Equine Guelph has announced Pfizer Animal Health will be sponsoring 'Journey through the Joints,' an online tool designed to take horsepeople on an interactive journey from a healthy joint to an inflamed, arthritic joint.

One of the biggest health challenges facing both horses and humans is arthritis. We all know it hurts, but we often fail to really understand what is happening in the joints.

Currently, there is no effective long-term treatment to repair a cartilage injury in the joint. This is one of the leading causes of early retirement in horses. The tissue from cartilage heals extremely slow. Damaged (or missing) tissue is often irreplaceable, usually leading to osteoarthritis.

It has been discovered that a staggering 60 per cent of lameness problems in horses are caused by osteoarthritis.

The goal of Journey through the Joints is to educate caretakers about the different stages of joint degeneration, explain the definition of arthritis, and provide information pertaining to prevention and care. The interactive tool also challenges participants’ knowledge with user-friendly activities on the anatomy of a joint (it is possible to view a 360 degree tour of an actual horse joint).

“We think it’s really important to teach horse people about the basics on joints,” said Dr. Cathy Rae, manager of equine technical services for Pfizer Animal Health. “It is critical to have a basic knowledge of joints before grasping an understanding of causes and care of lameness.”

To check out this new tool, go to www.equineguelph.ca and click on 'Journey through the Joints.'

(Equine Guelph)