Joint Supps - The Good, The Bad, and the Financially Crippling!

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OK, am looking into starting my 20yo TBx mare on a joint supplement.
She is feeling quite pottery on tarmac/concrete at the beginning of a ride, even after being walked around in hand in the arena prior to tacking up, which makes me think it is concussion/joint problems rather than muscular stiffness.

Am a bit overwhelmed at the amount of joint supps there are out there, alot with quite 'woolly' claims on them which make me wary.

Are any of you using joint supps, which would you recommend, and which have you tried without success?

All opinions welcome!
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I use Suppleaze Gold on our 20yr old. Before we started on it he was having bute every other day - now he is not having any bute and he is still sound and working normally. Not too pricey either when you take advantage of their 3 for 2 offer.
 
You need at least 10 grams of glucosamine hydrochloride (not sulphate-thats not as well absorbed) per day for a 500kg horse. Any less and youre wasting your money as you are not feeding enough. Glucosamine HCL in combination with chondroitin sulphate works better than glucosamine on its own.
Few supplements have sufficient glucosamine in them, read the labels carefully. I know Arthriaid by Nutriscience does, ive fed it to my old boy for years and havnt found another product with a similar specification
 
For a good spec glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM suppliment IMO the 3 for 2 offer by Aviform Suppleaze Gold is the best on the market at the moment.

Otherwise I would go for cortavet, you can get 4 months supply for about £80 on internet and it is far superior to cortaflex
 
When I started feed linseed to Cairo, I noticed a big improvement in his overall stiffness. I have also had good results with cortaflex.

Years ago with my elderly TB - all these joints supplements were not around, she had a bute every other day - stopped her being pottery - maybe this is something you could discuss with your vet, keep her comfortable and working which will help with stiffening up.
 
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Equine America Glucosamine 10000 plus MSM for £14.99 a tub, which lasts about a month
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Ditto that entirely!

I've found it to be just as good as E.A Cortaflex but not as financially crippling!
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I started one of my boys who is only just 11 on Riaflex and have not looked back. You buy it direct at £42 a tub approx 30 days supply. It has the high glucosamine hydrochloride and chondratine (sp) hence the price but I can only praise the results so far. Hes been looked at and scanned etc by vets and physios but this horsey has been jumped quite frankly to death which has buggered him and he now has arthritis etc, probably why we found him where we did! Anyway he is now jumping again but purely for fun and is a dressage diva only at novice atm but most importantly pain free.
 
The only one that I've used (and I've tried most of them) that's had any noticeable affect is Cosequin but it is expensive at £99 a tub, which lasts me a month. I haven't tried the Riaflex though and keep hearing good things about it so might give that a go next time.

All the others I've tried - Superflex, Movefree, Cortaflex etc etc - made zero difference to my lad. He's 21 this year and did high level endurance racing for over ten years.
 
There is some very useful info on the Riaflex website about joint compounds in general. Also free advice from qualified therapist which my friend found extremely useful. tried a lot of others without success. Riaflex has worked wonders on her 14 yr old SJ. www.riaflex-equine.co.uk I think there is a sale at the moment as well
 
When I spoke to my vet about this a couple of years ago I was told the only 3 he'd reccomend would be Synequin, Cosequin and Newmarket joint supplement as these were the only 3 that had scientific proof that they worked. I use Newmarket (it was the cheapest of the 3) its done wonders for my old boy. But what works for one doesn't work for another, all about trial and error.
 
Superflex, for me and the neds!! I know it works really well on me as i have a knee prob and its so much better since ive been taknig Superflex (human type dont worry!)

And the farrier says he has noticed a big difference with my old advanced med horse who is starting to get spavins in his hocks, he can lift and flex the legs so much better.

The youngster (4 yr old Han ) is on it too, hes so big and gangly that i think prevention is better than cure.
Superflex is a lot cheaper than lots of othe r products, and i looked at the label, to check that it wasnt full of fillers such as alfalfa and glucose(sugar) and all round it was the best on offer for me.
 
Thanks so much to all of you - I am seriously baffled now though!!
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Will do some more research into all those suggested, bearing teddyt's guidelines in mind.

She has had a hard time of it over the years, she is an ex polo/polocrosse pony with umpteen war wounds to show for it. I'm trying my best to get her out to do a bit everyday, as I think daily, low level work will be better to stop her seizing up than only hacking 3 times a week. She is turned out for as long as possible through the daylight hours and has a 16x12 stable with rubber matting as well as a bed, so aside from the supplement I can't think of much else I can do for her in terms of management. When it is really cold/draughty she wears stable wraps to keep those creaky ol' legs warm.

Theresa - I will try the joint supplement first before going down the bute route as she is only a little bit stilted in her movement at the moment, and only for the first 7-10mins of a ride. She is still forward going and enjoying herself, it is just that she is seeming restricted in her stride length. I was hoping a joint supplement would nourish her joints enough to make her more comfortable, but if I don't see much for a difference then I will talk to my vet about bute/other treatment.
TBH, I'm probably being a bit precious about her, but I owe her so much. She gets treated like a princess, and deserves every second of it!
 
Hi M

I have had the CB on superflex since I bought him (age 4) and the anglo was started on it about a year ago after his injury. It has made a huge difference to the CB but not the Anglo so I think it is a case of trial and error. I have also tried the straight glucosamine and cortaflex and neither made a difference so will try the NJS next on the anglo (too scared to take the CB off superflex).

I also used to give them apple cider vinegar (with the cobwebs) which is also good for joints, and oil. Maybe you can try either of these two first before trying any number of the joint supplements? I stopped feeding these as being on livery I could not guarantee that they would always get them so I couldnt be sure that they had any effect.

Also, I tried pernamax (soooo expensive) and it didnt make any difference at all to either of mine, and smelt really bad. I had to crush the tablets and mix with speedibeet as they refused to eat them.
 
Hope all turns out well for her and the bute can wait, I started Breeze on it at 24, she too was a battle scarred ex hunter.

I did use the MSM and linseed on Cairo with good results, but also what really helped him, (he developed low ringbone) was the magnetic straps he wore all the time - you can get them from http://www.magnetic.uk.com. It could be worth a go, once they are used to them, you leave them on and just check under them at regular intervals.

Cairo wore his for several years until he died and for him they made a huge difference. When he had them off when he went for cancer surgery, he went pottery. Once back on, he went back to being 1/10 - 2 /10 unsound. Before he had them he was on 4 bute a day and could hardly walk.

He stayed off bute and was able to hack and do small jumps with them on, until the last six months of his life when he had problems with his hind leg.

They might not work, but you can buy one leg strap for £25 which is not too expensive - Cairo ended up with all legs wearing them eventually.
 
I use a mixture: either ArthriAid HA or Mobifor HA, the Mobifor is higher spec but more expensive. I also feed Devil's Claw, and I use Holland and Barratt Green Lipped Mussel capsules as well.

The magnetic straps are fabulous, I swear by them now.

Oh, and according to my vet, the very best joint supplement is Equistro Flexadin, its better than Synequin or Cosequin in her opinion. I had this for a while on insurance but decided its too pricey to buy myself.
 
In use Feedmark Extraflex HA on one, and it really makes a diff. The ones get plain D & H Devils Claw. BTW my 26yrs old didnt get on with DC at all, upset her stomach quite badly.
 
Theresa - I bought the straps before on your recommendation for a mare that was suffering from DJD of the coffin joints, bone spavins, and tenosynovitis with annular ligament constriction. They helped her alot, but unfortunately (but not surprisingly) she had to be PTS in the end. I then donated the straps to my 6yo when she damaged a tendon in a hind leg, and she promptly went out in the field and lost them, never to be seen again
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I will perhaps get some more though, so that Tills can wear them all day (the stable wraps she wears sometimes are magnetic - perhaps she should wear them every night?!). I have magnetic brushing boots that she could wear out in the day at the moment, come to think of it, so I will do that for the time being and get her the straps when the weather gets warmer.
I can't believe I'd forgotten so much about the magnets - she used to have them all the time until I bred from her, but had to stop using them during pregnancy, and subsequently forgot all about them!
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CBA - What sort of oil? She is having generous sloshings of veg oil in her feeds already, but that was added more for calories than anything else. She won't eat cider vinegar unfortunately (hates anything vaguely to do with apples), and won't touch anything with devils claw either
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Having started to look around the joint supps mentioned above, the Riaflex is looking really good, perhaps worth a try for you boys?
 
Linseed oil is best for joints, not everyday but 3x week. instead of the veg oil. Also a herb called boswellia is great for arthritis, its anti-inflammatory and kinder on the stomach than devils claw if needed long term. http://www.rockenhayne.com/page6.html
Forgot to say earlier arthriaid is £37 and at the proper dose will last 2 months. It also contains MSM, vitamin C and HA
 
i have used quite a few of the cheaper products and found;
NAF Superflex did nothing
Aviform did nothing
Riaflex worked really well on my horse and my dog! horse didn't have any conditions but i felt he was much freer in his movement and jump when on Riaflex
(we had him on the expensive one to start and then moved onto 50:50 and didn't notice a difference).
 
I've been using Riaflex complete for the past year and can really recommend it. Made a marked difference. Not too badly priced at £42 per tub. Their website is very informative and well worth a look.
 
Fantastic everyone, thank you for your input
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Re. the linseed - should I feed the oil or is it OK just to feed the actual linseed? (am thinking the instant stuff from Charnwood Milling)

teddy - (aka fountain-of-all-knowledge - you have been so helpful to me lately, thank you!) That link you gave me was fantastic, really interesting reading.

Halfstep - what sort of quantities of the green lipped mussel capsules are you feeding?
 
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Halfstep - what sort of quantities of the green lipped mussel capsules are you feeding?

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I feed four or five a day; I just pull them open and empty the contents into the feed. Horse doesn't seem to mind the slightly fishy taste.
 
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