Horse owners are aware of the importance of looking after their horse’s joints all year round but joint care is even more in important in winter.
Careful management of your horse’s joints helps to minimise daily wear and tear and limit potential problems. By taking a proactive approach to joint management, your horse will remain mobile and healthy this winter.
Joint Issues in Winter
Normally, in the daily life of a horse the joint cartilage is continually being broken down and replacement cartilage is being manufactured. However, this balance can be upset in winter due to increased training, trauma, competition or simply old age. Other contributing factors that affect equine joints can be diet, body condition, ground conditions as well as fitness level and muscle tone. Joint stiffness is commonplace owing to restricted turnout and limited exercise thanks to shorter daylight hours and hazardous weather conditions in wintertime.
Winter Joint Management
Throughout the winter, caring for your horse’s joints will help maintain mobility and performance. Here are some useful tips for horse owners:
- Turn your horse out in the field as much as possible to ensure natural joint movement
- Exercise your horse regularly to encourage blood flow and keep joints supple
- When exercising, utilise effective warm-up and cool down to avoid excess friction
- Manage your horse’s body weight to ensure no excess strain on joints
- Ensure a balanced nutritional program to support the natural regeneration of cartilage
Nutritional Support for Joints
Equine joint supplements have been developed to provide targeted nutrition to support healthy, functioning joints. Arthri Aid Equine Joint Mobility Supplement has been formulated to aid the lubrication and help to promote regeneration of shock absorbing tissues of your horse’s joints. Arthri Aid contains the following for joint health:
- Glucosamine – an amino acid that assists in the body’s manufacture of cartilage
- Chondroitin – which assists in lubrication and shock absorption of the joints
- MSM – a naturally occurring sulphur compound which helps soothe knocks and improve joint mobility
- Hyaluronic Acid (HA)- is the principal constituent of joint Synovial Fluid
To conclude, wintertime is a challenging time for your horse’s joints. However, with careful management and nutritional support, equine joint health can be achieved to ensure mobility and comfort for your horse this winter.
For more information, please contact our expert team.
