Joint Supplements - your experiences please.

JustKickOn

JustKickOn

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Good afternoon HHO. Apologies if this turns out to be quite lengthy, but as you may understand, feeding is a complex part of our horses, so it's important to get it right, and hearing other experiences helps (IMO).

NB: I am aware of the debate as to whether joint supplements fed to the horse actually have a real effect to the joints etc, and have also looked into joint injections and such like.

So here goes...

I am looking into joint supplements, and having looked at about 20 different ones, there has been a lot to think about! I have been advised to look into a joint supplement that contain Hyaluronic Acid (HA) (by an equine bio-mechanical professional in conjunction with vets), that is the advise that has been followed.

Having done some research, the majority of the supplements contain glucosamine and MSM, both of which complement each other along side HA. Additionally, Chondroitin Sulphate is also in a lot of them, as in my understanding it is part of the structural composition of cartilage.
Rosehips and Green Lipped Mussel were mentioned too, and looking into some studies around these two things, they have both proven to be quite beneficial when incorporated with other joint aiding supplements.

There are a few that seem to be well known and highly rated, and some not so mainstream, so it would be useful to hear the opinions and experiences of those who have used any of the following products.

The ones that seem to be good contenders are...

- Blue Chip JointRLF liquid.

- NAF SuperFlex powder or liquid.

- Equine America Cortaflex HA.

- Feedmark ExtraFlex HA with Rosehips.

- Aviform Suppleaze Gold.

- Maxavita MaxaFlex.
(This one contains green lipped mussel plus omega-3's & chondroitin sulphate, glucosamine, MSM, HA and Manganese. Really like the look of this one)

- Nupafeed Flex GLM

Have also looked at...
-PremierFlex HA.
-Mobifor HA.
-Feedmark ExtraFlex.
-Feedmark Flexamine.
-CortaVet HA Equine Solution.
-Riaform Complete HA.
-Vetvits EquiFlex.
-Litovet.

If anyone has any experiences with these, I would be very grateful to hear how your horse got on with them, how long it took to see any results from them, any changes you had to make to your feeds eg. feeding in conjunction to Blue Chip dynamic, or if it showed no effect at all and how you went about following this up?

Thank you for reading, and I would really appreciate your thoughts!
Do feel free to PM me if you would prefer.
Lizzie :)
 
I have never found any joint supplements to work either for horses or for me. I have tried plenty and done so for up to six months at a time. No change at all. I think they are a waste of money.
 
*Spider* said:
Glad you have put up a thread about this as I was going to do so! I'd like to know the cheapest place to get the best joint supplement! Containing glucosamine and msm :-)
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Spider, nearly all the ones I have looked at contain these two things. I tried to look at the mg per g content in them, but after a while my brain started to go all fuzzy!! :rolleyes: I do know the Blue Chip Joint RLF has been very highly recommended, but it is £45 for 1 litre which according to their site will last 40 days... None of them are particularly cheap I'm afraid. :(

Wagtail said:
I have never found any joint supplements to work either for horses or for me. I have tried plenty and done so for up to six months at a time. No change at all. I think they are a waste of money.
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Wagtail, may I ask which ones you tried, and what the joint issue with your horse was??
 
My horse is on Fortius' JointFX. His arthritis has continued to get worse since going on it but of course I don't know what it would have been like if he hadn't been on it. He's been on it for 3 years... he is still working and happy but can't do things to the level he was 3 years ago (he's 17 now). Without the joint supplement maybe he would have deteriorated within a year and needed retiring, or maybe he'd have been exactly the same and ended up at the same place he is now. I'll never know because he hasn't been *off* the supplement since I started him on it.

I did query with my vet what good a joint supp can be doing when the horse's arthritis has continued to worsen. He basically said the horse could have ended up far worse without it... but he also told me to retire him to just hacking 3 yrs ago and the horse is still hunting.

Basically a long winded way of saying my horse has a supp and I've no idea if it actually works or not but I daren't take him off it!!
 
Frank started on suppleaze gold erm about 18 months ish ago I think age 17.5 years ;). Was starting to feel stiff behind and struggling to maintain right lead canter on a straight line despite seeing chiro. Got much better, the canter issue resolved and certainly needed to see chiro less when on it while feeling much freer. fast forward to sep/oct 2011 starting to feel maybe not quite right again, lacking in medium trot etc but sound, lame in nov, diagnosis of arthritis in coffin joint which has been much improved by a steroid/HA injection. So it didn't stop that happening but overall I think it did help him as much as one can non-scientifically tell, prior to lameness was dressageing/hunter trialling/cubbing etc.
 
RiderLizzie said:
Wagtail, may I ask which ones you tried, and what the joint issue with your horse was??
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Yes, I am talking about my own and my liveries horses. I have a livery who used cortaflex for over a year and the horse was still practically crippled. He arrived on my yard and even though he was eighteen, I realised that it was his saddle causing most of his problems. He got a new saddle and immediately began schooling loads better. We kept him on the cortaflex for a few months until I started reading up on animal protiens being used in horse joint supplements. I discussed this with my livery and she decided to take him off it. He continued to improve with his schooling for the next year without any supplements. Another livery tried the vegetarian glucosamine for hock arthritis in her horse. She was on it for 8 months and there was absolutely no improvement and so came off it. Another horse has been on devils claw (no bute) for over three months, again there is no improvement.

I have tried glucosamine, devil's claw, msm, and cod liver oil. Each of these for at least six months and sometimes in combination for my sacroilliac dysfunction. None of them has made any difference. A year ago I gave up with the supplements, and actually, I feel pretty good at the moment. Most days I am totally pain free, fingers crossed.
 
I use equine americas Glucosamine 10,000 plus MSM & ASU £18 lasts 3 months helped my horse recover from ligament injury also have a stable lick Horselyx mobility available to him every night. It seems to help him I have noticed he is less stiff than he used to be.
 
Mine are on Litovet and I can really see and feel the difference, the first time that anything has actually done what it says it will do. I started them on it when I found out that it was the only one that has actually been properly tested on horses. The human version is pretty good too :)
 
I had joint effects recommended to me by my physio and she only ever recommends things that have proven scientific papers behind them. I put him on that about 6 months ago and he is going very well. His joints are very stiff still when it's really cold but u definately saw an improvement after the loading period. Hope that helps. I think you just have to find something that works for your horse as some that work on some horses don't always work on others x
 
My 17 yr old is on both litovet and maxaflex. They contain different things, and i understand the vitamin c in the litovet will help with absorb some of the goodies in the maxaflex.

My horse was on flexability for around 5 years (preventative) before changing last summer.
I changed things around after the press coverage regarding glucosamine. Decided that the green lipped mussle and rosehip extract had more credibility.

Horse's performance has taken a big jump in the last few months, but instructor thinks my riding has gone up a level (pilates?). So can not be certain the supplements are key.
 
I've used Suppleaze Gold by Aviform for years. It kept my old boy going after he got very stiff, probably longer than he would have done without it, but I've been using it on my mare for about a year and no difference whatsoever. I was discussing this with my vet last week after yet a further lameness investigation. He said that only one was actually believed to work after it was trialled by some vets somewhere - I can't remember the name of it, so he's going to get me some info on it for when I go back on Wednesday. Will let you know what it is when I find out.
 
I used to use Newmarket joint supplement, it worked well at first but after a couple of years it wasn't enough. Now use Cosequin, and he's much better. I notice a big difference if I run out. I tried maxavita but it didn't help at all. I've tried various cheaper shop bought ones but to no avail. My old boy is 30.
 
If horses were supposed to eat crushed up shell fish they would be able to catch them themselves after years of feeding them I have ditched them and gone over to feeding micronised linseed for its high levels of omega 3 and 6 .
 
All very interesting. Thank you.
Vet is supposed to be coming out to another horse at the yard tomorrow, so may rack their brains to see what they say!

Thanks again food (or rather supplements) for thought!
 
naf superflex works for my welsh cob - a few years ago he was starting to get stiff and after a few weeks of being on it he was fine - reduced the dose for a while and he eventually got worse again - upped it and he is fine again. so seems to work but is isn't cheap.
 
I have a rising 20 yo. He has had spavins and been treated with tildren in the past and seemed to of recovered well. Started him on Premier flex in September. Mid October there suddenly was an excellent change. More forward going, bigger strides, happier about jumping. I'm thrilled with it and he is on it for life now.
 
I've found Cortaflex to be amazing. My horse has always been quite stiff (had quite a tough life before coming to me & his joints aren't the best due to this) , it always took forever to warm him up & he was quite reluctant to move forward/pick his feet up properly, found it hard to stretch before exercise, we tried him on the normal cortaflex and saw a tiny improvement but nothing huge - spoke to them and they suggested the HA version as it was more "fix" than "prevent" in his case - we put him on it and quickly saw a big improvement. After he'd been on it just a week I remember taking him out for a hack and thinking "god, he's moving well!" but wasn't sure whether it was coincidence or not - another week later and he was leaping around the field and running with his friends and all signs of any stiffness have vanished. Both the vet and farrier noticed a difference in him & asked what had changed. Have been very, very impressed with it as it has worked absolute wonders for him and completely changed him, he's been a lot happier since he's been on it - never thought I'd see him prancing about! I was doubtful before we got it as to how successful it would be but it definitely worked for him, he's been on it for about a year and a half now.
I have literally just changed him from Cortaflex HA to NAF Superflex (last few days) simply because alongside his other medication the cortaflex is very expensive to keep up with - a lot of people recommended me superflex and use it instead of cortaflex so I have my fingers crossed it will keep working - if not, he'll be back on his normal stuff - just wish it was cheaper!
 
I used Cortaflex for many years with good results, until my boy suddenly developed quite severe athritis. After hock injections etc and a session on the RVC's own joint supplement (recommended by an RVC vet so I wasn't sure how unbias that was) he's now been on NAF Superflex for over a year and it works really well for him, far better than the Cortaflex did.
 
I mix my own for my 18yo cob who was diagnosed with a spavin last year after 6 weeks of intermittent lameness.

Depending on the work we are doing and how he feels to ride I can tailor it on a week by week basis.

It is a mix of 1:1 glucosamine and MSM, with boswellia, tumeric, ginger and rosehips.

It can be a bit fiddley, and my kitchen looks a bit like an apothecary, but I find that this suits us very well, and works out to be approximately £1.80 per day.
 
I used Cortaflex HA liquid for my pony for a long time but found it only had an effect when fed at the full amount - if I reduced it to the maintenance level it was ineffectual and therefore proved extremely expensive. By contrast I have found Equimins Flexijoint extremely effective at a fraction of the cost.
 
IMO there is little point jumping the gun and trying to find a particular supplement to use until you know what condition or part of the joint you are addressing.

Far too many people say 'my horse is a bit stiff therefore I need a joint supplement'. Do these people have xray vision, can they see the joint capsule or the joint sheath or the bone or the catrilages or the ligaments or the tendons inside their horses??

Until the vet says 'you have arthritis or you have a contracted tendon' or whatever then cherry picking ingredients seems a bit financialy wasteful!
 
I suppose the thing is that these things aren't always that easy to diagnose spaniel, until the problem gets to a certain point.

My boy just wasn't quite right maybe for a while before hand, his current issue was only diagnosed after he was lame enough to nerve block (no changes on x-ray) and it seemed appropriate to try giving him some support in his old age in the meantime as I suspect he might have some arthritis in other areas too by now.
 
My mare had cartilage issues in her elbows as a youngster, so I started feeding Superflex. It really seemed to help her, and if I ran out at any point (naughty mummy!) she would always go a little unlevel very quickly. After a few years, when she had stopped growing, I took her off it and she was fine.
When doing my massage diploma I had to do a detailed project into joint supplements, and found that it was the supplements that had the smaller molecules of HA, glucosamine etc in that generally had the better effect. It is believed that the smaller molecules have a much better uptake in the joints. Unfortunately the supplements with the smaller molecules tend to be the most expensive (typical!) with Cortaflex and Vetvits coming out the best.
 
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