Nicco>>
A few years ago I had torn cartilage in my left knee.  I could barely
walk but did fine when in the saddle.  We did over 300 miles that way
before I got around to having arthroscopic surgery to fix it.  At vet
checks I would pop Ibuprofen regularly... :)
Dave Bennett 
Ben Amil - 'All I need is some chopped alfalfa and a squirt of Ride Rite
electrolyes'