I recently adopted an OTTB that had an injury several years ago. Horse is sound now, I just want to do what I can to keep it that way. X-rays of fetlock showed calcification and a very old fracture. Horse will be doing very simple flatwork with me as long as it is comfortable. I am looking into BOT boots to help with stiffness\inflamation\ arthritis prevention or support. Either used while stalled or in turnout if that is an option. Also looking into supplements. KER-Flex, Absorbine Flex Max and MSM pellets are the three I keep reading about. I am Checking on LubriSyn too. I’d love to hear about what worked/ didn’t work for others! Thank you in advance for any advice!
I would skip a feed through supplement and invest in an injectable like Adequan or Legend. The cost over time is roughly the same, but the likelihood of a positive impact is much higher. There’s not a lot of evidence to support efficacy of a feed through. If you absolutely have to pick one, my preference would be a Cosequin product.
I like the Back on Track Quick Wraps for use in the stall/in lieu of shipping boots on the trailer for shorter trips. They offer good fetlock coverage and might help. On the flip side of that, motion is lotion and more turnout may be of more benefit. Not a big fan of boots for turnout in most cases - too many instances of skin irritation/rubs and risk of heat damage to the soft tissues in the leg.
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I have used adequan on a dog, I’ll have to look at these costs lol. Thank you!
My horse has average arthritic changes you would expect for a horse his age/workload–15yo OTTB who has been in full work for the almost 11 years I’ve had him. He never had any acute injuries like yours, but he does need some help to stay comfortable. I’ve tried most of the injectables (Pentosan, Legend, Polyglycan) with no improvement. We’ve done plenty of joint injections with mixed results.
What’s really helped him with stiffness/joint discomfort is powder MSM and Hyaluronex. The MSM is super cheap (I use Select The Best, big yellow bucket) and my horse eats it really well (semi picky eater, funny about powders). It’s granulated like sugar, not a super fine clingy powder like flour. The Hyaluronex is a liquid HA supplement with some other anti inflammatory components. The key with HA is to have a high molecular weight. Why? I don’t 100% remember the science about how exactly it all works, but I’m sure other folks on here can provide a better explanation. The one trick with any liquid HA is not letting it get really hot or really cold. Basically keep it indoors somewhere (like your house).
I get the MSM from SmartPak or Fair Hill Saddlery and the Hyaluronex from Chewy. The half gallon of Hyaluronex last me ~2-2.5 months for one horse, so it’s not too expensive per month and IME is worth every penny. The MSM is pennies per day, a big tub costs me ~$30 including shipping and lasts for several months.
I’ve also used SmartFlex Senior from Smartpak with good success, but it has devils claw which is not show legal so I stopped using it. If you’re not planning on showing, then it’s another good option to check out. If it doesn’t help after two months, you can call Smartpak and get a full refund.
We’ve used Lubrisyn for our (now deceased) QH gelding. It made a world of difference for him. This was shortly after it came onto the market, so there weren’t nearly as many options as there are now. It’s a good product.
I have BOT hock boots for my horse and didn’t notice a difference with them, but a friend of mine did her ACL/meniscus and bought the knee sleeve for herself and said it really helped a lot.
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In terms of feed-through joint supplements, some people and their horses have success with them and some do not.
MSM is cheap and does have research to support its effectiveness. Many joint supplements include MSM as one ingredient. Only down is that some horses seem to become reactive when they’re on MSM (I’ve never seen this myself, just going from what other posters on this board have said).
The vet that I recently used to diagnose and treat some arthritis in the coffin joint in my horse suggested using a supplement that has resveratrol in it. I went with one of the SmartPak supplements (SmartStride) and have been happy with that. It also contains MSM and HA (which I’d found helpful when using with my previous horse).
A lot of people swear by Adequan; personally with my previous horse, it didn’t help. shrug
Results with any of these treatments can be variable. Good luck!
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I recently switched my old man from Adequan to Absorbine Flex Max and he has improved significantly. I haven’t changed anything else and I was shocked to see that flex-max was so much better than Adequan, because I’ve always been told feed-throughs are generally useless. I tried a few feed-throughs before I went to Adequan and the improvement in mobility from other feed throughs to Adequan was not significant. But from Adequan to Flex-max, the improvement was significant. After being on Flex-max for 4 months, my horse is cantering in for dinner, which he hasn’t done in over a year.
I also have used BOT hock wraps and neck wraps for a stiff old OTTB that came into my care. I used them regularly for a year and they significantly reduced her stiffness. Her improvement was also impacted by better health care and hoof care, so I don’t know how much the BOT helped. I do use BOT for my dogs and for me, and I see they really help both.
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