How To Treat Arthritis and OCD In Your Horse

Leg Saver’s hock wraps are designed to treat Arthritis and OCD in your horse in a way that is natural and effective. Regular maintenance and performing one or two treatments on the day prior to an event should eliminate all discomfort in the hocks for amazing results: clean jumps, fast times, and a healthy horse. Before jumping into treatment, it’s important to understand OCD and arthritis, and how the health of your horse’s hocks can make a difference.

What is OCD?

Osteochondrosis Dissecans is a rare, crippling condition that often starts before a foal is even one year old. As the soft cartilage cells are converted to more solid bone, areas of damaged cartilage develop within the joint, leaving the underlying bone weak and prone to further injury that can lead to several different bone and joint problems later in life.

OCD in Horses: Signs to Watch For

Inflammation will cause extra joint fluid, enlarging it. Distended main hock joints, along with swollen stifles and fetlocks are other signs to watch for. Lameness can manifest in an awkward stance, inconsistent activity, or stiffness.

OCD in Horses: Diagnosis and Treatment

X-rays are usually necessary to confirm OCD, but they can only show bone, not the cartilage.  While surgery can be successful, there is debate is whether it is absolutely necessary. As a horse matures, the joints may develop or regress and he may respond just as well to a period of rest and improved diet.

Leg Saver maintenance is a natural therapy that will help relieve the inflammation behind OCD, rendering surgery unnecessary.

Using Leg Saver to Treat Arthritis and OCD

Lameness can pose a greater risk in older horses with undiagnosed OCD problems, and this long-term inflammation of the joints is a contributing factor to arthritis. In these cases, Leg Saver’s ting point therapy can help heal your horse’s hocks that often trigger larger issues such as bowed tendons.

Utilizing our four hock-wrap system, start with a liberal application of DMSO gel to the inside and outside of the hocks. Then get he left and right hock wraps and be firm when wrapping the hocks. Hook up the wires to the Leg Saver, then turn it up as there isn’t a lot of nerve tissue in the hocks. When the horse shows signs of discomfort, turn it down to a comfortable level and either walk him or stable him during the treatment.

For visual learners, watch Gary Desroches demonstrate how to use Leg Saver in the video below.