Glucosamine for my horse??????

Question

my nearly 19 yo tb has been a bit stiff lately, it's fixing itself with lots of good riding, laterals etc, but i decided to start him on glucosamine at 20 mgs once a day(i cant get down to feed him twice). have others had good results?? i was a bit tentative to try it because i really don't like the thought of him eating a shark fin thats been cut off and the animal left to drown.. but i don't want him to be retired earlier than he has to. is there any other additives i can try? how long will it take before there is a significant difference (if glucosamine is what he needs). thanks everyone!!

Answer 1

First off, a horse will need a minimum of 7,500 mg of glucosamine for it to do anything.  A typical hunter or hard working horse would need 7,500-10,000 mg.

There are a few key components that you need in a joint support for it to really work.  As a preventative then you may be fine with just glucosamine, but it will work better if you had a few more things.

You want to look for something with these key ingredients:

-glucosamine: a precursor for the synthesis of structural components of joints such as articular cartilage, collagen, and synovial fluid.

-collagen: its absorbed in the digestive tract that has amino acids that help in the maintenance of connective tissues such as cartilage, tendons, ligaments, skin, and bone.

-chondroitin sulfate: used by the body as a precursor for joint structures

-hyaluronic acid: major componant of synovial fluid within the joint and helps with skin hydration and suppleness as well as wound repair.

-omega-3 fatty acids: help control the production of inflammatory hormones.

-vitamin C: essential cofactor in collagen production.

-zinc, copper, and manganese: cofactors in the many reactions for joint structure support.

You dont need to have MSM.  MSM will compete with all other minerals to be digested.  Collagen is a great alternative.  Plus, for MSM to be in the correct molecular form to be digested (rather then just filtered out in the pee) it is VERY expensive.  So the $10 msm bucket you may buy is most likely not going to really help since its most likely not the correct form to be digested.

I have had great results with Nimble.  It by adeptus.  Another product that works well, is Lubrisyn.  You can buy all the products here:

http://www.marystack.com/

Most products tell you to start the product feeding twice a day.  Yes it will get into their system a little faster but once a day is fine.  It will take a minimum of 30 days for you to see a difference.  If there is alot of joint damage it may take longer to see a change.

Other anit-inflammatory drug options that you dont need to feed daily include:

-cortisone: among the most powerful anti-inflammatory agent.  I really wouldnt use this actually, more of an emergency horse needs releif immediatly and its not a regular habit kind of thing.

-bute: you probably know what this is but if you dont, think of it like strong horse aspirin.  preferred for long term use but has been associated with aplastic anemia (rare).

-DMSO: available at your local tack store you can put directly on the joint.  Works to remove many of the harmful byproducts of inflamation.  Just wear gloves since it can penatrate your skin while applying if bare handed.

-HA injection

-Surpass: kind of like DMSO but different drugs.  Legal at shows.  Can target the area specifically.

http://www.idexx.com/equine/pharmaceutic...

Answer 2

There are injectable forms of glucosamine and similar stuff that works great for horses.

Answer 3

hi, there are some supplements  you can try, athri-flex by Nettex, Equine Cortaflex from Equine America..this has given me some good results and also worth trying  five star superflex by Naf horse products,  this comes in powder or soluble(good for older horses where poor absorption may be a  problem). They are expensive and finding the one thats right for your horse may be a case of trial and error.....check manufacturers web sites for active ingredient levels...

Athri-flex claims to work within hours !

good luck, hope you find something to keep your boy smiling :o)

Answer 4

I feed my horses Glucosamine and it works wonders! My older horses are working better, they are free-er and suppler and have a higher tolernace to jumping and the harder ground in summer. I feed glucosamine in conjunction with MSM-(has been shown to add flexibility to cell walls while allowing fluids to pass through the tissue more easily.  MSM enhances tissue pliability and encourages the repair of damaged skin MSM levels in the body of all animals decline with age). So MSM enhances the glucosamines purpose. I would strongly recommend glucosamine for your horse, atleast give it a go. It is very affordable also.

Answer 5

It works miracles. My coach uses it and...her horses live to their 30's.  

Answer 6

You already have a lot of good advice here.  I am just dropping in to say we have a 22 year old and a 15 year old.  Our 22 year old has been on glucosamine since last winter and is doing really great, you would never guess he is 22!  We are just starting our 15 year old out but I noticed he was feeling pretty frisky this last weekend.  Good luck with your horse.  

Answer 7

I feed 1000mg Glucosamine+MSM by Equine America to my TB who has mild arthritis. It works wonders with him! I also feed him cod liver oil and devil's claw. Devil's claw is a natural anti-imflammatory which is great for stiff joints :-)

Eventually my TB will have to go onto maintainance bute (and yours may well to if he has arthritis) but I find the supplements I feed him will help put that time off. A friend with a very elderly horse (now on maintainance bute) fed the same mix to her horse for years and she recommended it to me :-) Good luck!

Answer 8

We had an older arthritic horse with stiffness issues. He was really picky about what went in his food so, we had to find something really palatable, and since he was an old lesson horse, we weren't looking to spend a ton of money on supplements for him. We found this one, called Next Level. It's like $30-40 for a month's supply and it's alfafa based so its yummy. It worked really well for him. Contains MSM, glucosamine, shark cartilage, ester-c and some other stuff. I really recommend it. http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?...

And if you're willing to spend the ($70/month?) for Cosequin, it definitely works the best! You also might consider a monthly injection of Adequan($45)  or Legend($??). The Adequan is actually the only thing I do for my 14 yr old jumper mare, and she has no issues.

Answer 9

I don't have personal experience, but recently I was with a person who I hold in very high regard with such matters. And she was recommending it and talked of it's marvelous benefits. She told me there were two drug making companies in the US making this product - sorry I can't now remember who they were....

Good luck with it. :)

Answer 10

Go to a feed shop and look at their Glucosamine products.  When I did this I found that most products recommend a total of 5000 mg of Glucosamine given daily, most suggest you divide it up to two feedings so you'd give 2500 mg in the morning, and 2500 in the afternoon.  This is called a "loading dose".  You normally give this amount for a month or six weeks, and then decrease the horse back to only 2500mg daily.  The packages and all the written information I've seen say you need to give Glucosamine for at least a month before you can expect any improvement.

Are you sure you're only giving 20mg a day?  Most human form tablets are 500 mg tablets, so it seems unlikely you are giving only 20 mg a day, perhaps its 200 you're giving, which still isn't nearly enough.

I priced out the costs of equine formula Glucosamine, and then instead went to Wal-Mart and bought a decent quality human Glucosamine in the capsule form.  Each capsule is 500mg.  I then used that, it works well.  All you do is take your horse's daily grain ration, and add a teaspoon or two of cooking oil (to help the medication stick to the grain and not just fall to the bottom of the pail)  Take your capsules, and open them and sprinkle the powder on the oily spot in the grain.  In my case I needed to five 5 capsules in the morning, and five at night.  I use an old spoon and mix it a bit and give it to my mare.  She gobbles it up like a pig, she does not sift out the Glucosamine and in fact will l**k up the stuff at the bottom of the pail (the oil probably tastes good)  I have seen an improvement in her movement this year, she has suffering with some back issues which seem to have improved.

Glucosamine is probably your best bet when it comes to fairly inexpensive products to try.  Using the human formula it costs me about $15/month at the loading dose, and will get down to only half that cost once on the regular dose.  The equine formulas could be as much as $30-$70/month, depending on brand!  Glucosamine has a proven record of helping SOME people, dogs and horses that use it, it is not a cure for everyone.

I don't know what the answer is to your problem of not being able to feed twice a day.  I would ask a pharmacist if there is problems if you feed the entire 5000mg at one feed.  I suspect you may have to just use 2500mg daily, it should help but probably will take longer to see the improvements.

I would do all the other common sense stuff for your old horse as well.  Keep him in turn-out 24/7 if possible.  Don't allow him to be overweight. Perhaps consider chiropractor work, or have him examined by a vet or farrier.  Keep your grain to a minimum if possible.

Good luck, I hope I was able to give you some more info.