chondritin - reply from TopSpec, any comments?

[Achinghips]

Background: called them to ask if Topspec veteran balancer contained chondritin, lady on phone said "Horses can't absorb it". I sent them a link showing it did. This is the reply.

Dear Lisa,

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in replying, we are nearly overwhelmed with enquiries at the moment.

I am unsure to whom you spoke as, unusually, we have no record of your call, but of course I accept that you made it. The size of the chondroitin molecule is very large compared to the capacity of the horse’s intestinal wall to absorb it whole, which means that it is unlikely to be absorbed whole in significant amounts. There are a great many published research articles which demonstrate the probability that chondroitin supplied in oral form is of limited use to the horse and also some published research to the contrary, as you have found. Indeed some scientists believe strongly that it is a helpful oral supplement for joint mobility. There is no consensus on this issue at the moment.

It is quite possible that the chondroitin molecule is broken down in the small intestine before some or all of its constituent parts are absorbed and possibly re-assembled in joint tissues. My own view is that as glucosamine is a precursor of chondroitin and as it is a small molecule, well absorbed by the horse, supplying it in optimum levels is a good way of helping joint mobility in many horses.

With best wishes,

Nicola Tyler
Nutrition Director

 

[paulineh]

Very interesting comment from Nicola Tyler.

The number one joint supplement is Cortalflex and Cortaflex contains the microsized key active isolates of Chondroitin and Glucosamine.

NAF Super Flex also contains Glucosamine HCl, MSM and Chondroitin sulphate again another very good supplement

 

[Achinghips]

Yep, so TopSpec don't include it in their Veteran Balancer as it's probably not economically viable for them to do so and they're sitting on the fence about it's usefulness, based on conflicting studies.
Though if, cortaflex is the no 1 best selling supplement, surely it would be in their economic interests to include chondritin it in their veteran balancer as it'd sell better? Wierd.

 

[competitiondiva]

Yes very interesting and having a horse which has recently been diagnosed with the early stages of arthritis I was looking into supplements recently, having spoken to my vet the main ingredient she wanted me to ensure I gave was HA (Hylauronic Acid) which the cortaflex HA contains, and the equine answers premierflex plus. The latter is the supplement I chose as it also contained devils claw for the same price!! So added bonus!! otherwise they were pretty similar. I did not consider the topspec as it did not contain the HA, although now seeing that it doesn't contain condroitin I doubt I would have considered it at all!

If what they are saying is true then I would hold the topspec on a parr with the equine america/equimins/ and many more producers of the supplement of glucossamine and msn at £15.99 I would be interested at what price the topspec is??!

 

[Achinghips]

It's a balancer - £40 for a big sack (which lasts 40 days). I bought it as I want so many supplements for my Tb I can't afford them all. I particularly liked this one as it contains glucosomine and she has hock arthritis.

 

[mja]

I read that it is too big a moelcule to be asborbed also when researching joint supplements for horse with arthritic knees too and found this link informative:
http://www.innvista.com/health/ailments/arthritis/glucchon.htm

However I dont use a supplement anymore as saw no improvements whereas with a herbal mix the results were amazing from lame to sound!!

I tried Topspec and Naff. Be careful of the bulking agents they use as well xx

 

[SmartieBean09]

Ive tried Tops Spec Senior and Premierflex Plus on two seperate occasions. Can say that Top Spec did have an effect but after trying the Premierflex Plus, there was a dramatic difference. I wouldnt substitute a good joint supplement now for Top Spec Senior as I have found that they work very differently. I would only recommend Top Spec Senior for horses with little joint discomfort. If you are looking ofr a joint supplement for a specific joint issue then I would 100% recommend buying a specific joint supplement.

 

[Achinghips]

Well, my girl has had her steroid injections into both hocks and we have to wait for joints to fuse, so some inflammation is needed. I think a balancer is the thing as we need so many other supplements too (divvy moody Tb with **** feet who looses weight at the drop of a hat).

 

[odd1]

i use cosequin but it is very expensive, what other ones on the market would be the same but cheaper??