“We don’t do that much surgery in older horses for musculoskeletal pain, to be honest,” said equine veterinarian and boarded surgeon Dr. Ali Broyles. She is an associate veterinarian at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky.
Surgery to Manage Musculoskeletal Pain in Senior Horses
She said most musculoskeletal pain issues in older horse come from arthritis. “And arthritis is not managed surgically unless you are doing something very advanced like fusing joints,” Broyles added.
Broyles said if you have a horse with severe navicular disease, “and you’ve exhausted all your options at managing it—such as intra-articular therapies and therapeutic shoeing—you may resort to a neurectomy at that point. That’s typically a last-resort option.”
A neurectomy is a surgical cutting of nerves to alleviate chronic pain and lameness usually originating from the horse’s foot.
Related Content
- Colic Surgery in Senior Horses Video. with Dr. Russell Freeland. MySeniorHorse.com
- Lameness in Older Horses Video. Dr. Russell Freeland. MySeniorHorse.com
- Anesthesia of the Geriatric Equine. MySeniorHorse.com
- What is Osteoarthritis in Horses. MySeniorHorse.com
- What You Should Know About Equine Osteoarthritis. MySeniorHorse.com
- Are We Overlooking Pain in Senior Horses? Lessons from Owner-Veterinarian Conversations. Christa Lesté-Lasserre. MySeniorHorse.com
Sign up for My Senior Horse’s FREE newsletter to get the latest information about equids 15 years and older delivered straight to your inbox!
