Hi! My 16 year old is currently dealing with some joint issues in his right front and is on rest for a month. My vet has put him on Adequan and Previcox in addition to injecting his right front Coffin Joint. He also recommended a oral supplement and suggested either Cosequin or CortaFlex.
People in my barn use Cosequin and is has always been the go to joint supplement, however, I’m curious about CortaFlex. Any experience out there with it??
Thanks!!
I’m a Cosequin fan over CortaFlex because of all the research Cosequin has done.
Along that same line, my absolute go to joint supplement for arthritic changes is ArthroxigenCR from Uckele. They have the research to back it up, and it makes a noticeable difference in our older gelding who was a big (GP) jumper. Don’t get me wrong, you still need to do the Adequan and sometimes Previcox, but before the supplement, he could be a bit stiff coming out of the stall in the mornings. After a few weeks on it, he was back to his usual (kind of rude) self, dragging everyone to the pasture or to the best patch of grass he can find.
They make two versions of the Arthroxigen, the CR and the regular Arthroxigen. The CR means Competition Ready, so if you’re showing, that is the one I would recommend. They also make Lubrigen, and I use that on my younger horse. She has no arthritic changes, it’s just for maintenance. . . I know people say oral supplements make no difference, but in Booger it definitely does!
My horse is much younger, but has arthritic changes in his right hind fetlock. Besides 2x/yr injections in the joint, I have been incredibly impressed with his reaction to SmartPak’s SmartFlex Resilience. He was on another all purpose joint supplement previously, and even after the diagnosis and first injection, still came out a bit stiff behind and had to be warmed up slowly. He also was getting Adequan injections.
Within 2 months of switching to the SmartFlex, I had a totally different horse. When our vet came out to due his maintenance injections on the arthritic fetlock, hocks and stifles, he said he didn’t even need to do the stifles because they were perfectly fine and just did his hocks as a maintenance thing - not the normal feedback for this horse. He also was completely shocked that this was the same horse he had seen 6 mos prior.
I’m not saying SmartFlex is the only change we made (increased turn out and changed feed, as well as use of Surpass on his bad ankle after jumping and Back on Track wraps), but a lot of the changes were targeted towards his bad ankle, and not his hocks and stifles. He is overall moving better and jumping more square. I know that the impact of oral supplements is debatable and can vary by horse, but I simply can’t help but be impressed with the SmartFlex. Additionally, when you compare the price and levels of therapeutic ingredients to other supplements, the value can’t be beat.
Actiflex. Best bang for your buck. Has more HA than the other supplements you mentioned. Which is what I think made the biggest difference in my guy.
Smartpak has a helpful tool that allows you to compare supplements and their ingredients side by side. Might be worth a look
I like cosequin ASU. It’s the only feed through supplement my vet will recommend.
I’ve had very good luck with Corta-Flx Rx (same as Corta-Flx but double strength) on a few horses of various ages with various issues. I have always seen improvement.
I have nothing against Cosequin ASU – I’m sure it’s a great product, but the cost has always warded me away. I can feed a double dose of Corta-Rx for $24/month per horse (pelleted) or $31/month per horse (liquid). (A double-dose of Rx is the same as a double-dose of regular Corta-Flx but is less expensive.)
I often combine this with Lubrisyn with great results – still less $ than the Cosequin.
I also give injectable Pentosan but have seen good results using Corta-Rx alone.
Heartland has the best prices I have found:
http://www.heartlandvetsupply.com/p-3971-corta-flx-rx-solution.aspx
http://www.heartlandvetsupply.com/p-3968-corta-flx-rx-pellets.aspx
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