MSM?

russian_charm

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So I've got one of your typical 11 year old, ex racehorses with too much wear and tear, still young and should be in his prime but gets v/stiff (esp. in the cold weather) and has a bit of arthritis in his hocks. A fabulous vet diagnosed him with the arthritis and had us put him on monthly doses of pentosan at the beginning of the year and since then then he's gotten so much better, but he still does get the stiffness and really hates the cold. A friend suggested putting him on MSM and that a lot of people swear by it.

So my questions: does MSM actually help with stiffness and arthritis? We've never really looked at oral joint supplements, not really been keen on shelling out $$$ if we're not completely convinced it will make a difference.
And would it be kinda redundant to give him an oral supplement if he is already getting the monthly pentosan injections?

He's a great horse and we love him like crazy, so if it would make a difference we'd be estatic:)

Just want some general opinions, thanks:)
 

Brownmare

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The short answer is no there is no proof that MSM does anything. I did find it had some anti-inflammatory effect when i used it though.

For arthritis I'd recommend micronised linseed and / or a good joint supplement of which my choice would be Aviform Suppleaze Gold, both of which I've had good results with.
 

wytsend

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Call Global Herbs & speak to Steve Ashdown (owner/Vet)......this company have many products available and I swear by them.
I have a 31 olf horse who should be dead but still behaving like a 4yr old. He had a very bad case of azoturia as a 11yr old which left him with a lot of muscle damage. Steven was incredibly helpful and put together a combination of herbs that worked almost instantly. Thomas went on the become a Grade A showjumper.......now because he is a little stiff these days, he is getting his herbs again.
 

cptrayes

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Have a friend with a horse whose dodgy leg is markedly less swollen after exercise when on MSM than when not on MSM. I can tell when she has let it run out.

Cheapest place to buy is is cyte essentials, online if you google them. I am nothing to do with them, this is a genuine recommendation.
 

muff747

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If the injections are working, why pay out for another product which should do the same?
If you feel he needs something else to help in conjunction with the injections then give it a try. If you see an improvement then it works, if there's no improvement either try a different supplement or wait and see if the injections continue to work as well.
My recommendation would be Equimins Flexijoint - only because I have a dodgy hip joint and take it myself. It definitely helped me so I put my old gelding on it when he started dragging his hind toes after coming out of his stable. He did stop dragging his toes so I carried on feeding it. A few years later he started dragging his toes again, but I found out the yard help didn't tell me his Flexijoint had run out a week ago. Put him back on it and he stopped dragging his toes.
Nowadays, I do feed MSM from Equimins as he has a ligament problem and I feel it does help - but sometimes you just have to have faith:rolleyes:
 

russian_charm

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the injections have helped a tonne with the hock (before it was diagnosed he had started getting really really tense in canter and reared a few times, that was when we knew something was wrong and he needed a vet). The injections (plus a bit of bute for the first week) put a stop to that all within a month.
He still does get the general stiffness though-rode him in the wet a few days ago and he was super cranky to saddle up the next day and very stiff to ride, so I was hoping the MSM would help with that
 

TarrSteps

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The short answer is no there is no proof that MSM does anything. I did find it had some anti-inflammatory effect when i used it though.

You are right, there is no definitive proof per se, but there have been some hopeful studies, both on people and horses.

". . .the more rigorous MSM trials provide positive but not definitive evidence that MSM is superior to placebo in the treatment of mild to moderate OA of the knee."http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18417375

A biased site so no doubt cherry picked but still accredited studies http://www.msmguide.com/msm-practitioner/researchpapers/

http://www.sciencesupplements.co.uk/joints.asp



I would say my personal experience is on the spectrum from neutral to positive, having used it on many horses now (it's quite a standard supplement for competition horses) over the past decade and a half at least. I have taken it on and off myself and can't say as I've found an enormous difference but then I'm not that creaky. Many people swear by it.

So there does seem to be more to it than many things we pump into horses. ;) Make sure if you go for it you give it a good trial, though. So many people try something for a couple of weeks but it can be months before you see a consistent improvement.
 
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