Is msm worth feeding for a joint supplement? Will it help with little stiffness? Considering adding into my young horses diet. I herd it’s a waste. Herd its great, herd it needs to be pair with vit c to be effective and herd its not a joint but tendon ligament supplement. I’m looking at the msm by vita flex. Thanks.
I can only speak about my own experience with feeding it. I have noticed an improvement in both my mare and my Boer buck( goat) who both receive it daily. I feed no other supplements.
Do u feed vit c with it? Do u feed this particular product, msm vita flex? Few ppl mentioned u need to vit c with it.
Why is the horse stiff / why does a young horse need MSM?
Better to spend money pursuing diagnostics so you understand why the horse is stiff.
To answer your question, I’ve seen good improvements on stalled horses with MSM. It’s cheap and easy to feed, so it’s worth trying if you think it makes a difference. I don’t think it makes a difference if that horse is out 24/7. I never fed mine with Vit C.
I was told msm is good to give to young horses! He is a very muscled up horse. He isnt hypp. Be he is on a diet to go with that and sometimes he can get a little stiff so I seen this and thought maybe add it. He is stalled at night or during bad weather.
How old is he?
Can you describe this stiffness?
I would not expect a young horse to be stiff. If he is, I would make sure he’s not being over-worked, that his feet are happy, that his saddle fits, that his diet is good, I would do blood work to check his vitamin E and selenium levels.
What does he eat?
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I’m just looking for info on msm. 
. Not looking for diagnosis for my horse.
But I already bought it so I’m gonna try it
The point of all that is - not all stiffness is something that MSM could possibly address
If you’re dealing with low grade laminitis, making the horse “stiff”, no amount of MSM is going to handle that. If stiffness is due to a high hay, low/no grass diet with little to no added Vit E, then an E deficiency can make muscles sore and stiff and MSM won’t touch that
Young horses shouldn’t be stiff.
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MSM can be used as a mild anti inflammatory and mild pain killer, and a sulfur source in the diet. As with the use of ANY anti inflammatory and pain killer, it is important to understand the source of the inflammation and pain before treating for it.
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Nah I was just going to give it to him Willy nilly
Bc it’s cheap! Lol. I’m just asking about product. Just learning and potentially seeing for my guy. He is a pssm2 horse so he is on diet and can be stiff at times not bad along with slight muscle pain sometimes. So just looking
Horses can make their own Vitamin C, so I am unsure why you would need to feed it with MSM.
Right. That just what ppl have said and they feed vit c with the msm. I’m not sure!
Ok, now we’re getting somewhere 
What is his diet? I ask because I run across a lot of people who know (or think) their horse is Type 2, and they think they need a diet like the type 1 horses need
They need more protein, a lot of people are having great success with adding whey isolate protein powder. They tend to have higher Vit E requirements as well
MSM is not something I’ve run into as being beneficial to PSSM2 horses because their issue isn’t inflammation, exactly, or if it’s a symptom, it’s not fixed by MSM because that’s not addressing the underlying dietary issue.
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Well I recently did a diet change. I didn’t know if tc30 was causing issues. Or not. So right now we are on 3 lbs alfalfa pellets. Elevate se. copper zinc. 4000 iu natural vit e. 3000 of that comes from elevate se. tri amino. And I’ll be added whey protein isolate when it comes. Two tablespoons of salt. My issue issue is I don’t exactly know how much copper zinc. To add I feed uckele copper and zinc by direction on it. I do know bay is low in copper zinc and higher in iron. But I don’t know those exact numbers anymore. I will test hay next year when we get it made. But we are low to none in selenium. I bought msm but I have not added it yet.
I already had poly copper poly zinc and elevate se. so undated if buying vitamin mineral like 200$ KISS or something I’d feed what I have here. KISS is calcium, . Copper 1400 ppm. Zinc 4911 ppm Selenium 17 ppm
I’ve used MSM of various brands for years. Usually Animed or VitaFlex. I will never not have it on my shelves. I have noticed a big difference in joint cracking and respiratory health since putting my now 3 year old on it at a year old when she fractured her radius, and my older AQHA mare who experiences occasional inflammation and has heaves.
I see above it’s for a PSSM2 horse. MSM is beneficial for inflammation. Because PSSM doesn’t cause inflammation, it won’t help on the PSSM front, but will aid in joint repair and inflammation caused by exercise/injury.
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I have IU used MSM for years. Seems to make other feeds/vitamins work a bit better… I just sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon in the pellets. My vet is fan of MSM. And DMSO—In PNW so ground zero for DMSO and MSM. MSM has no smell…way nicer to use!
Scientifically, my understanding that there is no joint advantage in using MSM, but I have heard it helps with breathing issues ?
Arthritis can start as a response to inappropriate inflammation. Existing arthritis can worse in the presence of inappropriate inflammation. Since MSM is proven to have some anti-inflammatory effects, it may help joints
