Cure for a hard life
Q: Our TB-TYPE mare, Treacle, is now 17 and had a hard life as a show jumper before she came to us.

She was vetted as suitable for the job of light hack when we purchased her but often has puffy legs and poor, crumbling hooves, and is intermittently lame. Six weeks ago she fell into a hidden ditch and following this she was rested until she was sound in the field. Now she is sound at walk but appears lame in front and behind in trot, although we can find not heat or swelling. Are there any complementary treatments that could help her?

A: The occasional lameness is likely to be due to mild degenerative joint disease. It may be that over the years, there is some degree of slight damage to cartilage and ligaments with the legs affected, and this is what is causing the problems.

You do however mention that Treacle's hooves are in bad condition. I think this may be one outward sign that there are also mineral imbalances that may affect the joints. Routine blood tests from your vet will not show up such deficiencies and in fact there are as yet very few places where you can get trace mineral analysis that might be able to pinpoint the point the problem.

I think an immediate course of action would be to give Treacle a particular supplement that contains a cactus-type plant called Cissus quadrangularis, available from very select feed supplement distributors.

Formulas containing comfrey may be more useful. Cissus improves uptake of calcium and magnesium levels of biotin. We find that such formulas can greatly help older horses with mild problems. You may also find that one of the herbal joint lubricants available in tack shops can help, as could liver tonics.

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