What really works but at a semi-reasonable price? For a horse with very mild DIP osteoarthritis, just want to do my best to prevent progression.
Thanks!
Truthfully? I think Iād just do Adequan. Yes, the initial cost is high, but if you break it down āper monthā itās not that bad. Certainly not more than most ābetterā joint supplements, and has a proven track record.
Horse is already getting HA/corticosteroid injections at the coffin joint. Would an oral supplement or Adequan still be helpful?
I noticed a visible change in my daughters hony since he has been on Cosequin ASU. I plan on continuing it even though it is expensive. I saw no difference while on Pentosan, he was also on Smartpak Sr. Flex and I noticed no changes.
I have been shopping around for the cheapest source and I found a significant discount on Amazon on their Subscribe and Save program.
My vet is recommending Phycox Max for my mare but did say that Legend, Adequan, and injections are a better use of my dollars. Not sure if this applies across the board butā¦ there ya go. 
Iām sold on Recovery EQ after my older QH, who did not respond at all to a series of Adequan injections as well as hock injections, became sound again after two weeks of Recovery EQ. I keep all mine on Recovery now (I have a 40-something boy who still gallops around), and I also take the human version for my arthritis.
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Wow. Years ago I had my guy on Recovery EQ and it made a noticeable improvement as well.
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I also recommend adequan. I put my horse on adequan and saw a big change. Eventually I also added legend. My vet recommended platinum performance (I have no experience with this) or legend when I was adding on more joint care. My vet explained adequan as the leaves and legend as the tree trunk in that they work well together, but I know a fair number of people who just do adequan. If your horse is good with shots, giving the adequan yourself is actually not bad and helps save money. My vet showed me how to give it once and Iāve been doing it ever since. I personally prefer doing joint shots over feed through supplements because I know it āgoes in herāĀ if that makes any sense. Iām not the most experienced person with horses, but I definitely agree with everyone who mentioned adequan.
Adequan and Cosequin have some real, clinical evidence of their effectiveness. There are some others that might also have this but Iāve never looked at them.
BUT, if youāre already using some invasive therapies youād be wise to consult with your vet to see what modalities will āplay nice togetherā and what wonāt.
As to the āoff the shelf stuff,ā youāre in the world of anecdote coming from people you donāt know with horses you donāt know recommending items with ingredients you donāt know. This world is unregulated and the playground for people trying to lighten your wallet. If you walk here, and I donāt recommend it in most instances, be VERY careful.
G.
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Iāve had my 17 yr old on so many oral joint supplements over the years. Some I felt were better than others. But I really like the one heās on now which is Smart Stride Ultra from SP. Formulation is a bit different and heās really doing so well in it. Heās been on it for a year now and I did not have the winter stiffness issues with him last year that I usually get. I see they have a few lower priced versions of the Smart Stride now but Iām reluctant to try them because heās doing well. He does get hock and stifle IA injections annually as well.
My vets recommended Legend IV and feed through Cosequin ASU.
Over the years I have had some of my horses do well on Adiquan and some better on Legend. I think it depends on what your horses specific issue is.
Currently one of my horses has fluid that builds up in his fetlock joints and the Legend has done a good job at keeping it at bay. My other horse has too much mobility in his fetlocks and interestingly he gets worse with Legend but does great on Adiquan. One of my horses of the past did really well on Adiquan - he had more bone issues. I havenāt read studies on these products (Iām sure they are out there) but it seems to me horses with ligament/tendon type issues do well on Legend and horses with more bony issues do well on Adiquanā¦ I could be completely off on this but it has been my personal study.
My vets have expressed Pentosan being really great but I havenāt tried that yet.
I did try a product called Ceytl M for horses and boy oh boy my horse never looked betterā¦ joint and movement wise - but - yikes it made him super HOTā¦ like wild hotā¦ he doesnāt do well on Alfalfa based products.
I have my mare on smartflex ultra from Smartpak. After a few months on that she was able to come off her equioxx and move fluidly whereas before if I missed a single dose of equioxx before, I could tell right away. Our vet prescribed her the equioxx until we could find something else for long term use
The best oral supplement we have used is Cosequin ASU+. The second best was Lubrisyn, but the Cosequin ASU+ worked better for our horse. I feel both are expensive, but worth the money if this is the route you are going to go down.
I felt a difference in my horse when I put him on Cosequin ASU. Iām going to try Adequan next week and drop down the oral supplement, as the Adequan is actually less expensive month over month than what Iām paying in oral supps right now.
Iāve had great success with oral HA.
Tried it all back in the day, never saw the slightest bit of difference with any of it. The most positive clinical trials on the orals (Cosequin), showed marginal improvement in carpitis in 3 year old race horses in a short time frame. Many other studies claim to show all glucosamine/chondroitin products are not absorbed in the horse in any therapeutic form, but if digested at all it is merely as sugar. Pretty expensive sugar!
Dr. David Ramey on the West Coast, who has an excellent blog on equine veterinary care, pretty much blew the injectable āpreventivesā out of the water with the news that Legend, for instance, is stripped from the bloodstream by the kidneys within 3 hours (expensive urine!) and is at best only a small fraction of what the horseās own body manufactures naturally in a dayās time. Wow! At $800 a box, thatās some pretty snakey oil!
I have found that the best āremedyā for joints is, in order:
Turnout a minimum of 12 hours a day, and 24 is better;
Work the horse in a discipline appropriate to his age, breed and conformation;
Give him at least a 15-minute warm-up and a 15-minute cool-down from work;
Make sure your farrier works with his conformation, not against it.
Ride on good footing.
Feed good hay, and stay away from heavily Omega-6 veg. oils which are inflammatory.
Do all of that, your horseāll probably see 30+ without having to use all these hinky unnatural products.
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Iāve had best results with glucosamine SULFATE and msm. Itās trial and error, what works for one may do nothing for another.
