Cosequin ASU and ASU+.. price? and preference?

[Sansena]

Seems everyone’s always trying to reinvent the wheel. Of course Cosequin used to be THE joint supplement and we all thought it was great on the horses it did work on. Then they introduced Cosequin ASU and WOW, I’m personally a fan, having seen great results.

So I was looking to see who sold it cheaper and now I"m seeing ASU +. Has anybody tried both and had a preference? And where to purchase Cosequin ASU and/or + and price?

At 20 yrs old, I’m finally seeing him pretty shabby behind. And he’s hollowing his back b/c he can’t comfortably reach under himself to round. His hocks are stiff and I’d like to try a joint supplement before finally succumbing to joint injections.

Thanks guys.

[Simkie]

Better to spend that $$ on injectibles. Adequan, Legend or Pentosan are all reasonable options. There’s just not enough evidence behind the feed throughs to support that premium price.

Although, really, given your impending move, it’s really a cruelty to ship a horse with painful hocks. Joint injections are the best way to go given that.

[lorilu]

The “+” contains oral HA and green tea extract… personally, I have not seen evidence that oral HA is effective, so I just feed Cosequin ASU.

[TWH_Girl]

I’d do the injections too. No joint supplement has ever made my horse feel better when he was sore enough to need injections. I don’t even see much from Adequan/Legend when injections are really needed.

[HJdaydream]

Agreed with the above posters. At that age and that symptomatic just do the injections. Honestly probably not that much more then pricey joint supplements every month.

I just got my guy done again (mid and lower hock joints bilaterally) for $350ish. Lower joint only is even cheaper. Of course it depends on your vet- don’t be afraid to ask around and check prices. I had the same thing done in February and it was $800. The price difference in my situation was between a large clinic that does it all the time (that I hauled to) and having a single vet situation who is much smaller scale (who also came to me). Clinics and larger practices IME have the best prices because they do everything in bulk.

[spacehorse]

I use ASU and have noticed a difference , where Pentosan I noticed nothing. As far as the difference, ASU is already expensive enough, I can’t say the extra $$ is worth it to me since I see such a big change on ASU already.

[Sansena]

Great suggestion on injecting Hocks but I’m reluctant right now due possibly being cushingoid. But that is being addressed shortly as well.

[joiedevie99]

I’d inject with the Pro-Stride if you have Cushings concerns. IMHO, it’s so much easier to just make them comfortable when they start showing signs than play around and have to do a bunch of rehab work to fix the muscle atrophy and compensatory pain that develops due to not-completely-managed pain.

If the horse isn’t showing anymore, you could also try something like Smartflex Senior.

[Simkie]

Totally agree with joie. Pro stride, IRAP, even PRP. There’s a lot more than steroid available for joint injection. But definitely get him comfortable before making him stand on a trailer for 30+ hours.

[Chief2]

ASU+ is more expensive than ASU and I have found it to work better. You can get a small percentage off of the price if you put it on autoship every so many weeks at Chewy.com. You pick the number of weeks between shipments in one-week increments on the autoship order form, and can change that period at any time through the autoship manage section of your account. Otherwise, the prices are set by the manufacturer and remain fixed regardless of where you order it from. With Chewy they add your state sales tax to the price.

[norcalammie]

I have used the ASU for several years and it made a difference with my horse now age 22. I can usually find it on eBay for less money than other places but you have to look and keep looking.

[tipzythegreat]

I am sure Cosequin ASU + is going to offer more, but as the others are saying… I think your baby needs a bit more than an oral can offer.

Why not try Adequan? It’s for hocks in particular and it’s IM. You can get 6 months of treatment for about $300. That way you aren’t injecting directly into the joint

Perhaps Adequan and Cosequin ASU would be a good next step for your boy! Long term it’s less expensive!

[equiniphile]

I’ve always been skeptical of oral joint support products. My guy is a 14-year old Thoroughbred doing 4th level/PSG with some mild arthritic changes. He gets his lower hock joints injected every 5 1/2 months and does well with that and no other maintenance. Adequan never did anything for him…haven’t tried Legend or Pentosan. As a vet student I was able to get three containers of Cosequin ASU + for free and a 50% discount on all Nutramax products after the initial free product, so I decided to give it a go. I figured it couldn’t hurt, and since it was free, why not?

He’s been on it since September 15th. We did 3 weeks at a loading dose and then dropped down to a maintenance dose. I do feel a difference, though I’m not willing to attribute it to the Cosequin until he’s been on it a bit longer. He’s using his hind end a bit more and feels less resistant, so it could be the Cosequin. But again, n=1, so I’m not ready to shout from the rooftops about it.

I also have never tried an oral joint supplement with him before, so I can’t compare to regular Cosequin or Cosequin ASU.

[CowgirlCoffee]

I’ve used both the ASU and Plus and found that the Plus was a little more effective for my gelding, though both fabulous products. They are the only feed-through joint supplements that made a meaningful difference for him. There is a $10 rebate offer on the lid of my current jar.