My horse is currently on Cosequin but he seems to be developing hind end arthritis ( he’s 17). I injected his coffin joints over the summer. Would Adequan or another monthly injection make a difference in the progression of his arthritis? Should I just get his hind end injected with steroids/hyaluronic acid?
I probably should have started him on Cosequin earlier, but I wasn’t sure what the best course of action was at that time.
What do you think? What would your course of action be for a horse who has already started developing arthritis?
what is “hind end arthritis”? Hocks? Stifles? Pasterns? SI?
IA injections do the most targeted good. IM injections help more of the body, which may be helpful, maybe not, depend on what else is going on.
Adequan IM is certainly worth a try, the full dose is 1 shot every 4 days for 7 shots. See how that works.
FWIW, Pentosan (and Gold) have been around a good while, also IM, a similar dosing protocol, and now Pentosan is actually FDA-approved. I’m not sure if that spiked the price to the point it’s no longer an economical alternative.
Hi, I have my mare with advanced OA/DJD in her left knee (carpus) on Pentosan injections. I think that the injections, done in the neck, have helped improve her comfort and minimize her arthritis flares.
A nice thing about Pentosan is her vet has allowed us to have Grace injected every 10 days, we could inject up to every 5 days if needed. I would ask your vet and see what they say but we have been able to give injections on a more frequent basis to prevent flares, and that has helped.
An orthopedist recommended Pentosan to us instead of Adequan. She read that in more studies it was showing in some studies about Pentosan being disease modifying vs Adequan. Interestingly enough, Pentosan is less expensive than Adequan too. We use a local compounding pharmacy where we get a good price.
Pentosan is definitely helping Grace, she has advanced OA/DJD, so she is also on Cosequin ASU Plus, Equioxx and Osteo-Max.
True. Adequan is reasonably affordable through Valley Vet especially on auto ship. I stopped using Pentosan a while ago as it really wasn’t much less and Adequan seemed to work better. Right now, I don’t have my guy on any injectables. I treat his stifles and whatever else flares up on him (hocks, coffin) as needed. I started feeding Uckele’s Arthroxigan as well. He’s only been on a few days so can’t speak to that just yet. We had a great ride yesterday but two blah ones before that. He’s 20 so it’s just what it is right now.
Honestly, I’ve used Cosequin over the years and have never been overly impressed with it.
We need more details OP. Give us some specifics on the “hind end arthritis”.
Hocks? Stifles? Other?
What is wrong with his front feet that you did coffin injections?
As far as injecting the hind end, it really depends what exactly is wrong with the horse and what clinical symptoms he is exhibiting. Steroids do do a great job of quickly decreasing inflammation, and controlling pain.
In general, I am a big fan of injectable joint supplements over feed-through. I feel the injectables actually get to where they need to go, because they do not have to pass through the digestive tract first.
Adequan I think it is a great option. All horses respond differently of course.
I had my horse Red on Adequan for a year. My vet has me to the loading dose and then give it once a month after. I would notice for about a week after his shot, he would be moving a lot better. But Adequan is pretty pricey of course. The next year, we tried Pentosan for the heck of it. If it didn’t work, then my plan was to put him back on the Adequan again. Lucky for me, the pentosan has literally been a life changer for him. I am not exaggerrating. It has allowed him to return to a demanding career of barrel racing, and to be having his best years ever, even though he is aged (he is 17 this year). I wish I would have tried the pentosan sooner!!
I gave him the loading dose, and then give it to him every 2 weeks. Pentosan is cheap enough that I can do that, and 2 weeks works for him. One time, I went 3 weeks when it was really nasty in the winter, and I noticed. So I make sure he never misses. A month ago, that meant giving him his shot with it was -20 * F outside. I do not have a barn. I’m pretty good at it now so I can do it pretty quickly before my fingers (and the meds) freeze but he never misses!!
It sounds like your horse has multifactoral lameness and sometimes it’s a bit of trial and error to figure out what magic combination makes your horse feel the best.
After a work-up by my vet, it looks like his hocks. I wasn’t certain until we did the flexions. I’m trying Pentosan for a month to see how he feels. We’ll go with joint injections after our trial run if he’s not feeling 100%. We’re still keeping him on Cosequin and MSM too.
As far as the coffin joint injections go, he was exhibiting some head bobbing and general discomfort on his fronts. He was also turned out in a hilly pasture then. He was much improved with the joint injections, but I’m fearful of needing frequent injections to keep him sound. I just don’t like how invasive they are. We did x-rays before the injections to see if there was anything else wrong.
As far as my original question, I know it varies by horse, but I just didn’t want to throw money away if the Adequan/Pentosan was only slightly better than Cosequin. Fingers crossed for now. Thanks!
Make sure you have current xrays before IA injections. You need to see what’s what, including whether there’s even any joint space into which to stick a needle.
If I may ask, what sort of activities do you do, and want to do in the future, with this horse? Frankly, I would be surprised if a 17 year old did not have arthritic changes. Sometimes it is time to accept that a horse has used up all his God-given number of jumps and find a different lifestyle for him. I am going through this with my 17 year-old, and it is a pleasure to see him peacefully grazing and going out comfortably on slow trail rides without needing regularly scheduled Equioxx, Adequan, glucosamine, and corticosteroids any longer.
Whatever keeps him comfortable and reduces joint loading is my primary goal. I am waiting to learn if anything truly reverses, stops or markedly slows progression of arthritic changes.
We’ve been doing 1st to 2nd level dressage. He’s a big boy - Percheron cross - and I’m no longer into jumping. I switched to dressage before I got him as a 4 year old. I’m trying to figure out if it’s time to “retire” him or not, and what that will look like if I do. I’m in NJ and boarding. I just can’t swing boarding 2, but my family is in KY, and I might send him down there. Lots of stuff running through my head right now, that’s why I asked effectiveness stories.
