The Stigma of Riding the Older Unsound Horse

Joy. For both of us.
For the last year, I felt Pig was very unsound. for those who haven't been through the management of a retired older horse, there's a significant difference between acute unsoundness that precludes riding the horse and ongoing soundness issues related to arthritis or chronic issues. The latter type of unsoundess requires the horse continue to stay active, so low pressure riding is often suggested to keep the animal more comfortable. This doesn't mean coming out into the ring to practice collected canter and flying changes, but it does mean a lot of walking and hills and some forward canter to keep the back and joints supple.
Easy hacking up and down some hills at the walk is super for older arthritic horses.
So, for the last few months that's all we've been doing. But with this joint supplement, Pig is so much more comfortable I've been able to challenge him a bit more to build supporting muscle in other movements. We're still not schooling a lot of trot, as that is his least comfortable gait. However, we're able to touch it much more now. That is a huge improvement. The more we trot, the more he's able to regain comfort in that gait.
It's not abnormal for horses to lose their comfort in the trot as they age. The canter and walk often remain comfortable longer.
While it seems counter intuitive to be riding a horse that is somewhat unsound, for these sorts of old-horse-woes, it is really helpful. I feel like this sort of need isn't often acknowledged in the horse world. We talk mostly about horses being unsound from acute injuries, which require rest. There's a bit of a stigma towards riding a horse who is "off". That's really unfortunate for older horses who would benefit from more light riding, not less.
A bit of forward canter is always helpful to keep a horse happy in their back and topline.
Pig's retirement plans always included keeping him in work as long as possible, for his own comfort and longevity. I'm so happy that he's finally back on that plan, and that he's getting to reap the benefits of "motion is lotion." Right now he gets ridden 3-4 days a week. He goes for long trail rides with a lot of forward active walking. He finds himself in the ring on occasion, where we focus on lateral movements and canter, helping him to stay gymnastically supple and continue to keep a comfortable range of motion.

With luck, all this activity will continue to keep him feeling younger for many years.
I wish I could explain to you how angry he was at me for making him stand for this photo. Haha. If you're riding, he expects to be moving, and gets really upset at being asked to just stand. Boredom is his enemy.
Anyone else out there riding their older arthritic horses? How do you feel about exercising a horse who is chronically unsound?

Comments

  1. I think we do our horses a huge disservice by not keeping them going. Irish is unsound and always will be. But I see huge benefits when he is ridden and exercised. He also loves it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I imagine changing their lifestyle drastically when they age stresses them. That's why Pig enjoys riding so much, I think.

      Delete
  2. I definitely tried to keep Promise in light work, but because her issues were injury (right stifle) as well as arthritic changes, it got more and more challenging. If she was dragging her right hind at the walk, I couldn't exactly blame it on arthritic hocks! When she was sound at the walk, and 75% or better at the trot, I often hopped on bareback for a little bit of walking and enjoying our time together.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I 100% agree! Did you mention what supp you were using? I can't remember... I'm always on the hunt for something that actually seems to work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Moiya is 20 and has been used a lot in her life -- I know she has arthritis in... probably more places than I care to admit. And while she's not what I would consider "show sound," she's definitely sound enough to ride and ENJOYS it. Like Pig, she feels better the more consistently she's ridden. I'm also a big proponent of knowing each individual horse and tailoring your ride to them each day. That's been a huge help with Moiya! If she comes out a little bit more stiff one day, we focus more on walking, bending and long/low trotting. If she's feeling pretty good though, I'll ask for more -- canter, some baby lateral work and maybe even a flying change or two.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Moiya so much! And you're right. The biggest thing is probably the most important thing.

      Delete
  5. As my Vet said when Suzie was retired from any formal riding - a body in motion, stays in motion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I did the almost exact same thing. Got my old horse on Devil's Claw and then was able to get him back into work which he loved. Got some very dirty looks from people when he would come out stiff or NQR but he always felt much better in body and mind after getting to move the body.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those dirty looks make me so mad. Good on you for putting the horse first!

      Delete
  7. Absolutely to all of this! My trainer has a few horses in their late 20s (and even into their 30s) that are happy and healthy in full work - with some concessions for their age - and it's because they've been able to STAY in full work. I hopped on one of our 28yo schoolmasters the other day and you would never be able to guess his age! On days Frankie feels a little stiff or NQR, we still ride. 99% of the time, the motion helps him stretch out and feel better, and the other 1% it helps us pinpoint where the problem is so we can address it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh man. Yes. Pinpointing the problem is so real. I've definitely had those moments at times.

      Delete
  8. I am all for riding the older, unsound horse - as long as its still safe to do so !
    They need to keep moving to keep their bodies happy and healthy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As long as it's safe is a great way to put it!

      Delete
    2. Right? Some people might see it as a "Oh, well I guess I should just get to riding my older hourse" When maybe they've been retired due to something that makes them unsteady on their feet. Specially with a rider up top!

      Delete
  9. I walked Bobby through a whole lot of various stages of unsoundness because otherwise his stifles would lock and fall off his body.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahaha. Ahem. I relate to this statement more than I would like.

      Delete
  10. honestly there are a whole lotta stigmas out there doing a disservice to horses and the people who love them.... meanwhile i can think of horses in situations around the world that would eagerly trade places with Pig in a heartbeat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dude. Forget the horses. I would trade places with Pig right now. 😂

      Delete
    2. So many horses in central america would love to trade places with any of our horses lol

      Delete
  11. I completely agree with you! That's where I am with Amber. She will be chronically unsound from now on, even though she's only 9. But now that we've gotten over the "rest" part from injury, I've put her back into very light work, and she's not only much happier, but I think she's also feeling better through her body, too. I definitely think it would be a disservice to her to do nothing, especially since I have nowhere to put her except a stall. I'd love her in a pasture, but that's not feasible in Vegas, so light work it is. I do think it's helping her a lot since she's also arthritic from previous injuries, so I completely agree that light work still helps the older horse!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My vet told me once that he very rarely sees a completely sound horse. Most horses have some kind of wear and tear or conformational challenge or even just a habitual way of slightly weighting their stronger side. Basically, he talked me off the ledge and told me not to worry, that me that keeping my horses fit and exercised is the best thing I can do for them :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Always a fan of keeping older horses moving! I grew up working at a Girl Scout camp, and I distinctly remember a 35 year old barrel horse who LOVED nothing more than a good short gallop in a drill performance after the week's lessons/pony rides were done. That herd of 40 horses were rotated through 4 ~50 acre gently hilly pastures that they lived on 24/7 which, in retrospect, was surely a huge contributing factor to how long they could stay sound for that kind of light irregular work.

    Light work is a godsend -- and if being ridden is too uncomfortable, there's always ground driving and ponying!

    ReplyDelete
  14. My JR had a lingering, low grade lameness. It was enough to keep me from wanting to ride him out in public (hello, I'm a professional, this is my personal, lame horse). However he *loved* to hack out on the trails and was also a wonderful babysitter for other horses. He was definitely happier and felt better after a ride than he did just sitting around doing nothing. Love this post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment