My girl is 22 and has really started to be affected by arthritis, especially in her right front knee. I have her on joint supps from Smart-Pak and just started Equiox, but I think she needs something a little stronger. Those of you that use Adequan, does it work as well as it’s advertised? Also, is it 7 injections every two weeks? How long does it last? Since it’s a rather significant expense, I want all the details before I pull the trigger and ask my vet for a prescription. Thanks for any information.
Yes. On multiple horses, multiple times. Not every horse responded to the same level but all responded positively. Always used IAW label directions.
G.
It has worked very well for me, but my vet said it’s not nearly as effective for horses over 15, so you may not see as dramatic results as some users.
Like anything, works for some but not for others. But I would absolutely give it a try.
For my horses, I give the loading dose (7 injections) followed by one shot per month thereafter to maintain, per my vet’s instructions.
But I do know that there are those out there that do the loading dose twice a year, and do not give a shot once a month. (I’ve never heard of anyone doing the 7 shots every 2 weeks … that’s way too much)
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Beau159 - How frequently do you do the injections if you give the loading dose of 7 and then 1 a month thereafter?
A friend who used Adequan would give 1 shot every 2 weeks, until the 7 was done, not 7 at a time every two weeks. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
I have put my young horse with some stifle stickiness on Adequan (as labeled: 7 shots over 28 days, followed by vet’s recommended 1x every 3 weeks). That, along with some modifications to his workload have really helped. After this current box of vials is done, I will see how he goes without, as this was hopefully just to get him through a period of growth changes.
It’s worked very well on my 16-year-old with minor changes in his hocks, and then a traumatic injury leaving him with a chip lodged in a ligament.
I’ve done the loading dose (1 every four days for 28 days) and then nothing for a year, and last year did a once a month follow up. Might be my imagination, but he seemed to do better with the follow-up.
Loading dose is usually one shot every 4 days till you have done 7 shots.
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Same thing here. Loading dose over four weeks (7 vials) and then one vial every 2-4 weeks thereafter depending on the vet’s recommendation.
We do feed a joint supplement but I’ll be honest with you, I’m not convinced by the science on most joint supplements.
Adequan is IM and IA. It’s only approved IA use is for the knees, actually, but has been liberally used “off label” for hocks. I think I might very much consider an IA injection for that knee IF there is enough joint space left. If there isn’t, that’s bad news, and I’d at least do IM Adequan (or Pentosan).
How well, or even whether it works, entirely depends on that specific situation. It is a godsend for many horses, and doesn’t touch others. It helps some horses when a loading dose is done twice a year, with monthly IM injections in between (either Adequan or Pentosan).
Unfortunately, the only way to know is try it.
I used it years back on my older guy. It did help him quite a bit. My 15 yr old doesn’t really respond to it much though, so I just do annual spring joint injections, Equioxx and a good joint supplement for him. Definitely give it a try! Hope it does help in your arsenal of things to combat arthritis.
Loading dose is 1 shot every 4th day, for 7 shots total.
Then as I said in my case, I “maintain” the loading dose by doing 1 shot per month thereafter.
If you want to go the IM route, the only approved dosage is 1 shot every 4th day for 7 shots (i.e. over 28 days). Then wait 6 months or 1 year with no shots, and give the loading dose again.
Many vets have prescribed other “maintenance” doses off label in between loading doses over the years. My vet did so for a while (about 10 years ago), and then revised her advice to say that there was no evidence the maintenance dose worked, so I should go back to on label dosage only unless I was going to be very frequent with the off label maintenance (i.e. 1 shot a week or thereabouts).
In my experience though, Adequan IM has the most profound effects when the horse is just starting to have issues. With a horse that has more advanced issues, you really just have to try one loading dose and see what you get.
That said, if the horse has a specific issues (i.e. arthritis in a knee) as opposed to more general age-related arthritis, I’d go directly at the problem. I’d inject the knee with either Adequan IA, Steroids/HA, or Pro-Stride/IRAP.
I personally would go for injections before putting a horse on long-term NSAIDS when there is a specific issue, but I get that others have different preferences.
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Years ago one of my horses was placed on it but I did not notice any improvement. Now another vet wants same horse and another horse to have adequan injections for arthritis.
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That is not a correct way of doing it and is a waste. 1 shot every 4 days for 28 days for a total of 7 shots. It made a difference with our arthritic cat and I believe improvement with the horses.
Correct.
The reason it’s 1 injection every 4 days, for 7 total injections, is that is what was found to have maximum effect on cartilage health in the joints.
1 shot every 2 weeks will not provide maximum protection.
She’s had her stifles injected 2 weeks ago and I do notice a difference in the way she moves behind but she’s still off in the front. Friend said she had good results but has moved on to Polyglycon for some reason.
I noticed a HUGE difference in my guy when I had him on Adequan over the summer. We did the recommended loading dose of 1IM injection every 4 days for 7 total injections. He was much looser and happier with Adequan.
