Eventers Best Across,the Board Joint Suppliment

[judybigredpony]

I have finally exhausted my deep,supply of Joint Suppliments.
Am sure this has been discussed to death already.

I now find myself needing to Buy one brand that will suit all.
Only for the competing horses 12 of them not my revolving sales stock.

Ages 4-9 all OTTB 2 are intact the rest are geldings, all compete from opening till close of Area II season. YEH to T for now.

They are on a quality feed but not over the top high performance , get local hay that is tested and excellent Mix. I have all on Ulcer Preventative generic and some prescription depending on horse. Weight/Muscle Builder and Platinum Performance basic.
Everyone weight coat conditions are excellent. The horses who are running the most are on Pentosan.

I don’t want a criticism of my feed program just what everyone s thoughts are on a Joint Supplement I have 3 vets who keep a good eye on these guys and when something needs addressing or injecting they are looked after.

But the Market is flooded with so many options and I hate to throw good $$$ into the manure pile… Thank You

[fordtraktor]

I give the ones that will eat it MSM (that’s super cheap, I use the Finish Line one which you can get in a huge bag that will last forever), and don’t bother with the rest. I sort of feel like it is throwing good $$$ in the manure pile personally. I can’t imagine doing it for 12…

[purplnurpl]

If just light maintenance I use MSM and Yucca.

But if I actually need a joint supplement? I use IV Legend.

[beowulf]

I agree MSM. I really love how well my guy is doing on PLATINUM PERFORMANCE CJ. It is expensive though.

[retreadeventer]

MSM is useful.

I like Cosequin. I have seen results on it when I can afford to give it or have won a jar of it.

Each horse however is different and will react differently. The trick to doing it right is getting it right for each individual horse and not treat all the same.

[CindyCRNA]

I like Smartflex Senior. Even for my non-senior horses. 12,000 MSM plus a lot of other stuff.

[kt-rose]

Cosequin ASU and/or Hyalun 90.

[tbchick84]

Cosequin ASU.

[scubed]

MSM up through training level then add injectables. Which depends on horse: pentosan, adequan, legend, some generic glucosamine etc.

[mgoblue]

Just a thought, a very well known vet at MSU told me that joint supplements are a waste of money and none are actually guaranteed to work/have real research and results behind them. Injections, of course, are shown to work.

[2horseowner]

If you can afford it, do injectables. Oral joint supplements are hit or miss. You know what you get with injections. I used Cosequin with no results.

[judybigredpony]

I do injectables an we routinely evaluate and monitor individual joints and treat accordingly. B

[crimsonsky]

i’ve had good results with Sta-Sound Equine. just today i started my new mare on a different joint supplement to see how it goes - Flex EZ from Performance Equine. obviously i can’t speak to the effectiveness of it at this point but the amount of stuff included looks good.

[Angelico]

I also like Sta-Sound. I don’t really “believe” in any joint supplements but I like Sta-Sound for the MSM. I swear their coats look the best when they are on Sta - Sound, I think it’s kind of like Smart Flex Senior which I also love for my old guys. The company that makes Sta- Sound is first rate; they are great people to work with.

[alto]

[QUOTE=mgoblue;7859594]
Just a thought, a very well known vet at MSU told me that joint supplements are a waste of money and none are actually guaranteed to work/have real research and results behind them. Injections, of course, are shown to work.[/QUOTE]

Some vets can keep saying this all they want, but I’ve observed major differences for some OTTB’s when they are on oral joint supplement … I’m in Canada so Recovery Eq (with or without HA)
Other horses, no change on/off Recovery Eq so try other interventions (which cost rather more $$), some horses also show no response to injectables … which if you look at the research, is consistent.

The local lameness guy doesn’t insist that the oral supplements are $$ tossed, but does suggest that a 1 month trial is all the time that’s needed to determine efficacy.

Now there is more focus on joint support from early on rather than waiting for issues to arise - of course the best joint support is proper training/strengthening/fitness

[elizabeth_Callahan]

Pat,
If you are doing injectables, save your money and don’t waste it on oral supplements. You get much more bang for your buck from the injectables and they are more effective. take that $200 for the Cosequin and put it towards Adequan…

[wildlifer]

From personal experience/experiments + research review, since you asked “best across the board,” my choices are as follows, once I have determined the problem is actually the joint itself:

Feed-throughs ARE a waste of money (no I do not work for or receive anything from any companies). If there are associated improvements, they can rarely be replicated, there is no way to know if it was actually connected with the products, they go into the gut where they are attacked by all manner of things, so if anything even makes it to a joint…

For the same price & often less, I can give a monthly Adequan injection (last I used it, it was $35-40/month purchased in 10-dose vial), which goes directly where I want it to go & there is clear documentation & piles of replication to show me how & why.

If that is insufficient on its own, than I will use direct IA injection (only, naturally, if my awesome, careful, experienced vet does it). Again, I know exactly where it goes, I know exactly how it works, & I get my own spine injected, I know exactly what a difference it makes!

For a pair of hocks that needed 2x per yr while in work, at $300 a visit, that was $50/mo. For a back that only needs 1x per yr, that is $25/mo.

After I broke it down, it’s now a no-brainer for me.

[judybigredpony]

Wild lifer…if you read I do use monthly injectable and when needed joints but I am talking 11-12 in work competing horses not 1-2 and i read all,the research and am very good friends with owner of a Brand name Supplement CO…to expensive for me…So,I was looking to see what everyone else might use.

I am thinking Platinum Perfomrnace while I use the regular may switch to the Joint…Thnxs

[ACMEeventing]

JBRP, I have to admit that I’ve seen an improvement with MSM and I give it to everyone in work. As a maintenance I don’t think it could hurt and I do believe it helps.

With high demand and a shown need, I go to the injectables or joint injections (like you already do).

I think the feed through are probably good for support, but won’t “fix” dry joints or reproduce the lubricant needed for functioning. MSM is cheap, they don’t mind the taste, and it seems to give a level of support. Probably stuff you already know

[wildlifer]

[QUOTE=judybigredpony;7862979]
Wild lifer…if you read I do use monthly injectable …[/QUOTE]

Hey, JBRP, sorry if my tone came across wrong! I know you are very knowledgeable & experienced with a great string of ponies, so I apologize, I was not trying to be patronizing at all. Sorry if my word/brain fail came out, I’m on medical leave from work, so all systems are not at optimal function.

I was mostly sharing my breakdown for other readers & perhaps a better way to answer your question is that I have not found it to add effectiveness or be worth the cost to use a feed-through if you have your IA’s & Adequan already.

Before I used the latter, I did anecdotally observe a reasonable level of improved comfort, when my older gelding’s hock arthritis was minor & he was in lighter work, from SmartFlex Senior. However, I stopped when his needs increased, & I was concerned about the devil’s claw testing when he was competing.

Apologies again, no offense meant & mea culpa for missing your post about injections. Page has so many words, my bad.