Catrophen (joints)

ShowJumperBeckii

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Hello,
I have been recommended cartephen for my horse that has recently had hock ans coffin injections ans just wondered if anyone found this worked? It's not cheap after having over 5k of vet bills I'm unsure... but am willingly to try if there is good results!
 
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I've found it works well on some and not on others. It's the luck of the draw if it works for your horse or not. I have never noticed a huge difference in any horse it has worked on. It's has made a difference but not a big one.
 

teddypops

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It worked very well on my pony who had hock arthritis, however I know of some people who have not noticed any change.
 

Annagain

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It worked ok on my old boy. He deteriorated again after about 6 months though. He was 25 and field sound so I decided to retire him rather than try again. Retirement didn't suit him though so he ended up going for a 15 minute pootle twice or three times a week which was enough to keep his brain active without overloading his knees so we didn't need to try anything else.
 

Tori21

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I don't think its made any difference to mine, he has had monthly cartrophen for the last 8 months for mild arthritis, but he is lame with a hole in his SDFT. The vet classed the injections as the gold standard of care for him to try to recover the tendon damage.
 

Goldenstar

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Has Worked really well for some of my horses .
It’s my go to method of trying to maintain older horses it will not help all but imo it is definitely well worth trying it.
 

Gusbear

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This is only from my own experience.
I can certainly recommend it 1000%. My horse went lame in all fours, pulses in all feet and so much swelling he could barely walk or stand and was in all sorts of trouble and was in so much pain. He's a big boy weighing in at 900kg and doesn't have the best confirmation. Xrays showed all manner of problems and it was strongly recommended we PTS as I was told he would only get worse. Thankfully, after much pleading and begging on my part, my vet said let's try Cartophen injections as a last resort.

That was five years ago. My horse still has monthly injections and has gone from strength to strength. He's so fit and full of life now. A completely different horse to handle and ride.
Previously he was akin to riding a bike with flat tyres. Now he's all V8 engines and capable of lovely lateral work. Never had a lame day since.
The cost is admittedly horrendous, however my vet now supplies my yard with 12 months worth of Cartophen and our YM injects him for me hence saving me a load of money.
Dear horse even managed to emigrate with us travelling 36 hours by plane from the UK to Oz with no swelling or problems whatsoever.
We also own racehorses and a lot of trainers here routinely use Pentosan (the local equivalent) on them and it really has made a big difference.
Good luck with your horse. I hope it works for him.
 

SEL

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I've tried it on 2 horses. The one with wide spread arthritic changes was definitely better when he was on the 4 week loading dose, but effects didn't stick. He's managed on danilon now.

I saw no improvement with the other one.

I think it's worth a go though. If you're happy to do IM injections then you can save on vet visits.
 

riversideeu

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It worked great with my old warmblood mare. It was meant to last 6 months each course but she got nearly a year of relief each time and I would reccomend it over oral treatments.
 
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