Tell me about Cartrophen

[poiuytrewq]

I don’t know much about it and my internet is being so slow!
I had been planning with my vet to inject one of my horses hocks.
I’ve seen a bit on here about Cartrophen injections, I’d assumed these wee the same idea as medicating the joint but now I think not?
Are they better/not as good? How does it work? How often etc
Any personal experience would be fab. Thank you!

 

[poiuytrewq]

Also, as above the problem
Is off hind and the vet had said we would medicate that hock, since a few people have said I need to do both not just one. Is that correct?
My old horse had a fetlock injected but we only did the bad one, same at work.

 

[teddypops]

My old boy had hock arthritis and he had cartrophen injections. I did them myself as they just go into the muscle on the neck. They were expensive (around £200) and he had to have several in the course, but it made a massive difference. They don’t work on all horses and some will need a top up 3,6 or maybe 12 months later. I didn’t do a 2nd course as hock fused of its own accord and pony became sound.

 

[ForeverBroke_]

They made a good difference to my boy with ring bone in his front feet. They only thing they did however was make him horrifically needle shy. He was never great to begin with, but you could inject him fairly easily.. but this really topped him off and made vaccinating him for even his flu jabs downright dangerous.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Cartrophen is different to joint injections. It works very well for some horses, but not for others. The initial course is a series of 4 injections at weekly intervals.

The big bonus atm is that they are administered by IM jab, so if you can get your vets to dispense them (they are a POM), you could self inject your horse. Whereas, as you know, vets are not currently able to do joint injections.

 

[Wheels]

made no difference to my horses lameness issues but have heard success stories from others on here

 

[ihatework]

It’s given IM

Think of it more like an injectable joint supplement that is more likely to work than an oral.

The evidence is still a little sketchy, I know there are small animal vets moving away from it.

It’s used widely for sports horses and we are talking small margins, you don’t see the same sort of response as you do joint injections.

Generally you give a course of 4-6 weekly. People often top up monthly as well.

If you can get hold of pentosan (generic) it’s cheaper and more concentrated.

 

[flying_high]

IMO, If the horse is lame and it has been isolated to one hock, the most cost effective thing, if not going through insurance, is likely to be long acting steroid injection to both hocks. (Assuming horse isn't a laminitic risk, as steroids increase the risk). Cartrophen is more likely to be used as a preventative / or when horse has multiple arthritic joints and cannot inject all.

 

[poiuytrewq]

IMO, If the horse is lame and it has been isolated to one hock, the most cost effective thing, if not going through insurance, is likely to be long acting steroid injection to both hocks. (Assuming horse isn't a laminitic risk, as steroids increase the risk). Cartrophen is more likely to be used as a preventative / or when horse has multiple arthritic joints and cannot inject all.

He’s not lame as such. He’s sound in trot on any surface. He’s just a bit stiff, things like coming out of the stable in the morning, being shod etc and when he was schooling took a bit longer to warm up.
So it’s not desperate, it was a plan we had made to see how things went and inject if I felt he’d benefit.
I just hadn’t really realised the other options!

 

[poiuytrewq]

IMO, If the horse is lame and it has been isolated to one hock, the most cost effective thing, if not going through insurance, is likely to be long acting steroid injection to both hocks. (Assuming horse isn't a laminitic risk, as steroids increase the risk). Cartrophen is more likely to be used as a preventative / or when horse has multiple arthritic joints and cannot inject all.

Ok, probably regular steroid injections would be the right way forward in this case then.
Happy to wait, he’s not desperate and summer always helps such things.

 

[tiga71]

My old boy had cartrophen first when he had a foot problem due to bad farrier. As I remember the vet said it helped the joints and fluid around the joints. He had been on an oral joint supplement for dodgy stifle but she said to forget the supplement and just go with the injection. That was about 6 years ago. He has had them ever since. He is now 22 and is only in medium work (not at moment due to lockdown) and has one every 6 months or so. I can feel when he needs one as he gets a bit stiff behind. When he was in hard work with hunting and endurance he had them a bit more often.

I stupidly just got some from the vets last month and they were more expensive. But online they were about half the price if you can get a prescription from the vet. Very easy to give. I inject in his chest with no bother.

 

[Kernalgrain6]

Hi, my horse was a bit stiff behind and had x-rays of both hocks which were clear. He had a course of 4 injections which we did ourselves and I would say it definitely helped him.