Joint supplement

[Allykat]

We have just been advised by our osteopath to put our 17 yr old cob gelding on a joint supplement as she feels he has mild arthritic changes in his near fore and off hind hock. He is showing no signs of lameness and she described him as very mildly unlevel.

What joint supplements would you recommend / stay clear of??

Cortaflex was recommended...is this good?

Many thanks

 

[rema]

Have you thought about Cider Vinegar??.

Apple Cider Vinegar
All the medicinal virtues of apples are preserved in the concentrated apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar given regularly to your horse has the following benefits:

Cleanses the digestive tract and balances the acid/alkaline ratio.
Maintains the correct water balance in the tissues preventing oedema and de-hydration.
Eases joint and muscle pain.
Helps to dissolve calcium deposits in kidneys and bladder, and around joints.
Oxygenates tissues.

 

[Allykat]

Oh I didn't know that about Cider vinegar

Will have a look into that.

 

[rema]

Tesco's have 500ml bottles for about 50p I know that because i got some tonight hehe.Might be worth trying to see if there are any improvements.I have used it for years.My friends pony had early signs of arthritis of the spine and the vets told her to use cider vinegar the pony hunted for many more seasons.

 

[Happytohack]

Premier Flex is excellent with high levels of glucosamine, chondrotin and MSM. There is also Premier Flex plus which has Devils Claw in it as well (natural bute). It is next day delivery.
http://www.equineanswers.co.uk/prodpage.asp?ProdID=16

 

[RachelB]

I used Cortaflex on my pony who had really clicky hocks, it used to scare her when they clicked to the point that she'd buck me off. Vet found nothing wrong with her. Put her on Cortaflex after a course of prescribed CortaVet and she was SO much better. I think most Equine America supplements are pretty good though, I have used a few of them!
I now have my mare on NAF 5* Superflex, she's only been on it a few days but I chose that one as I have heard some good reviews about it, it was cheaper than Cortaflex (about 46p a day compared to about 49p a day), and it doesn't just have glucosamine in like Cortaflex but also MSM and chondroitin sulphate (however the usefulness of CS for joints is debatable but I thought it couldn't do any harm even if it doesn't do any good!)
The other good one I've heard about is Gold Label Glucosamine + 5000, it's cheaper than both the others (31p a day) and has glucosamine and MSM in. They also do a Glucosamine Ultimate which is the 5000 supplement with added chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid (but that one is more expensive than regular Cortaflex at 53p a day). Oh and then there's Cortaflex HA with the hyaluronic acid in as well but I haven't heard that it's necessarily any better than regular Cortaflex and it's a LOT more expensive (about £1.77 a day!).
Can you tell I've done some homework on this??!

 

[mickey]

Extraflex HA - My horse is on this with excellent results. We have tried other joint supplements, but prefer this one

www.feedmark.com

 

[yahneddy]

Yep I can second Mickey on the Extraflex HA, brilliant stuff, and free next day delivery too. Have tried Cortaflex and cortaflex HA in the past and for my pony the Extraflex works just as well if not better.

 

[Chex]

According to the vet, the only ones that have actually done scientific tests and are proven to work are Newmarket Joint supplement, Cosequin and Synequin. The last 2 are rather expensive, but I've started using the first and it seems to be working and not so expensive.

 

[Walder]

have just had mine diagnosed with artristis and im using premier flex with the added devils claw and also cider vinegar 50p from morrisons x

 

[Allykat]

Thank you for all that info it really does sound like you have done some good homework there

We are going to go and have a look at them all to compare ingredients before deciding what to get.

Thank you for all the other recommendations, I think I have a lot of research to do as everyone I have spoken to has recommended something different

 

[Allykat]

Will be off to tesco later so will look out for the cider vinegar. At 50p you can't go wrong really

 

[MagicMelon]

I personally had no luck with cider vinegar or Cortaflex. NAF 5* Superflex is absolutely brilliant - one of my horses stopped being cold backed (very odd, dont ask how but after 3 years of always being cold backed he slowly stopped once on this!) and my veteran is much looser than he used to be, practically trots everywhere now!

 

[Allykat]

Thank you for that. I honestly didn't realise there were so many different supplements

I just get my head around it all then someone suggests looking at another one

Thanks to everyone for their input so far

 

[_daisy_]

I used Cortaflex for a few years on my old pony who had arthritic changes in her hocks. I didnt seem to work so the vet recommended Naf superflex vet which was on trial. Unfortunately the trial finished and as yet they havent brought it out onto the market yet, so she is on Mobifor. DUe to her further problems in her stifles she has to have the loading dose permanently but it seems to help her.
My other mare was prescribed Synequin - she was on it for about 2 years (at great expense - £135 per 1kg tub which lasted me about 5-8 weeks) but since putting her on Mobifor I havent noticed any dramtic changes - she seems as happy as before, but my pocket is a lot happier as it is £115 for about 8months worth!