Treating Osteoarthritis in Horses: An Overview of Therapies & Measures

The diagnosis is here, and you are probably extremely worried at first. Your vet has diagnosed your horse with osteoarthritis. Countless questions are likely buzzing around your head right now: What happens next? Can I even still ride? And what does the proper treatment of osteoarthritis in horses actually look like in daily life? Take a deep breath first. The good news is: the progression of this diagnosis can be significantly influenced with the right measures. Even though the joint wear and tear itself cannot be reversed, you have an enormous amount of control over the situation. In this article, we take a highly practical look at what medical therapy involves, how you can adapt their exercise, and what you can do every day to maintain your horse's quality of life and joy of movement.

A Quick Look Inside the Joint: What Does the Diagnosis Mean?

To understand the following measures, a quick look at the biology helps. With osteoarthritis, the articular cartilage, which normally serves as a soft shock absorber between the bone ends, slowly breaks down. If this buffer is missing, in the worst case, bone will eventually rub against bone. This is painful and leads to inflammation.

The cartilage itself has no blood vessels of its own. It is supplied with nutrients exclusively by the synovial fluid (synovia). The crucial mechanism here: it is only through the loading and unloading of the joint during movement that the synovial fluid is pumped into the cartilage. This is why standing still is pure poison for osteoarthritis, and why horses often need to "warm up" into their stride until the joint is well lubricated.

Veterinary Treatment of Equine Osteoarthritis

Medical support forms the foundation when your horse is in pain or is lame. Veterinary treatment is primarily aimed at breaking the pain cycle and stopping the inflammation in the joint, so that cartilage breakdown is slowed down.

Here, vets rely on various proven building blocks:

• Painkillers and anti-inflammatories: During acute flare-ups, your horse will usually receive systemic medication (NSAIDs) via their feed or as a paste. They take away the pain so the horse does not adopt a compensatory posture, which in turn would overload other joints.
• Joint injections: Here, the active ingredient is injected directly into the affected joint. Combinations of hyaluronic acid and cortisone are frequently used. Regenerative therapies such as autologous blood treatments (IRAP, PRP) or stem cells are also increasingly being used to calm the joint environment.
• Hoof trimming and shoeing: Your farrier or hoof trimmer is an incredibly important part of the team. Through an adapted stance or special orthopaedic shoeing (for example, with closed shoes, pads, or extended heels), the diseased joint can be mechanically relieved with every step.

Important for you as an owner: Which medications are given when, for how long, and in what dosage is decided exclusively by your vet. Medical decisions belong in professional hands; experimenting with medications on your own has no place in horse care.

The Most Important Daily Tool: Exercise for Horses with Osteoarthritis

Outside of the phases when your horse is in the clinic or undergoing acute veterinary treatment, you control the majority of the therapy yourself: through exercise. Controlled, regular exercise is absolutely indispensable for a horse with osteoarthritis.

Prolonged box rest is usually counterproductive with osteoarthritis, as the joints stiffen up, the cartilage supply stops, and the protective musculature wastes away. The be-all and end-all is consistency. A horse with osteoarthritis benefits most from daily, moderate work. The opposite – standing for five days and going for a strenuous hack at the weekend – is extremely harmful.

Warming up is mandatory, not optional:

Before you start to trot, the horse must walk at a brisk pace on a hard, even surface (for example, tarmac or a well-maintained, firm sand track) for at least 20 minutes. During this time, the synovial fluid is produced and distributed in the joint space.

When it is right to take a break:

Exercise is good, but not at any cost. If the affected joint is suddenly warm, feels noticeably swollen, or your horse is acutely and severely lame, they are experiencing what is known as an osteoarthritis flare-up (an acute inflammation). This is a clear warning sign for you: you must call the vet now, training is paused immediately, and the horse needs temporary rest until the inflammation has been stopped with medication.

Training Plan and Useful Exercises for Horses with Osteoarthritis

A well-thought-out training plan keeps the musculature strong. This is because the better developed the muscles are, the more stability they give the joints. Specific exercises for a horse with osteoarthritis should always aim to promote mobility without causing pinpoint impacts or shear forces.

What you should include in your training plan:

• Extensive walk work: Ideally hacking out on firm tracks. This is the best foundation training.
• Large curves: When riding in the arena or lunging, use the whole arena, large-radius circles, and straight lines.
• Pole work (low): Single poles or cavaletti lying on the ground on the lowest setting force the horse to consciously bend and lift their joints, without the hard landing associated with jumping.
• Light hill work: Riding uphill and downhill at a walk while hacking strengthens the hindquarters extremely effectively, provided the ground is non-slip.

What you absolutely must avoid:

• Tight turns (like voltes or turns on the haunches), as strong twisting forces act on the joint here.
• Deep, slippery, or extremely uneven ground.
• A lot of jumping or abrupt stops.
• Standing for a long time straight after exertion (it's better to walk for another 10 minutes on a long rein to cool down).

Always plan your training progression in terms of weeks, not days. Only increase the intensity very slowly.

Can You Still Ride a Horse with Osteoarthritis?

The worry of whether they will ever be able to get back in the saddle troubles almost all affected owners. The honest answer: in very many cases, riding a horse with osteoarthritis is not only still permitted, but is actually an excellent way to maintain the musculature.

The prerequisite is that the vet has given the green light and your horse is moving soundly and relaxed under saddle. However, you often have to adjust your own expectations. Perhaps ambitious Medium-level dressage training will now become healthy, gymnastic work at Novice level combined with a lot of hacking out.

The most important barometer for getting the amount of work right is the day after riding. If your horse comes out of the stable noticeably stiffer the next day, trails behind, or is suddenly resistant when being groomed, the previous day's training was too intense. You then dial the workload back down a bit.

Management and Daily Routine: What Really Helps a Horse with Osteoarthritis?

Alongside therapy and riding, daily management is crucial. What helps a horse with osteoarthritis in everyday yard life? It is often small adjustments that make a big difference.

• Create incentives to move: An open stable or track system is ideal, as the horse is on the move at a slow walk throughout the day here. This literally keeps the joints supple. If your horse is in a stable with an attached paddock, daily turnout on pasture or in a paddock for several hours in a calm herd is mandatory.
• Manage cold and wet conditions: Many osteoarthritis patients are sensitive to cold, wet weather; they become stiff and uncomfortable. A dry, draught-free shelter and, if required in winter, a well-fitting, breathable rug help the musculature avoid cramping up.
• Weight management: An often underestimated factor. Every kilo of excess weight burdens the damaged joints with every step. A horse with osteoarthritis should be kept on the leaner side rather than being overweight.
• Ground conditions: Ensure that the walkways in turnout areas do not turn into deep, frozen, muddy landscapes in winter, as stumbling and slipping are very painful for arthritic joints.

Nutrients as Daily Companions: Where Feeding Comes In

To put it honestly right away: a feed supplement does not treat osteoarthritis, does not cure wear and tear, and does not replace either veterinary therapy or good exercise management. What targeted feeding can do, however, is reliably provide the body with exactly the nutrients it needs every day for cartilage metabolism, connective tissue, and synovial fluid.

Studies indicate that the continuous supply of certain nutrients can support natural joint function. In nuvallo move, we therefore rely on an evidence-based combination (amounts per daily ration of 6 snacks for a 500 kg horse):

• Glucosamine (1,500 mg): An essential building block for cartilage formation, which supports the natural shock absorption of the joint.
• Collagen (2,550 mg): The most important structural protein for the elasticity of connective tissue, tendons, and cartilage.
• MSM (2,250 mg): Organic sulphur, which is valuable for the regeneration of stressed tendons and ligaments.
• Hyaluronic acid (150 mg): The main functional component of the synovial fluid.

The big challenge in everyday life, however, is often not the active ingredient itself, but the form. For a horse needing long-term care, the nutrients must reliably make their way into the horse over months. But many horses meticulously sort out powders, leave leftovers at the bottom of the manger, or eat around the supplement for days. This is exactly why we developed nuvallo move as a functional snack. The base consists of stomach-friendly linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed. You simply feed the snacks directly from your hand – entirely without weighing, without dust, and with the certainty that the full amount of active ingredients really does end up in your horse.

Since joint structures work slowly, patience is required when feeding: we recommend consistent administration for at least 8 to 12 weeks. The first positive changes in the horse's movement are often observed in practice after just 4 to 6 weeks.

Quality You Can Rely On

• ADMR-compliant: Approved for competitive sport with no withdrawal period.
• No added sugar: Also ideal for horses with metabolic issues.
• Made in Europe: For short transport routes and the highest production standards.
• 30-day satisfaction guarantee: Test nuvallo move completely at your leisure.

About Us

Katja and Andrés are the people behind nuvallo. With over 20 years of practical experience in equestrian sport, we know only too well how important the right approach to diagnoses like equine osteoarthritis, along with daily treatment and care, is for our animals. In countless conversations over the stable door, we constantly find that there is a lack of understandable, honest information when it comes to managing joint diseases – and that is exactly why we write these articles. We want to give you the confidence to act, without any empty promises.

Sources & Studies

[1] McIlwraith, C. W. (1996). General pathobiology of the joint and response to injury. In: Joint Disease in the Horse. W.B. Saunders, 40-70. [summarised]

[2] Forsyth, R. K., Brigden, C. V., & Northrop, A. J. (2006). Double blind investigation of the effects of oral supplementation of combined glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on stride characteristics of veteran horses. Equine Veterinary Journal, 38(S36), 622-625. [summarised]