Page 92 - Barrel Stallion Register 2023

EQUINE HEALTH
Along with whatever treatment is used, the horse needs rest and physical therapy to help an injured joint heal optimally and get back
to full strength. “Cold therapy and bandaging may help initially to reduce inflammation and swelling. The biggest thing that hurts those joints is chronic inflammation. If you can
get that under control, this can go a long way toward minimizing arthritic changes and more bone formation,” Peters says.
The rest period required may vary with the horse and the injury depending upon
how severe it is. The horse owner needs to consult with the veterinarian to figure out
the best treatment and recovery program,
and possible physical therapy. “This involves close monitoring and observing how the horse responds to treatment,” he says.
Most people want to get the horse back into barrel racing as soon as possible, so it is imperative to do the best for that horse to help it heal—which means a certain period of rest. “Just like a person, if we sprain an ankle, the time frame for not using it would be 1 to 2 weeks, and then start gradually and not overdo it until it’s healed,” Peters says.
With more chronic conditions, like arthritis, there are some things you need to do to try to help the horse. “There may be reduced flexion or some reduction of cartilage in the joint, or bone spurs. In this situation, again you are trying to minimize inflammation and trying to keep the joint as healthy as you can in terms of preserving the cartilage and helping the internal environment of the joint,” says Peters.
“Things like stem cells (a regenerative therapy), or injections of HA or Adequan may be beneficial,” Peters continued. “In some situations, there may be a place for steroids to help minimize the inflammation. But for the most part, we try to stay away from steroids in the horses with arthritis.
“You may have to change your management program. An older horse with arthritis may need more time off and not campaign as hard. You might pick and choose your competitions rather than going every week. You might take him just 3 weeks a month and reduce his work load a little,” he says.
With strained hocks, it is important to shoe the horse strategically to best accommodate joint action and not strain the hocks further. “Shoeing can play a big role in helping reduce some of
the detrimental mechanical aspects and strain on these joints,” Peters says. “It is important to work closely with your farrier and make him/her aware of the joint conditions the horse has, and the work the horse has to do, so the farrier can be part of the team involved in helping prolong the competitive career of the horse.
“We also tend to inject those lower joints of the hock. Horse owners may use oral joint supplements or physical therapy (such as magnetic therapy around those joints). They may also use cold therapy such as the Game Ready machines (or cold saltwater spa, etc.) to try
to keep inflammation down,” says Peters.
“Often when we are
talking about joint trauma and
inflammation, we are dealing
with a bone chip or an OCD
fragment, and this is when
surgical intervention is the
most appropriate treatment,”
says Carpenter. “That chip or
fragment acts as a nidus for
inflammation. If we can go in
and remove that nidus and then
give the joint time to heal, the
area that had the chip will cover over with fiber- cartilage—and often you will be able to continue on with that horse; he can resume his athletic career.” Then the horse won’t need repeated therapy such as joint injections.
“This is the goal, because you don’t want to get into a situation where you are medicating the joint over and over again in order to keep the horse sound. You might medicate the joint initially to get the horse through that season, depending on where that horse is in his career or campaign—such as leading up to a major event. It’s not a good long-term solution, but can be an acceptable short-term fix,” Carpenter says.
Sometimes people are campaigning a horse and there’s a lot of money involved, and they are tempted to keep going—not wanting to take time to allow the horse to heal. “Depending on the situation, we might be able to effectively manage it on the short term so the horse can get through that season’s campaign and make big money, and then when the barrel racing season is over the
90 SPEEDHORSE
Shoeing plays a big role in helping reduce some of the detrimental mechanical aspects and strain on joints.
Dr. Ryan Carpenter conducting arthroscopic surgery.
Cold therapy and bandaging may help initially to reduce inflammation and swelling.
owner should take time to stop and do the surgery and let the horse heal up before the next season,” Carpenter explains. It’s important to work with the veterinarian on a treatment plan and scheduling.
“I’ve always said—and I’ve seen it to be true over and over in my career working with race horses—that if you do the right thing by the horse, the horse will take care of you. The most important thing is putting the horse’s health, safety and welfare as a top priority, and the horse will be able to take care of us on the other side,” Carpenter says.
A really good horse in a career like barrel racing could be a winner for many seasons, and you’d want him to be able to do that and stay sound—and not sacrifice that future for a short- term goal. “We always ask whether it’s more important short term or long term,” Carpenter says. “Do you want to accomplish just this one next race, or a long career? We can always get the horse through one race, but it might be to the detriment of that horse’s future career if he doesn’t get a chance to really heal.”
Jana Thomason, Speedhorse Archives