Pre emptive joint supplements?

[Jingleballs]

Does anyone give their horses joint supplements to help stave off future issues?

My lad is almost 10 now and although he has no problems I'd like to keep it that way and wondered if introducing a joint supplement now might be a good idea.

Does anyone do this and if so what do you use?

 

[tinap]

Yes I do on the daughters 13yr old showjumper. He's on Equimins Flexijoint liquid. He's usually very suspicious about suppliments but he loves this one Xx

 

[Mongoose11]

Cobalob once showed the very slightest stickiness in a hock and I whacked her onto www.riaflex.co.uk. So yes, I use it as a preventative joint supplement as she has no ongoing or diagnosed issues...

 

[mynutmeg]

Yes my 7 year old is one a joint supplement as a preventitive

 

[monikirk]

Yes - My friesian gelding is 9 has had kick on hock and occasional sticky stifles. So use Aviform Gold.

 

[Lego]

I give my 9 yr old a half dose of NAF Superflex to hopefully help keep any problems at bay.

I figure that it shouldn't do any harm, and if he got early arthritis etc, I would wish I had spent the money on a supplement now rather than pain for him and vet bills for me later! Also, he doesn't have that high a mileage for his age, but as far as I know, was hunted from 3 until 7/8ish...

 

[mashnut]

Using Maxiflex as a pre-emptive. Previous SI and some stiffness in the hind but nothing diagnosed. Seems to make life easier for her and she's not getting any younger.

 

[Jingleballs]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll maybe order some equimins stuff and start feeding it in a lower dose.

 

[Mongoose11]

Or..... You could feed Riaflex and get a higher dosage of the important active ingredients

 

[Silmarillion]

Mine's 16 and has apparently been on a supplement all his life. He flew through his vetting when we got him two months ago and the vet said he had great movement for a TB and no stiffness. I therefore feed him Cortaflex now I have him!

 

[Jingleballs]

Or..... You could feed Riaflex and get a higher dosage of the important active ingredients

Will have a look at those too although very £££ for a short course of this.

I do like the look of some of their canine products - my oldie is currently in the middle of treatment for arthritis and due to liver issues NSAIDS might not be the issue but some of riaflex products might be!

 

[Caol Ila]

Just to be controversial....

Vet friends of mine (not my horse's vet -- mates who have graduated from vet school and gotten jobs. Lots of vets in mountaineering clubs for some reason) say that there isn't really any evidence that preventative oral joint supplements prevent anything. They are pretty sure that they don't harm anything either, so they are of the view that if it makes the owners feel better, they're free to use them. If you are going to use it, the ones with the most likelihood of maybe working are the ones with both glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate -- so the expensive ones. However, they said that if you're on the skint side, you won't be dooming your horse to arthritis if you don't do it because of the lack of evidence that the compounds in the supplement, if given orally, ever reach sufficient levels to make a significant difference.

 

[Queenbee]

Does anyone give their horses joint supplements to help stave off future issues?

My lad is almost 10 now and although he has no problems I'd like to keep it that way and wondered if introducing a joint supplement now might be a good idea.

Does anyone do this and if so what do you use?

I was thinking something similar last night, although my query was more like:
If you give a supplement early on, does it become less effective when the time comes? If we supplement when there is no need, what is there to supplement with when we actually need it?

 

[Moomin1]

Absolute waste of money.

 

[tiga71]

My 15 year old cob is on Riaflex and has been since he had a slight problem with his stifle. Fixed now but it is likely to become an issue for him later on so have him on it as prevention.