He was very stiff last summer from an old injury and apparently alot of polo ponies get put on this stuff as it's cheaper than other formulas but is good for old injuries etc......
I use FLEX GLM by http://www.nupafeed-uk.co.uk/
its absolutly brillaint- my horse has been on it for 4 months and its excellent
Would highly recommend!!!
And their customer service is excellent- I always get my product the next day after ordering!
Would have to say Corta Flex is the best, but the NAF Joint supplement is quite good if there are no real problems at the moment. Maybe best to safe the Corta Flex for the first signs of stiffness
NAF Superflex. Absolutely fabulous. I tried Cortaflex and it didnt do anything for one of mine. But I use Superflex on my oldies (who now gallop round the field!) and on one who I didnt think was even stiff, he is now very agile! Will never take mine off it.
I used cortaflex for years - was even paying out for the liquid stuff with HA added. Used this for horse which has had problems with a spavin. Not sure if it really helped. Made a change to Extraflex HA (by feedmark) I am quite sure this has made a big difference to stride length and hock mobility. Really pleased with it. They quite often have good offers on and deliver the next day. I wont be going back or moving onto anything else. BTW I think the addition of HA (hyaluronic acid) has really helped - They never used to put this in joint supps.
A good one which isn't widely available but have a friend who is now a UK distributor is called BioSynov
Where we live it is very hilly and often shows up stiffness in horses much quicker than in flat areas as they are reluctant to go down hills at normal speed etc. Having fed this to 2 older competition horses the difference has been amazing (both formerly on Cortaflex) They are really striding out, full of life again and unstoppable out hunting whereas before both were sort of lame in all 4 legs feeling due to stiffness. Dressage trainer has also noticed such a difference in one that shes started feeding it to all her horses!
First heard about it through an event rider Dag Albert who is Swedish and feeds all his horses on it. He swears by it and recommended it to Andrew Hoy who had something that was just feeling his feet/joints a bit running on the harder ground and never being quite right/happy when running. He was so impressed that his whole yard is now on it and it sort of goes on from there.
Basically glucosamine which is in all joint supplements prevents further damage being done so really is only effective at maintaining what youve got or if fed from a v young age reducing the incidence of joint damage. For any horse that has worked be it hard competition or hacking/hunting and now suffering the consequences or is out there working there will be wear and tear to the joints and ideally you want to improve that not just maintain whats already done a la simply glucosamine.
This is where BioSynov is different, unlike the Cortaflex/glucosamine supplements which are meant to be fed as a preventative, this also improves the joints. It contains mild anti-inflammatory ingredients, a large number of antioxidants to aid healing and also something that increases natural joint lubrication. It basically treats what damage is there hopefully improving it and then prevents further damage too .
Apparently effects are noticible within 10 days and after the first box (30 days) looking back you can usually see the dramatic improvement.
I can pass on details of the supplier over here for anyone interested. It comes ready measured in daily sachets and a 30 day supply is £32.95 + P&P and then there is a discount depending on how many months supply you buy at once. Its a bright yellow powder due to the tumeric and ginger in it so you have to disguise it well in a feed but certainly a good investment!
Cairo has seen a huge difference since I have fed him instant linseed - much more supple and far more forward going to ride - have actually stopped the cortaflex for the moment to see if it makes a difference.