Osteoarthritis or arthritis also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD) is one of the main causes of lameness in horses commonly involving the fetlock, hock, knee and coffin joints. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage surrounding the joints is damaged resulting in inflammation. It’s this inflammation that causes pain, synovitis (inflammation of the joint fluid) and cartilage damage. Typically, osteoarthritis is treated by using:

• Rest and physical therapy
• Oral supplements (glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin sulfate)
• Systemic therapies such as non-steroidal antiinflammatories (Bute, Banamine®, Equioxx®), intravenous hyaluronic acid (Legend®), intramuscular polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (Adequan®)
• Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (Legend®, Hylalovet®, Hylartin V®), Polysulfated glycosaminoglycans (Adequan®) with or without steroids (Depo-Medrol®, Vetalog®).

Careful and judicious use of intra-articular steroids is typically safe and provides comfort and improved performance to most horses. Veterinary supervision and monitoring of the horses progression is important in these cases. In some instances where excessive use or long-term repeated use of intra-articular steroids occurs damage to the joint cartilage may result and alternative treatments may be necessary.

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