DAN: "My horse has arthritis really bad in the winter
but in the summer seems fine.
Is that OK for me to ride-- or is it OK for me ride more?"
Sorry.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Right.
So you know what the first thing is I'm going to say.
DAN: Get a diagnosis?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Get a diagnosis.
DAN: I'm noticing a trend for these videos today.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Let's just make sure
that what you're dealing with is arthritis and that.
Get your vet's approval, permission, OK.
Make sure they're on board with you,
that they're on the same page.
They might have a reason why, in your particular situation,
maybe--
I can't imagine, but maybe it's not appropriate.
DAN: Yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Maybe-- you know, movement is usually
always good, not stall rest.
But maybe riding is unsafe.
So I would say use common sense, too.
If there is a safety concern, then maybe just doing things
on the ground with your horse is all that's-- like
in the winter, when your horse feels particularly bad,
maybe that's all you can do.
And then in the summer, maybe it feels better enough to actually
have you sit on him and go somewhere because they do--
they do like to have a job.
DAN: They do like to have a-- mentally keeps them engaged.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
DAN: So go back, get the diagnosis,
and then see kind of where your horse feels
most comfortable and--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, and that's the thing.
You're getting ahead of me here.
DAN: Oh, sorry.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I had another quote.
So one is try something, and if the horse gets better.
It's probably good for them.
Common sense.
And then ironically, in this age of science and imaging,
the expression of the horse is still the best guide
to providing care.
So the point is, listen to your horse.
Let them tell you what you're doing,
what you're asking me to do, is too much,
or, I can do more, mom, or that-- like,
maybe walking over ground poles is too much.
DAN: Yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: You know, you think, oh,
that's good exercise.
It's stimulating to the mind, the body.
But maybe that ask to bend and to lift is too much.
And maybe-- so they're sore the next day.
That's them telling you, ah--
DAN: Let's not do that again.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
But you have to be creative.
And so there's lunging.
There is long lining, which might be called ground driving.
And there's patterns.
There's association.
One of the western dressage associations
has competitive patterns that you can use to be interesting.
DAN: Change things up a little bit.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
Of course, I'm a big fan of clicker training.
DAN: Yeah.
Yes, you are.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I think you can do some groundwork
with and without obstacles.
That's always fun.
Hand walking is good for both you and the pony.
But some tips are stick to low impact.
So jumping is probably out.
Barrel racing, anything with fast starts and fast stops
and quick turns, those kind of things,
speaking from experience, can be painful to joints and things.
Take your time warming up and also warming down.
And this is something I learned a long, long time
ago with any age of horse.
Tell me if you do this.
I hand walk them before I get on.
DAN: I would love to say that I do.
How long?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, not very long.
DAN: Like from the cross ties to the arena?
DR LYDIA GRAY: No, no.
I don't walk a horse from cross tie to the arena and get on.
I'll do like one lap each way and then get on.
DAN: I do a little bit because I don't like--
I do take my time with the girth.
DR LYDIA GRAY: That's right.
DAN: I don't like to--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
DAN: So a little bit like that.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So like, you do a lap and tighten the girth
and do a lap.
OK.
DAN: Yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
Oh, and be regular and consistent.
So especially with these kind of horses, a little bit--
15, 20 minutes every day is better than two hours
on every weekend, every Saturday.
That's--
DAN: I think we all kind of get like the weekend warrior--
DR LYDIA GRAY: The week-- yeah, yeah, that's--
DAN: Because of jobs and all that stuff.
So yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Avoid long lay offs.
It's really important to check saddle fit in the older horse
because their top line can go quickly.
DAN: Mm-hm.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And then your saddle needs adjusted.
Make sure that the hooves are in good shape.
So some people, when their horse is retired
and maybe they pull shoes and they're like,
oh, I'm just going to have his feet
down like every three months.
No, they probably need hoof care more often.
DAN: Well, the thing is, as we've
spoken about before, if the feet aren't landing correctly,
it throws off how they move and how their joints are working
and all that.
So it just kind of like has a ripple up effect from there.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And back to the veterinarian,
the thing we didn't mention is your vet may,
when he or she is guiding you-- and yes, you can exercise.
Or no, you can't ride, or whatever.
They're also going to design a program for you that
involves movement, maybe some prescription medications.
And then they're going to pair that
with a joint supplement, which, if your horse is retiring
from competition, the joint supplement might change.
DAN: Mm-hm.
DR LYDIA GRAY: There might be things
that you couldn't include in there,
like herbs or whatever, when you were showing.
But now you have access to them.
It doesn't matter.
But it can be fun because you look at your joint supplements,
and there's the traditional ingredients,
like the glucosamines and the chondroitin sulfates and all
that.
And there's some newer ones now.
I think we have one.
There's resveratrol.
DAN: Yes.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Turmeric is trending.
DAN: Turmeric's big now.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Collagen. So you can play around
a little bit with them.
See what your horse does better on.
You know, horses are individuals like people.
They're going to respond better to some and not others.
We don't all respond to the same thing the same way.
DAN: Yeah, what's cool about some of these Ingredients
that you mentioned, it's not only specifically good
for joint health-- they can be good for overall health
in general.
DR LYDIA GRAY: That's right.
That's right.
Yeah, yeah.
DAN: More bang for your buck.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Right.