof growth rate increases in the summer months and slows in the colder months. Wet ground versus dry ground, humid environment versus arid, good hoof genetics versus poor, 40 acres of pastureland covered daily versus stall life - all play roles in hoof growth. We have horses that, through the winter, have gone up to 4 months before they required a trim. Keep in mind all our horses are pastured. Of course if you are not knowledgeable in regards to feet, definitely go by a regular schedule and/or as per the recommendations of your farrier. In the mean time, check out photos online and talk to your farrier to educate yourself as to what your horse's feet should look like. The following is what they should not look like:

Here is what they should look like (or something similar), in terms of length:

On the hoof note, I have to profess that I am an avid fan of allowing horses to go barefoot, as nature intended. While shoes can be beneficial in some situations, for the most part, allowing a horse to go barefoot has been proven to be healthier for the hoof and thus the horse itself. A shoe can allow for contracted heels and does not allow the (albeit minute) expansion of the hoofwall as the hoof makes contact with the ground. A horse's foot acts as four "heart pumps" - the pressure upon making contact with ground pumps blood back up the leg (against gravity) and back to the core. Do your research, and you will find most horses can greatly benefit from going barefoot. The following are a few sites I have found helpful, from my favourites to the newly-discovered-but-look-promising:

Develop your eye for hoof shape

Successful Natural Horsecare (check out all the info on barefootedness)

Input on the Strasser Method

Barefoot for Soundness

Natural Balance Hoofcare

Equine Vet Journal (more input concerning the Strasser Method)

Why your horse should go barefoot (Horsetalk)

Jaimie Jackson (barefoot expert)

Another Jaimie Jackson website (?)

Pete Ramey (another barefoot prof)

Successful barefoot jumpers

Successful barefoot eventers

The barefoot horse

I have to admit to not having read all of the info on all of these sites - there is just so much out there! Now, just to find the time to delve into it all ;) However I felt some of these sites could be helpful, hence their inclusion in this post. Hopefully they can provide others a foundation from which to bounce off of. Just for the heck of it, also check out the history of shoeing horses - it could add insight into barefootdness as well; I definitely found it interesting.

On a personal level, we have kept all of our own current three horses barefoot as long as we have had them (1, 9, and 14 years), save for the odd temporary shod episode under very particular, special, and elite circumstances. We have never had a soundness issue with any of our horses (save for the odd time a farrier trimmed too short or a rare rock bruising). Ever. Despite their various activities. Coincidence? I think not. My personal belief is that nature probably does a pretty good job of providing our horses with the feet they need to survive. Human interference (ie. shoes) is typically not required except in very particular circumstances and/or with certain horses.