Good quality, effective joint supplements - suggestions & experiences please!

[porkpie]

Hello, I'm looking into joint supplements. I have used Equiflex from Vet Vits and also the Top Spec 10:10 joint supplement on my arthritic 18yo mare and my 7 year old big lad. TBH not convinced if either of them made a big difference so have stopped altogether.

However am concerned that the mare would really be benefitting and that taking her off them may be a negative. She is actually in good form right now and only needs Danilon when ridden and the boy was on it just because hes a big chap and I felt it would be a good preventative measure.

However the Equiflex for example will cost me £30 a month - ouch! Top Spec is even worse so I'd be really interested to hear any recommendations any of you guys might have.

Thanks muchly.

 

[BentleyBelly]

There are alot of threads about this if you search above...the main concensus is that you get what you pay for and different horses have varied results with different supplements. I use Cortaflex HA for my arthritic pony and it makes a huge difference. I have also heard good things about Supplease Gold and Flexijoint. I personally don't want to try Flexijoint as it has shark cartilage in it and don't want to feed that to my horse. I believe feeding linseed can also be effective but my boy really doesn't need the extra calories!

 

[Nevergrewup]

you get what you pay for and different horses have varied results with different supplements.

I agree - I've been advised by the vet that you need loads of glucoasmine in a joint suppliment and as a general rule of thumb the more expensive the supps are are, the more glucosamine they have in. I've had good results in the past with Synequin.

The other more natural (and cheaper) stuff (flaxseed oil, nettles etc) is generally a case of trial and error as what works for one horse often won't have the same results in another. Dodson & Horrell Mobility includes many of the herbs that are suggested as beneficial and seems to be very tasty.

 

[Amaranta]

I have my old girl on Litovet and am really really pleased with it, it was trialled on trotting horses apparently, I have used Cortaflex and 10:10 in the past but this one seems to be doing a better job of it.