IRap vs. traditional HA injections?

[Spartacus]

Hey all,

I’m considering hock injections for my older horse, a retired jumper who now does duty as strictly a flatting and trail horse. He is PPID, so cannot receive any steroids. Thus I’m considering either just HA + antibiotic, or IRap. Pro Stride is too expensive and seems to provide the same benefits as IRap. Also, does anyone have thoughts on stem cell injections vs. these other two? The horse in question definitely shows hock pain. He does get body work, chiropractic, etc. In your area, what is the cost differential between these treatments? I live in a small, pricy area where several veterinary practices have merged, so there isn’t a lot of direct price competition. I’m curious what other people pay for these injections in other parts of the country. Thanks!

[Simkie]

Surprised to hear prostride is more $$$ for you! I thought one of the selling points was the lower cost. Are you sure you’re looking at the whole IRAP series? Usually it’s three injections a week apart vs the single one of Prostride.

It’s been awhile, but last time I used IRAP, it was about a grand an injection. That’s all in–call fee, sedation, processing and kit charge, etc. So about $3k for the series.

IRAP has always worked very well in my horses and I’d not hesitate to use it again.

[joiedevie99]

For me, ProStride would be the obvious choice. I’ve been told that HA without steroid is not very effective. Single injection, and around here at least - relatively reasonable. My vet isn’t putting IRAP in joints much anymore since ProStride came along, although it’s a good product if it somehow works out cheaper for you.

ProStride runs me about $1k, plus another ~$400 for sedation and the actual injection. Stem cells are more expensive.

[Torre]

Vets around here usually start with standard HA/steroid joint injections, and then suggest IRAP if the above isn’t effective, or the efficacy lasts less than 6 months.

Normal injections anywhere from 250 to 500 dependent on joint. IRAP ends up being a few grand.

[Spartacus]

Wow, that’s quite a variation in pricing. I was quoted about 3500-4000 for the Prostride, about 2000 for the IRap, and about 1000 for HA. For the IRap, I don’t think there were charges for the follow-up injections.

[summerfield]

I was just quoted 700/joint for ProStride, and I am in the land of four figure board. I wonder what accounts for such a large discrepancy?

[Simkie]

@Spartacus

Wow, that’s quite a variation in pricing. I was quoted about 3500-4000 for the Prostride, about 2000 for the IRap, and about 1000 for HA. For the IRap, I don’t think there were charges for the follow-up injections.

The three injections involve call fees, sedation, and supplies…so I can’t imagine that’s “free”? Probably worth confirming how many injections you’re getting for that $$ figure.

IRAP stands for Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein. All of those words are important, so it’s abbreviated “IRAP” all in caps.

[Dutchmare433]

@Spartacus

Wow, that’s quite a variation in pricing. I was quoted about 3500-4000 for the Prostride, about 2000 for the IRap, and about 1000 for HA. For the IRap, I don’t think there were charges for the follow-up injections.

Crazy! I did Prostride last summer and it was about $1100 all in, farm call, sedation etc. We specifically didn’t do IRAP because it was much more expensive.

FWIW I would not do HA alone–I don’t think it’s worth it without the anti-inflammatory effect of the steroids. My vet confirmed this.

[quietann]

Hm, have a horse with similar issues/workload, and my regular vet just saw her today. She’s at the point where hock injections are not making a lot of difference. She has a very tight joint space in the right hock, but the joint has never fused. Because she is a “possibly metabolic” older Morgan**, her regular vet doesn’t want to inject her with steroids anyway. A local sports medicine vet has been doing the hock injections, but when they were last done, he also said that the benefit was declining.

Regular vet said to think about shockwave, but I’m not sure how that would work.

Any advice would be appreciated, and I am following this thread.

**She’s been on the high end of normal IR testing for the past several years and has been on thyro-L for about a year now. Just had testing done on Tuesday and it’s about the same. Her ACTH has always been within normal range.

[Spartacus]

So in nailing down the series of injections the IRAP involves (I do know what it stands for, just wasn’t really paying attention to the all-caps abbreviation) it looks like it would be about $3000 all in. I had been told that Prostride was even more expensive—-you all have found that it’s less expensive?

[Simkie]

@Spartacus

So in nailing down the series of injections the IRAP involves (I do know what it stands for, just wasn’t really paying attention to the all-caps abbreviation) it looks like it would be about $3000 all in. I had been told that Prostride was even more expensive—-you all have found that it’s less expensive?

Yes. Because it is a single injection and requires no incubation time, it is less expensive.

[Equisis]

My apologies if you have already done so, but since your OP didn’t mention it, I would recommend considering some diagnostics prior to injecting (ie rule out proximal suspensory pain, see what kind of bony changes are happening, etc). Since budget is important to you, I would want to be sure you are applying the best treatment in the best location.

Agreed that I would go with IRAP/ProStride over HA alone. I would call around on the costs- generally ProStride is a cheaper option than IRAP, and has the added bonus of being one visit and one injection. Are these costs for doing both hocks?

[iChey77]

Does anyone know if human HA injections are used for horses? These special horse ones are so expensive!

[Simkie]

@iChey77

Does anyone know if human HA injections are used for horses? These special horse ones are so expensive!

I’ve got to think human HA is quite a bit more expensive than the horse version. Why do you think it would be less?

[quietann]

My mare, mentioned above, is having the ProStride treatment on Monday. I’ll let people know how it goes.