After talking with an OSPHOS rep and my vet I’m seriously considering getting the injections for my OTTB with ringbone. I’m just wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions about this drug?
Osphos sent my horse into kidney failure. That was the most expensive “cheap, minimal-side-effect treatment” I’ve given a horse. I had heard good things about it from many friends and horsemen, so important to note that ymmv. I won’t ever give it again, however, unless I have a very good reason to.
2 Likes
There have been some strong negative opinions coming through from professionals with extensive experience with the drugs:
https://thehorse.com/19618/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-bisphosphonates/
1 Like
I tried it last spring for hock issues, along with IA injections. I didn’t notice any difference or benefit for that particular issue. I usually get my guy’s hocks and stifles done but thought his hocks were the crux of the issue so threw more at that but ended up getting stifles done too and he was good to go. It does have the mild colic and kidney failure issue- i’d check kidney function first before trying the Osphos.
I also tried it for stifle arthritis. No obvious benefit, but no side effect either.
I’m copying a post from 2017 about our experience with Osphos and it was positive but, in our situation, we felt the risk was worth the possible outcome. Post:
We have a 5 year old that fractured his knee when he was 1.5 years of age. He was not supposed to make it within the year of his diagnosis. There is an old post on here that gives more detail.
We take annual x-rays to track the progress of his fracture. The carpal bone looks moth eaten and fragile on x-rays BUT he has never been lame.
Tildren and/or Osphos were too risky at the time because he was young and growing, so we did Adequan, Legend and bone supplementation over the years as he was not a candidate for surgery (bone was crushed and the current vet thinks it looks more like a bone infection had occurred and he’s a massive boy).
We got him through the past few years (he’s 5 and a half now…wipe tear) and finally we could do an Osphos treatment to see if it would help with the regeneration of bone. Lameness was not an indicator of success because he has never been lame. We x-rayed his knee prior to treatment in August, and then x-rayed the knee again in January. There was a definite improvement in the bone density within 5 months. The knee will never be perfect but we have clearance from the vet to put him into light training under saddle.
Our boy experienced no ill side effects or adverse reactions after treatment. From a lameness perspective, I don’t know if it helped but on x-rays there was a clinical improvement of bone.
We will be doing another round this summer.
I used it on my horse with severe arthritic changes from an injury to his knee. It did not help and might have made it worse because he was doing better before.
Thanks for the responses.
How does one check a horse’s kidney function?
I’ve used it twice. One time for a specific change seen on x-ray while healing from a ligament injury and a second time >12 months later for generalized help with OA. I believe it helped in both cases.
My vet instructed me not to use any NSAIDs around the osphos treatment and warned me of the possibility of kidney issues and colic. He also told me what to watch for regarding kidney issues (changes in drinking/urination and loss of appetite). We pulled blood and checked kidney numbers before the second administration but I would not feel it was necessary every time unless I was concerned about his health before the administration.
Osphos can cause spasmodic colic (should be observed within 30 minutes of dosing) and my horse requires a dose of buscopan with the osphos.
The studies referenced above are all in young horses and some of the studies/stories you hear are from repeated, frequent use of bisphosphonates - as often as every other month. My vet does not recommend using osphos in young horses or frequent use (<12 months apart) as that may increase the risk of long-term negative effects. But for a mature horse, he believes it is lower risk than Tildren when using on-farm.
2 Likes
Simple blood test. My vets will not administer Osphos or Tildren anymore without testing the week prior to administration. Separately, we give Buscopan with both to prevent cramping since you can’t give NSAIDS with it. .
We tried it with our older gelding with front left lameness. We didn’t see any change in him; we’d been hopeful. We live in a very rural area that’s primarily ranch horses. Our vet had used Osphos only a couple times - once on a beloved kids horse with a bad knee (helped!), once on a rope horse (no help) and us, no help. That’s a real small empirical pool, but vet says he’s not too impressed with the drug.
Used it this past fall on a 5 yr old OTTB with pedal osteitis and possible condylar bruising. I think it has helped. We have some other issues that linger but I think that is due to the time off. If he goes to long without being ridden he has left stifle issues. It does not appear to have helped that.
I had it done at the vet clinic so he had me hang around for half an hour to watch for colic before I loaded for the trip home. No issues.
I’m taking my horse to the vet next week. Osphos is one of the things we are considering for him. We are going to talk about it more, but we both agree that nothing is without side effects. We’ll be taking more X-rays and also considering that in our decision.
She’s already mentioned the liver and kidney risk to me, as well as colic. The bigger “risk” I’m worried about is how it affects bone healing down the road, which is some of the more recent talk that has come out.
I believe Osphos is only approved in treatment of navicular, everything else is off label. I have used it on a horse with navicular changes and the horse did come sound as a result, and in conjunction with a navicular bursa injection. Gave Osphos again two months later (per vet advice) and no change noted though the horse was sound at the time so did not expect a change. We will use it again when needed, but again this is on label use, people using it for other issues I am finding are having less success.
1 Like
That’s a good point about off label uses. For clarity’s sake, our gelding does have navicular issues and that’s why we held out some hope. Glad it’s worked for some, though!
Yes- kidney function is a blood test- same as in people.
Yeah, I read those articles but they don’t really concern me. My gelding turns 20yo in a couple weeks. And I’m not too worried about future injuries as he is now just a professional lawn ornament. It would be great if he could return to being riding sound, but my goal is just to make him more comfortable and pasture sound.
My gelding was originally diagnosed with “navicular syndrome”, with minor navicular changes noticed on xrays, but it was later changed to ringbone. The Osphos rep I spoke with used the drug on her gelding with severe ringbone in both fronts, and noticed significant improvement, and my vet recommended it as well. So, I hopeful that it will help him at least a little bit.
I’ve used it for years with my mare who has navicular. We do yearly blood work to check kidney but haven’t had an issue though we know to keep an eye out. It helped make her sound and keep her sound. I’m over five years of using it her navicular has only changed slightly. Both my vets were shocked at how little change she’s had in the time frame. Currently she is still sound and jumps though I know no drug will stop the fact that she’ll some day just be a pet. As for off label use I wouldn’t suggest it.
Good, I was afraid it was going to have to be a urine sample, and my horse is the most bashful, anal-retentive animal I have ever met! :lol:
1 Like
