Ringbone in horses: My experience with Caspar's diagnosis and our journey back to movement
When our vet held up the X-ray last autumn and said the word "ringbone", I had to ask what that actually meant. Caspar, my 16-year-old gelding, had been moving stiffly on and off for several weeks – especially on hard ground. At the time, I spent ages looking for honest experiences of ringbone in horses and found hardly anything that really helped me. That's why today, a good year and a half later, I'm taking the time to write down how things went for us: from the first signs and the diagnosis to what actually helped us in everyday life.
The first signs that I blamed on age for too long
It started in late summer when the ground was hard and dry. Caspar was a bit stiff for the first few minutes of trotting, but then loosened up – so I convinced myself it was just his age. Until one morning when he came out of his stable clearly lame. It was obvious in trot, especially after standing all night. Once he got moving, it improved, but then worsened again after hard work. There was a slight heat in the pastern, and later a small swelling appeared on the coronet band.
This back and forth really worried me. Sometimes I thought it was nothing serious, and other times I was terrified it was something permanent. Eventually, I called the vet instead of waiting any longer – and looking back, I kick myself for waiting as long as I did.
What a ringbone diagnosis actually means
My vet calmly explained it to me, and I'm sharing it just as I understood it – every horse is different, and this doesn't replace a conversation with your own vet. With ringbone, bony growths form around the pastern or coffin joint, which is essentially a type of osteoarthritis in the lower leg. It often develops over years due to strain, sometimes because of conformation, and occasionally following an old injury. Hard ground certainly doesn't help.
One point was particularly important to me: it makes a big difference whether the joint itself is affected or if the growths are outside it. This affects the prognosis. Honestly, these bony changes don't just disappear again – there is no quick fix. However, many horses can be managed well and stay in light work once the acute, inflammatory phase has settled. For us, it was diagnosed through a lameness workup, flexion tests, and X-rays.
Shoeing, surfaces, and daily exercise – what we changed
The most important thing first: it wasn't down to feeding alone, and feeding alone wasn't the sole solution. The biggest part of the work for us was done by the farrier and a changed approach to exercise.
The farrier adjusted his shoes to make the breakover easier and provide better support for the leg. Since then, we've stuck to shorter shoeing intervals. In training, I cut out the long, hard sessions – replacing them with more walking, quiet hacks on good ground, and a thorough warm-up. My vet explained that regular, controlled movement was better in our case than box rest. During the acute phase, we also used anti-inflammatories, closely monitored by the vet. And ever since, I've kept a strict eye on Caspar's weight so his joints have less to carry. All of this takes patience, and that's exactly what I lacked most at the beginning.
How nuvallo move came into the picture
A friend at the yard, whose older mare had something similar, fed the nuvallo move Snacks daily and recommended them to me. I had already been reading up on the subject anyway and had landed on the usual active ingredients: glucosamine, collagen, MSM, and hyaluronic acid.
Before that, I had tried a joint powder – which was hopeless for us. Caspar just pushed it to the bottom of the feed bowl and ate around it; half of it stayed on the floor. And what he doesn't eat can't have an effect. That was exactly the deciding factor for me: I give nuvallo move directly from the hand, six snacks a day (about 30 g for a horse of his size), with no weighing and no dusty powder. He takes them directly from the hand without hesitation.
What suited our situation well: the base is free from wheat and corn – containing linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed –, which I find reassuring for a sensitive stomach. On top of that, the whole thing is ADMR-compliant and competition-safe with no withdrawal period; we hardly go to competitions anymore, but it's good to know. In the first few weeks, I fed double the amount as recommended, and then went back to the normal daily ration. I fed it consistently over several months, because a joint snack takes time anyway – usually eight to twelve weeks.
How things are going for us today
Over the weeks, I felt that Caspar was starting his sessions less stiffly. In the mornings, he seems more willing to come out of his stable and moves more freely. I'm deliberately cautious here: the adjusted shoeing and controlled exercise played the decisive role, and I can honestly only describe what I see in him.
If your horse has just been diagnosed with ringbone, my honest advice is: take your vet and farrier seriously first, give things time, and don't expect a quick fix. For our daily routine, the nuvallo move Snacks have made one thing in particular much easier – Caspar eats them reliably, every day, without me having to coax him. For me, that was the difference between a supplement that gets left in the feed bowl and one that my horse actually gets. If feeding powder is also a daily struggle for you, I would simply give them a try in your position.