Glucosamine vs MSM vs don't bother

[lifeishorsesarelove]

Another supplement question!

I’m looking at adding a joint supplement for my mare. She’s my baby and I want to give her joints the best possible shot at holding up as long as possible. Obviously this in no way replaces a careful condotioning program or quality feed!

I’m looking at straight glucosamine or straight MSM. I know glucosamine has been shown to work better in conjunction with Chondroitin, but I have found a dual supplement in my price point yet. I am still shopping, but no dice yet (but I was focusing on MSM in my last round of comparison shopping).

So, my question is,if you had to choose ONE of the following options for supportive/preventative care, what would you choose and WHY ?

1. MSM
2. Glucosamine
3. Something else for under $0.25 per day?
4. Keep your money and save it to pay for joint injections etc down the road.

Bonus; is glucosamine+chondroitin worth coughing up extra for?

I’m leaning towards Glucosamine… i think. Based on my reading glucosamine (and chondroitin) act on the cartilage and fluids in the joints and can help them regenerate faster, vs MSM which reduces inflammation… so would it make sense to focus on the joint repair function in a horse that’s not showing issues, and then add MSM later when inflammation becomes an issue? Or does reducing inflammation reduce damage?

6yo mare of unknown breeding. Heavy trail use and low level HJ. No signs of arthritis or joint discomfort to date.

please pardon my seeming obsession with supplements, it’s our SLOOOOOW season at work and I’ve been trying to learn more about various areas I feel my horse care knowledge is lacking. Supplements are a big grey area in terms of research so I’m turning to the wealth of knowledge and experience on COTH.

[Abbie.S]

Possibly UO, but supplements are a money suck and honestly, the vast majority of them are unnecessary.

There is little if any concrete scientific evidence to show that joint supplements used in the way you are describing - to “ward off” joint disease in an otherwise health young horse - does anything.

I’m a big believer in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but it’s your wallet and your horse, so if adding something to your mare’s feed makes you feel better, that’s entirely your prerogative.

I stick by good management first - a feed program that meets all the horse’s actual NEEDS, access to salt, Vit. E supplemented as needed if access to green forage is limited or non-existent and plenty of turnout, 24/7 if possible. That and a good conditioning program with close attention paid to developing the horse equally in both reins and close attention to hoof care will get you a long way in truly warding off the majority of major career-ending or career-limiting joint problems.

[luvmyhackney]

I feed MSM but for allergies/heaves not for joint issues. Works well for inflammation in my ponies case. I noticed a big difference. It can’t hurt and is cheap.

[Lah0808]

Same for me, I use MSM for heaves and I think its made a difference for my guy as well.

[Training_Cupid]

My horse gets MSM at my chiro’s (who is a DVM) recommendation. He is 7 and in regular but relatively light work.

[GoodTimes]

Don’t waste your money.
A very small percentage of oral glucosamine actually makes it to the joint, many studies over the years have found that that amount is useless.
IM injections such as Adequan and Legend are significantly better as the product doesn’t have to pass through the digestive system.
Injections right into the joint are definitely the best bang for your buck, although they do carry a low risk of infection.

[lorilu]

The only oral glucosamine/chondroiten with any research behind it is Cosamin. It has been shown to have prophalactic value.
I feed cosamin and MSM to my competition horses, both in their teens.

[RedHorses]

I haven’t done any recent reading, but my understanding is that the combination of glucosamine and MSM is the one to do. 10,000mg each. Chondroitin is for cartilage, and is an expensive addition if there are no cartilage issues.
That said, I had a horse with a fixed bone chip that dug into the cartilage in his hock when he flexed it past a certain point, and a chondroitin (8500mg), glucosamine (8000mg), and MSM (8000mg) supplement made a huge difference for him.

My current (say it quick) almost 20yr old gets 10,000mg glucosamine and 10,000mg MSM. He’s been on MSM for over ten years, and my younger horse has also been on it for years. My older horse warms up in half the time (5-6min vs 11-12min) when he’s getting the glucosamine.

If you reduce the inflammatory cells in the joint fluid, you reduce the damage to the joint. A daily dose of 10,000mg of MSM has been shown to reduce inflammatory cell numbers after exercise. I don’t think I said that right. Horses on the MSM had fewer inflammatory cells after exercise (jumping was used as the exercise).

Which enough for me to give my horses a very inexpensive supplement that is likely to help.

We saw improved comfort in my bone chip horse after he started MSM (while I was researching glucosamine options). My farrier noticed, as did his wife without my saying anything.

[TWH_Girl]

I would do something like the entry level Smartflex supplement or a solid basic supplement like Cosequin or Joint Armor (KY Performance Products). If you’re going to do an oral supplement, you may as well make it count with a quality product and ingredients. I don’t think there’s much benefit in glucosamine alone. If you’re going cheap, them just feed MSM until horse is older and worked harder.
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