Joint supplement, I've started my 'trials'

alsxx

alsxx

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I have bought a tub of cortaflex, for my mare who's out on 'field rest' and also going to try my ex racer on it. The plan is to try them all out until I find one that makes a difference....its mainly for the mare but there is certainly no harm in trying him on it.

So the big question, if a supplement is going to work, how soon should you start seeing any difference? Is it a case of feed it for a month, and then stop feeding it and see if they are slightly stiffer....or what?
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Also, if any one can suggest any, please do, although I know what works for one horse doesn't necessarily work for another.
 
to see a joint supplement having any effect you would neeed to have them on it 2-3 months as the first month theyare on the higher dose to get it into there system then it is a maintainence does. good luck
 
I could tell within in a week. I tried cortaflex (no difference), Gold Label Glucosamine 2000 (no difference), superflex (less stiff in 3 days, big difference in 1 week), Pernamax (fed 4 months at 8 tablets a day - no difference), Riaflex (no difference), Jointflex (no difference), Synequin (small difference).

Am just about to try the Feedmark one ... all the while I have kept him on the maximum dose of superflex as I am too scared to take him off it. But if everything else doesnt make any difference at all, they certainly arent better than superflex.

If the Feedmark one doesnt do anything, then will try mobifor and athriaid. After that, there is really on Newmarket Joint Supplement or cosequin.
 
Thats good to hear you saw a difference so quickly. My dad started taking glucosamine tablets for arthritis in his fingers and he said after a few days the difference was amazing and he is now pain free.

I should be able to tell with the mare very easily if it makes a difference or not, as she is noticibly stiff behind on her hocks. The gelding, we will see, he certainly doesn't appear stiff in any way, shape or form, so whether it will be harder to tell with him, I dont know.
 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1594#A-C

Sorry I know this is not really a reply to your questions but I thought if you have not already seen it, it may be useful info when exploring the world of joint supplements, gives a good break of the vital ingredients and how much is in the product.

Personally I think supplements are a good preventative measure to help maintain healthy joints before damage has set in so unless your feeding it earlier on in life then the horse will only benefit from it later on in life.

Going down a slightly different route, for stiff and arthritic horses I very much rate Cider Vinegar to be used as an everyday supplement to the feed, works differently, cheaper (not that expense is an issue) but it does work.

I think you can only really trial something fairly over a long period months then take them off it for an equal amount of time before putting the horse back on it again, otherwise you wouldn’t really know if the horse has truly benefited from the product.

Hope you do find something that helps though, it's a very interesting subject and I'd be very interested to hear of your findings.
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Personally I think supplements are a good preventative measure to help maintain healthy joints before damage has set in so unless your feeding it earlier on in life then the horse will only benefit from it later on in life.



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In theory yes ... but in practice no. I have had my youngster since he was 4 - he had been only lightly backed and broken and did absolutely nothing for a year before I got him. He was fed superflex from day 1 and he has managed to get arthritis at age 7 and is fully retired.

When I tried various other supplements on him, I could quickly see how different he was without the superflex which is why I am too scared to take him off it now.

And he also have apple cider vinegar (the stuff with the "mother" in it) and to be honest, it hasnt really done anything for him. Tried all the cod liver oil etc and again no difference.

To be an effective joint supplement, you need something that will give you 10,000mgs of glucosamine a day - which is why I double dose the superflex.
 
I use the Aviform Suppleaze gold. You have to use the maximum 10g to see any difference, but it DOES make a difference.
 
Thanks Kenzo, shall take a read of that!

I want to give them a go for my mare who was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in her hocks (although when she was seen by the RVC they disagreed with this, but as far as I'm concerned she IS stiff behind), but also has heel pain in the RF, and this blocked 70% to the coffin joint and 30% to the NB - I may have that round the wrong way though! Hearing of some success stories on here I am hopeful we may find something that is beneficial, I certainly have nothing to loose.

Ironically, when she was 2 I put her on cortaflex as her stifle clicked (still does!), stopped giving it to her when she was about 4, and then when she was 5 her issues started, she's 6 now.

I agree with the taking them off of the supplement though, as I think it would be interesting to see if they deteriorated, and then improved once back on it. I will post how I get on, but that could be quite a while in the future...

I will try the cider vinegar though!
 
Since my, now field retired sound, mare went lame/stiff I've been through the following supplements:

Green lip mussel and selenium with cider vinegar - made a slight difference at the start

Cortaflex - made a difference, been on this and will revert back.

Feedmark Extra HA - didn't work at all and she reverted back to being stiff

Cortaflex HA - I use the 30 days tub as a "boost" when going into cold/damp weather. I notice a difference with this.

Riaflex - just bought a tub of this through recomendations on here. The loading dose didn't touch her and she went short, upped it to 3 scoops a day for a fortnight and now just back to 2 scoops and she's back to normal but wouldn't buy again.

So back to good old cortaflex for me. Vet said it's one of the best nurtiaids on the market.

T'is a minefield!
 
There are so many arn't there!?

I figured I would start with the cheaper stuff, and work my way up to more expensive ones (like newmarket supplement or whatever its called).....until we find one that works!!
 
I found Cortaflex HA made a difference.. I used the farrier to tell me, he mentioned the boy was a bit stiff on his back leg so I got the HA cortaflex and 6 weeks later farrier commented on how he was more supple.

I then told him I had tried a supplement he he
 



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In theory yes ... but in practice no. I have had my youngster since he was 4 - he had been only lightly backed and broken and did absolutely nothing for a year before I got him. He was fed superflex from day 1 and he has managed to get arthritis at age 7 and is fully retired.
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Ditto exactly with me, except he was on Cortaflex - my youngster was on it from 2 years of age and at 7 was lame with arthritic changes
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He's not fully retired but no jumping and he has come sound on No Bute, after a year off.
 
I use Premierflex HA - higher spec than Cortaflex HA and much cheaper.

First tub went pretty quickly because I had to load FB with the stuff for a fortnight. He is now on one heaped measure a day for his back and general joints (I suspect he also has hock stiffness). What I would say is there was a big improvement when the loading took effect, he was much happier and more secure in his footing, especially downhill. I decided to wait and see what happened when the first tub ran out and sure enough, after about three weeks, he was doddering again, so I know it makes a difference. I ordered another tub, put him on a heaped measure morning and evening for a week and then back onto one heaped measure a day. We are now ten days in to the new tub and yesterday he was GALLOPING up a forest track and striding out downhill without a care in the world.
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Im convinced and at abou £10 a month it's well worth it as far as I am concerned.

I also feed corn oil at 45ml per feed (twice a day) and cider vinegar.
 
My husband's old hunter went lame due to high articular ringbone at the age of 17 - he'd been on Cortaflex since he was 12!! He was still unlevel on 5 bute a day when I switched to Riaflex Complete. After 5 weeks on the Riaflex we started reducing the bute - and 3 years of regular hunting later - he stays sound on the Riaflex and 1 bute a day!

A friend's horse - only 8 - went very lame with bony spurs showing on the hock joint surface - noticeably lame on one bute a day. Two weeks on Riaflex Complete and they've cut the bute out - he's still not back in work but looks like there's a chance he might be now (whereas vets had written him off!)

I've recommended Riaflex Complete to a LOT of people and the vast majority have had positive results (a couple complained it 'made the horse buck' - which I would have said was a positive result!)

Joint Supplements aren't that complicated. You need a minimum of 10g of Glucosamine for it to be of any use - and if it is a supplement that contains Chondroitin it MUST give 4g a day of that - otherwise you might as well just go with a cheaper supplement that just delivers Glucosamine and MSM.

But all the science indicates that joint supplements that combine Glucosamine and Chondroitin at sufficiently high levels give a better result than Glucosamine alone.

See http://www.riaflex-equine.co.uk/science.htm for extracts of the trial work.
 
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