What age to start joint supplement?

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mudmonkey17

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What age would you start feeding a joint supplement?

My 19yr old has been on one for years for his arthritic joints.

Just got a 3yr old and wondered do you give a supplement as a prevention or wait until signs of joint wear and tear?
 
Generally speaking, there is no reason not to start now if you intend to start work soon. I have been feeding my yearling linseed and ACV, good for growing joints. MSM is the best thing you can give for a youngster about to start work but don't skimp on calcium!
 
For me I feed it Based on the horses value and how likely I think they might have problems so out of 5, 3 are on cortaflex ha. They are 2,6 and 8 but all good horses but the 2 and 8 year old are 17hhs and will show jump so I'm being careful.
 
Sorry, but I think you are all completely MAD to be feeding a very expensive and unproven suplement to horses which have NO problems and which arn't even in work yet!
 
I wouldn't feed a joint supplement unless it was needed either. If your horse is on a correct balanced diet they should be getting enough nutrients to ensure good health. I wonder if feeding a joint supplement would risk damage to growing joints in a younger horse. After all let's face it the cause of OCD and other joint problems in young horses is often related to diet ie one that is too high in carbohydrates or just excess feeding. There is no evidence to suggest it could be bad for health using it as a preventative but there is also none to prove its benefits either. I would however use one if the horse showed signs of stiffness/arthritic conditions.
 
spike123 said:
I wouldn't feed a joint supplement unless it was needed either. If your horse is on a correct balanced diet they should be getting enough nutrients to ensure good health. I wonder if feeding a joint supplement would risk damage to growing joints in a younger horse. After all let's face it the cause of OCD and other joint problems in young horses is often related to diet ie one that is too high in carbohydrates or just excess feeding. There is no evidence to suggest it could be bad for health using it as a preventative but there is also none to prove its benefits either. I would however use one if the horse showed signs of stiffness/arthritic conditions.
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I have wondered this. My oldies (21, 26 and 28) are on a joint supplement from Feedmark (although my friend who's a NAF rep says Feedmark's stuff is rubbish but then he alsi says Topspec is rubbish - in fact anything except what he sells!). Anyway, my sister's 12 yo is also now getting the same joint supplement as he's suffered with ligament and now a tendon issue over the last 2 years so we figured he could do with every bit of help he could get.

That leaves my 3yo and I did think whether i should feed him anything to support his joints but something in my head said it wouldn't be right for a still-growing animal as could it do more harm than good? He is 16.1 and a half already and has quite large limbs so the last thing i would want to do is promote an additional growth that could be detrimental to him. My thoughts are more when they hit their teens to be honest but then if you're feeding as a preventative measure you're never going to really know if it's doing any good unless your horse ends up with horrendous arthritis is which case you will only realise you have wasted a whole heap of cash! :)
 
MrVelvet said:
You do realise it is possible 'over supplement' and therefore upset the nutrient balance causing more problems?
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You can, but it depends what you are supplementing.

Supplementing while exercising is actually beneficial to health. We should all increase our intake of certain vitamins and minerals if we are starting a new health regime like I am for example, running a half marathon in aid of arthritis research.

The minerals in bone and cartilage can deplete quickly. Depletion at an early age through exercise and increased metabolism causes osteoporosis, arthritis and is a major cause of disability later in life. It is absolutely essential that you maintain healthy levels of nutrients in the body, or the body starts to leach it from itself.

Don't worry if you pee most of it out, it means that you are getting enough and the body is just excreting excess.

You can only really poison yourself if your liver and kidneys do not work as well as they should and the pooling of these minerals and vitamins becomes toxic.

Some people may not feel the need to supplement, which is fine and they have their reasons. My reasons are fairly simple. Put back what you take out.
 
I fed my horse cortaflex as a "preventative" measure from approximately age 11 to 14. Then, for various reasons, I stopped doing so and haven't done for the last five years (the horse is 19 now) I found it made no difference whatsoever to how the horse went.

I hazily remember hearing or seeing somewhere that there is NO evidence that these things prevent arthritic changes, so I have asked my vet student and vet friends (I know many, as vets seem to like joining the uni mountaineering club) for clarification.
 
Doesn't bother me at all whether you think I'm mad or not. My vet and physio agree with me so I'm happy with that. I'd rather feed something they didn't need than regret feeding something they could have benefitted from
 
Interestingly, my 23yr old isn't on any supplements. She is completely free of any kind of stiffness, even after a night in, & as sound as they come. She had ligament damage age 18 following an incident in the field & had a lot of veterinary treatment. At the time, & since my vet has told me not to bother with a supplement until her health begins to show signs of age. His logic is that I'm more likely to upset the balance than help.
 
ladyt25 said:
I have wondered this. My oldies (21, 26 and 28) are on a joint supplement from Feedmark (although my friend who's a NAF rep says Feedmark's stuff is rubbish but then he alsi says Topspec is rubbish - in fact anything except what he sells!). Anyway, my sister's 12 yo is also now getting the same joint supplement as he's suffered with ligament and now a tendon issue over the last 2 years so we figured he could do with every bit of help he could get.

That leaves my 3yo and I did think whether i should feed him anything to support his joints but something in my head said it wouldn't be right for a still-growing animal as could it do more harm than good? He is 16.1 and a half already and has quite large limbs so the last thing i would want to do is promote an additional growth that could be detrimental to him. My thoughts are more when they hit their teens to be honest but then if you're feeding as a preventative measure you're never going to really know if it's doing any good unless your horse ends up with horrendous arthritis is which case you will only realise you have wasted a whole heap of cash! :)
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Um, how is a JOINT supplement going to help a TENDON/LIGAMENT problem exactly?
 
When you read up on the ingredients in joint supplements whether human or horse it is easy to find criticism of studies on them saying they do not work and that some have negative side effects. I have not found positive proof they work. I am also concerned about negative side effects when fed to young horses.

I am willing to be convinced but at the moment I am not.
 
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