Temporomandibular joint (TMJs)

[Vintagehacker]

My ageing little companion pony has been diagnosed with wear of the (TMJs) and have been given Bozmerix a herbal inflammatory supplement. He won’t eat it in his feed which is a small amount of Speedy Mash, and which he normally loves. I am currently having to try to dilute this large sachet of powder and syringe it down him. Its very messy, and half a sachet (given twice a day) makes a full big syring, which I have to do slowly to give him a chance to swallow comfortably. Does anyone have any suggestions how to tempt him to eat it? How do other people manage this conditio?

 

[be positive]

It is a very new product so unlikely many people are yet using it so apart from doing as you are and syringing it in it may be tricky to get it into him if he really doesn't like the taste, you could try various tasty additions but risk wasting a lot of the sachets if he leaves it each time.
I would not be keen to syringe twice a day every day so would probably look to use a more palatable option or just go straight onto bute which should do the job and most will take in one form or other and use a joint supplement to cover all bases, my old boy is on a boswellia based supplement which he loves and is really helping him.

 

[Vintagehacker]

Thank you for your response. Like you say, I have tried a couple of taste disguises, but the powder then goes to waste. He was on chanazone (Bute) which was much easier to dissolve and easier to syringe, but obviously long term use has its own issues. Could I ask which Boswellia based supplement you are using? Thanks

 

[ycbm]

Use liquid devils claw instead?

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[be positive]

As he is older I would be less concerned about the long term effects of bute and more about his comfort now, the supplement I am using is the Equine America Buteless high strength which I chose rather than a devils claw based one because it I wanted to try one based on boswellia, the fact he is very happy eating it is a bonus and he is moving much more freely than he did before going on it, he is just a slightly stiff 29 year old with no known issues.

 

[SEL]

Will he eat Boswellia on its own? I've just looked at the ingredients and it is mainly boswellia plus curcumin - the active ingredient in turmeric. You could try feeding them both as separate supplements and see if he prefers that.

Although my arthritic draft is on a sachet of bute a day. His joints will get him before the side effects of the bute

 

[Vintagehacker]

Thank you for that. You’re probably right about the Bute, and it is so much easier to syringe that....he won’t eat a feed with it in. I am going to give the American Equine buteless high strength a go, failing that it’s back to Bute.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Put some peppermint essence in the syringe he will really want to eat it then, mine love a syringe they will eat anything in it mixed with the peppermint, and the good thing is it doesn't contain any sugar.

 

[hihosilver]

Try adding mint to his feed. It comes in bags and is cheap. I had the most success with my exceptionally fussy horse when I had to feed him steroid tablets and milk thistle. The mint is strong and it worked!