Apple Cider Vinegar for Arthritis?

So I have been working with a 10 year old mare for about 3 weeks now. We went on a trail ride a week after I started working with her, and she was very lame on one of her hind legs the next day. I took it easy on her and let her rest for a few more days. I started working her lightly afterwards, and it seemed like she still had a little bit of lameness in that leg, but I couldn't really tell.

I was planning on buying her from a friend, so I had the vet come out to do a pre-purchase exam. After doing a flexion test on that leg, she said that she thinks that the horse has arthritis, and considering I want to use her for trail rides, it wouldn't be a good idea to buy her. She said on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being unable to bear weight, she was about a 1, then after the flexion tests she was a 3+. I was really upset, and spoke to the woman who I had taken lessons from for a few years, and who has been letting me lease her horses for a few years. She has been working with horses for 40 years, and knows a lot of information.

She said that she had a pony years ago who was so lame from arthritis, she thought she was going to have to put her down. The farrier recommended to mix apple cider vinegar into her grain each day, increasing slowly to avoid digestive upset. She said that after a month or so, the pony was better than ever. She said it had no signs of lameness, and was full of energy, and never had problems with arthritis again. She just continued to keep adding ACV to her grain.

Has anyone had any experience with this? I've read a few stories online. Many people seem to say it works wonders for sores, coat, hooves, and keeping away flies. Since I'm not bound to a contract or anything, I figured I might as well try it. I started her on it yesterday and she didn't seem to mind the taste. We'll see how she does after a while. Most places I've read say to give between 1/4 and 1/2 cups per day after easing up to it.

I appreciate everyone's input!

Subbing.....I know that ACV is very good for horses....need to brush up on this info!

Never heard of this. ACV seems to be the "go to" for every horse ailment nowadays and that makes me less likely to believe in it.
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Interesting, I new it was good for alot of things, just didn't know about arthritis. You could also add it to her water as well. I would like to hear the outcome, if you notice any changes.

I use ACV with my mare for its anti-inflammatory properties (though in her case I use it with the intention of helping her eyes, not joints) so I guess it could work...
However, something like MSM is probably a better option as far as an anti-inflammatory goes (ie, both don't help to "cure" anything/replace joint fluid etc like glucosamine+chondroitin is reputed to do, but they will limit the inflammation caused by arthritis thereby limiting the pain response).

I use both and I see a marked anti-inflammatory response with MSM and a much more limited response with the ACV. As in, I wouldn't dare take my mare off her MSM for fear of causing/encouraging an ERU attack but if I run out of ACV, I don't panic.

So, if you can, I would probably get her on MSM before bothering with ACV if you're really trying to get her comfy.

I know ACV can be very useful for lots of things but on the arthritis line I am afraid I have to poo poo it. I'll put it this way: the equine pharmaceutical market is a multi-billion dollar market and horse owners are willing to try almost anything for their horses. If something as simple as ACV were effective for arthritis- an extremely common and difficult problem for hundreds of thousands of horses, the drug companies would have already been marketing it. I have not seen a single study that shows high levels of anti-inflammatory properties like you need for arthritis.

On the other hand, omega 3 fatty acids have been shown both to slow the progression of arthritis and to be effective at reducing the pain of arthritis. I would suggest getting her on a flax oil supplement if anything, but also agree that MSM might be a good idea too.

I have read about MSM, and was curious about it as well. A lot of these things, humans take for arthritis pain as well. I'll look into MSM as well. We'll see how things go.

As for the multi-billion dollar equine pharmaceutical market... Just to play the skeptic, a pharmaceutical company can't make money from selling ACV because it is cheap to get in the store, and it is not a "drug." They didn't manufacture it, and they can't charge huge prices for it. It's just like our human pharmaceutical companies. They make money from charging big bucks on medicine. Just because it's a homeopathic remedy doesn't mean it doesn't work, in my opinion. I have my own health problems that I take probiotics for, that have helped more than my prescription medication, so I take them together. I've used tea tree oil to rid myself of acne. Acne companies don't sell face wash with tea tree oil, but it works better than anything else I've ever used. Just saying...pharmaceutical companies don't make products to fix us and our animals because they care about bettering the world, they care about making money.

Well... that is true to an extent, but plenty of companies sell electrolytes at high markups when in reality, it costs about $3 to make at home [baking soda and salt]. Drug companies could certainly take ACV, add some things to it, call it their own, and mass market it. With the right sales pitch, few will think to just buy ACV at the grocery store.
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It's probably just a matter of time...