sidebone

[June Scheunemann & Mike Bernsdorf <equineent@lakefield.net>]

I had a mare that came to me with sidebone....I rode her for
years!!  Endurance and competitive and she lived to be 27 yr.
old  I would not do it again as I realize it is a weak point and
I was lucky that she did compete.  Old Mo had other problems
that showed up in arthritis (like a shorter hip bone on one
side...)  As she got older she had a funn way of going ...a
slight hitch on the left rear with a boble on the right front
but, it was slight and never got worse.  I retired her at 20 as
far as competing and then used her as a lesson horse.  I think
the light use is what kept all the arthritis from getting worse
(I also had her on Joint Jolt and I swear by the stuff).  I also
had a horse boarded at my barn who developed sidebone along with
ringbone....he was lame and even bute didn't seemto help him.  I
ended up keeping him in a separate paddock so he would not have
to contend with the other hroses...which didn't make him happy
but, to watch the poor boy move really tore at my heart.  I'm
not sure if he was so lame due to the combination of ring and
side bone or I was just lucky with my mare.

june