My horse has been diagnosed with moderate osteoarthritis in both fronts. Vet recommends an arthramid treatment. Any thoughts?
There’s a few threads on this recently. Try a search for it, also search “hydrogel”.
I have one horse I’ve used it on, so consider me n=1. Moderate changes in his pastern and severe side bone of his coffin joint (that one has been there for several years). Did Arthramid on both pastern and coffin joint and looks spectacular. Granted he is now a touch sticky in the opposing front leg. So that one will get injected soon as well.
He is not in hard work now as I am out of the country. But soon enough, I’ll be home and can truly test how long this will last. But he has gotten to the point that traditional injections were not lasting long, nor as effective as they once were. Big thumbs up from me so far.
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You can also search “Noltrex” which is a very similar product (polyacrylamide hydrogel). I’ve been using it successfully for years. Another thumbs up here.
Had my boys hocks done with it in January.
Very pleased with how he feels now. There’s a lovely fluidity to his movement.
Previously with the steroid injections he’d had we would have been needing a top up soon, but no signs of a reduction in benefit at all with the arthramid.
Can anybody speak to the cost of this treatment?
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Here’s an article and cost of the drug only by one of the local vets by me. They do tend towards the higher priced end of the spectrum so take it with a grain of salt.
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Arthramid is $750 for two vials in my area. That does not include any of the actual injection costs such as sedation.
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Noltrex is currently ~$425CAN per vial, not including sedation and injection fees. For reference, lower hocks take 1 vial total (1/2 vial per side), stifle 1 vial per compartment (can do 1.5-2 vials depending on needs), fetlock takes 1 vial.
Does anyone have any updates or new experiences they can share?
TIA!!
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My horse had a meniscus tear that was treated with PRP and steroids to little effect. Surgery was not an option due to his other health conditions. We injected two vials of Arthramid and combined that with rehab. He has been sound on it for a year.
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There’s quite a bit on Arthramid and Noltrex on various threads throughout the forum. In general- they are quite a bit more costly than steroid/ ha injections. This is most cost prohibitive in joints like the stifle where you need 2 syringes per stifle so 4 total. Stifles ran me about $1400 with call fee, sedation, etc. Hocks, fetlock, coffin joints are going to cost less as you’ll need less product.
Inflammation- these products cushion the joint but don’t always address inflammation well. Some vets will use with a small amount of steroid if the horse needs it.
Response time- not instantaneous- these products take time for the body to absorb and work so it really takes 2-3 weeks before you can see a difference. Vets will say up to 4 weeks for peak effect.
Supposedly they last longer but that will depend on your horse and the condition you’re treating.
In my order of what works best are steroids/ha, hydrogels, Prostride/IRAP and then PRP (joints). I haven’t tried Alpha Eq or Renvo and not necessarily sure I will. Maybe Alpha sometime if needed.
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My horse had her stifles done with Arthramid in mid-February. Took at least 3 weeks to feel the difference but a definite improvement. Felt better than she did after her last steroid injection. Of course, she then managed to hurt herself in a different way and has been off the last couple of weeks.
Regarding cost, based on ultrasound we only did 1 compartment in each stifle (so 1 vial per stifle) and it was $1200 altogether including call fee, ultrasound, sedation, and injections. But I am in a pricy area (mid-Atlantic).
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@WavyRider glad your horse is sound!
@TWH_Girl thanks! I’ve read all the studies, so I know how it technically works but was looking for practical experiences
@Gardenhorse Horses! 
I used Noltrex and Arthramid both and liked Noltrex better. Both helped my horses stifles, but he was older (18) and had issues for years, so I did not get a full year out of it. After that, I stopped treating his stifles and just kept him on Equioxx and pretty much let him be a walk only horse. I think if you can utilize these products earlier in a horses life, they have potential to more more helpful.
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