Joint support for the ulcer prone horse

[Supakwe]

I’ve asked the vet but I’m still waiting on that so thought I’d ask all of you knowledgeable people whilst we wait. I did a search but couldn’t find any threads that really answered my question, but if I’ve missed something, my apologies!

I have a 12 year old TB who I would like to put on something for joint support. We had a bout of ulcers last year which have been treated, though be remains on preventative (Mad Barn’s Visceral) daily and Omeprazole as needed (ie. During and after stressful events - most recently some cellulitis that mixed up his routine for about a week.)

I used to have him on MSM just as a preventative but discontinued that when we were treating for ulcers last year as I had read it was not ideal for horses with ulcers.

So now I am thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have him on something. I just want it to be something that isn’t going to mess with his stomach.

Thoughts? What joint supplement is safe for the ulcer prone horse? Should I just go the injectable route?

Thank you / miigwech!

Update: Heard back from the vet a while ago and she suggested either Equitop Gonex or 4cyte. We’re going to give gonex a shot as we can only get the gel 4cyte in Canada and that seems like a pain for barn staff.

[Angela_Freda]

Have you considered injectable options?
Nevermind I see you mentioned it.

[Simkie]

Hyaluronic acid is used both as joint support and to treat gastric ulcers, so that seems an easy pick in a “two birds, one stone” sense.

[skipollo]

^^^^what @Simkie said. My horse (15yo OTTB, average arthritic changes for his age/workload) became ulcer-y after an injury that required prolonged antibiotics. I treated him for the ulcers (long uphill battle), and he does really well on Hyaluronex (liquid HA supplement). He finished ulcer tx almost a year ago and hasn’t had any issues since.

I do have him on MSM as well and he’s had no issues with it, if that helps with your decision at all.

[Supakwe]

It’s definitely on the list. It would definitely eliminate the possibility of it being totally useless.

[Supakwe]

Very interesting. I’ll look more in to that. Thank you!

[Pippigirl]

I began giving HA (Lubrisyn) to one of my cats last fall for arthritis/joint support. He has had ongoing GI issues for years and couldn’t find anything that offered him much relief. After about 3 - 4 weeks of being on the HA, I realized that the vomiting and diarrhea had dropped off dramatically. Occasionally he will still vomit hairballs but not even close to what he used to experience.

To my knowledge, Lubrisyn hasn’t done any formal studies wrt their product and GI health but it was the only thing that changed in my cat’s diet. It’s also helping with arthritis.

[Supakwe]

Just an update in case anyone stumbles across this thread in the future:

Heard back from the vet a while ago and she suggested either Equitop Gonex or 4cyte. We’re going to give gonex a shot as we can only get the gel 4cyte in Canada and that seems like a pain for barn staff.