Supplements that actually work for Chronic Arthritis help

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hayg1984

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My 25 yo mare has chronic arthritis and I am trying to find a supplement that actually works.

She has arthritis in one of her knees if that helps?

Any ideas?!

Many thanks
 
Someone much btr qualified will hopefully come along but what about devils claw? We got done for our old boy who had arthritis in his hocks but sadly he died of unrelated cause 1 week after we gave him it
 
I have a cob who has coffin joint arthritis. My vet said I would be wasting my money on supplements and she is on 1 bute a day which means she is sound enough for general hacking. She is about 18 and will die of old age before the bute causes any harm and she is a lot happier on it. At 25 I would just want her to be pain free and happy.
 
Different supplements work for different horses tbh, what works for one can be completely ineffective for another, so it's a bit trial-and-error, which can be expensive when it can take 2-3 months to get genuine benefit.

I used Super Codlivine Supplejoint which was very effective for one horse of mine and slightly improved another one. No Bute proved very effective on two as well, but I think that masks pain rather than providing any joint support.

Tbh I've found maximum turnout and sensible management to be the best for controlling arthritis symptoms, keep 'em moving and you keep 'em comfortable. If it gets too bad, real Bute would be my preferred way to go, but when you get the vet in for that they can sometimes offer other treatment alternatives.
 
I was about to say tumeric, possibly tumeric and danilion together. However I am no expert on this. I am however about to start my dog on tumeric.
 
Magnetic sparrow gives sound abuse, anything you do use is going to need time to take effect, and as said what works for one won't for another. I've found personally vetvits equiflex and cortisone jab once a year works for my horse but then her condition isn't chronic. I'd speak to your vet possibly look into adequan? Cortisone jabs, as well as a supplement, also as said by magnetic sparrow try to keep her out as much as possible, don't place her feed all in one place, therefore encouraging movement.
 
I used Devils Claw very successfully with my 18yr old dressage horse, he definitely improved after having been on it for about a month. I would definitely recommend it.
 
hayg1984 said:
My 25 yo mare has chronic arthritis and I am trying to find a supplement that actually works.

She has arthritis in one of her knees if that helps?

Any ideas?!

Many thanks
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Well, I'm not a horse but I find that a daily dose of cod liver oil helps my arthritic hip. Codlivine do a joint supplement for horses which is very reasonably priced and contains CLO. Might be worth a try.
 
Cider vinegar is supposed to be very good for arthritis in both animals and humans. It made a huge difference to a previous horse of mine who developed arthritis at an early age. My mother also takes it in tablet form and the cider vinegar broke down the knobbly arthritic lumps on her finger joints and made a huge difference to her mobility. As I understand it the cider vinegar breaks down the build up of acid in the arthritic joints and therefore reduces pain. I'm not sure if this is scientifically proven but my mother definitely notices an increase in joint pain if she forgets to take the cider vinegar.
 
I've noticed some improvement with maxavita maxaflex, green lipped mussels are meant to help with arthritis.

His bioflow boots also help him out on hacks :)
 
I have a very arthritic old hunter and Equine Answers Premierflex plus (which contains devil's claw) works wonders for her. I really did see a huge difference.
 
Hi my boy just had a steroid injection and is on cod liver oil and equine america glucosamine with msm and asu, also magnetic hock boots which all seem to be doing the trick :)
 
Unfortunately steroid injections don't seem to be working for my 9 yr old, just don't want you to think that they always work for every horse.
I have her on Maxavita Maxaflex and think it is helping. I also use magnetic boots and as much turn out as poss. We are hacking but not sure if she will return to schooling yet.
 
Ok I'll give u a list of what I use. Have a horse with chronic arthritis that is no longer ridden on 2 danilon a day. ( he's off this at the min due to a reaction to it)
So he gets not all in one feed I might add
Botswelia
No bute
Turmeric
Linseed
Cod liver oil
Apple cider vinegar
High strength glucosamine supplement

It's taken me a while to find out how much of each he needs. He's doing surprisingly well considering he's on no anti inflam. Good luck I'm afraid it's just trial n error. Definitely get them on a glucosamine supplement if ur not already. X
 
If you have some spare time, spend a few hours going through the archives of www.Thehorse.com. This is a US publication that has a huge collection of items:written, audio and video on horse care- veterinary and management.

You do have to register, but it is free. I've learnt a huge amount, and the mangement of my horse is vastly different than if I had just looked at UK magazines.
 
My old mare has a badly arthritic knee and she's on a bute a day.

Over the years I've tried various supplements and the one I'm using at the moment is Newmarket Joint Supplement - it has the most concentrated amount of glucosamine out of all of the supplements on the market - my vet recommended it to me.

With arthritis it's not just about supplements though and I have found it helps to have turnout everyday and keep their legs warm overnight while stabled with thermatex leg wraps or bioflow boots.
 
jaye1780 said:
Hi my boy just had a steroid injection and is on cod liver oil and equine america glucosamine with msm and asu, also magnetic hock boots which all seem to be doing the trick :)
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Right - I think my Arithritic problems are well known on here but in case anyone's missed it - I developed it in the late '80's and it's progressed to the stage where many of my joints now don't have any sinovium covering the bone ends at all - so they grind together! Knees, elbows wrists etc., also show severe swelling and movement restriction; however; that said - with will power, up to 8 x 500mg paracetamol with 30mg codiene, difenac and methotrexate - I can not only stand up but do a passable day's work fencing or forestry - though I do fall over rather comically every now and then!

Corticosteroid works on immediate injuries ( say after one of the above falls) but it's only what your body does anyway so quickly fades - glucosamine made me feel as sick as a dog and sat me on the loo for the following day so I wouldn't say that it didn't do anything! Just nothing good.

I've tested every food fad you can think of in as much of a proper test as I can - and NOTHING works. My elder daughter ( who is a sucker for just about every psuedo-therapy invented ) gave me an extremely expensive magnet bracelet thingey ( despite me having an arc welder with a magnet the size of a small planet ) which didn't work either but did manage to injure me!

So as far as I'm concerned - the drugs almost work but the other stuff most certainly doesn't but might send you to the poorhouse.
 
Turmeric, linseed meal and danilon have kept my arthritic cob nearly 100% sound *touch wood* this year. I have just upped the amount of pain killers he gets in this current snow/cold snap as he stays in overnight.

There are millions of joint supplements available and pretty much the majority will be no good as they have to be certain size molecules for them to be digested and absorbed. If your going to experiment, simply start with the cheapest and work your way up!
 
wiglet said:
My old mare has a badly arthritic knee and she's on a bute a day.

Over the years I've tried various supplements and the one I'm using at the moment is Newmarket Joint Supplement - it has the most concentrated amount of glucosamine out of all of the supplements on the market - my vet recommended it to me.

With arthritis it's not just about supplements though and I have found it helps to have turnout everyday and keep their legs warm overnight while stabled with thermatex leg wraps or bioflow boots.
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Excellent advice. It isn't just an old wives' tale that cold, damp weather makes arthritis pain worse.
 
I found Thunderbrook base mix made a huge difference to my 36 year old, not only did it give him a glossy seal like coat, it put a bounce back in his step.

Agree with the keeping warm, makes a huge difference.

That is a good site MTJ :)
 
Mine is on Thunderbrook base mix, with added Boswellia. I found it took weeks to build up, but now in the worst of weather,he is feeling good.
Loads of turnout is essential too.
 
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