What joint supplement to give stiff mare?

Question

i have a 11year old id x tb . she is worked 6 days a week for 1-2 hours. she is very fit but sometimes can be a bit stiff in her back end and take a while to loosen up. would a joint supplement help? and if so any recommendations that aren't to pricey? thanks =]

Answer 1

i would see what your vet recomends and lung her before you ride and after you ride

Answer 2

Glucsamine supplements that are used in dogs are fine for horses. Green Lipped Muscle is fine also. Any product containing Type II Collagen is also ok.

Maybe try some warm up stretches first, before you even get on the horse. Once tacked up, stretch both front legs out, one at a time, and hold for 10 secs.

Turn your horses neck around to the left, slowly, and very gently, until its nose touches its side. This may take about a week before they can reach their side, but it really loosens them up. Hold their nose on their side (just behind the elbow) for 2-3 secs. Repeat on the right.

Answer 3

apple cider vinegar, in her feed and longer to warm up before working and cooling down.

Answer 4

Bute is gd for stiffness

Answer 5

cod liver oil

Answer 6

Not sure if this is OK for horses, but I use it on my old dog, and it has done wonders.  My vet recommended it.

It is a supplement designed for humans, and you can get it at any heatlh food store.  Not very expensive.

Glucosamyne.  apparantly it helps cartlige regrow.

Maybe check with your vet though about using it for horses.

Answer 7

i have an 11 year old arab x cob and he had a similar problem a few months ago and i gave him a supplement reccomended by my vet its called devils claw and its in a liquid form just add the reccommened dose to her food and after about a week you should see a big improvement! good luck :)

Answer 8

Adequan. Pricey but you only give the injections for one cycle (about a month) and it is about the equivalent of feeding a joint supplement for an entire year. I swear by it and so do many top level competitors. It is the best joint supplement and is proven to be the ONLY one that can repair joint damage and restore the horses natural cartilage between the joints. Adequan contains HA and HA is what is in costly joint injections.

I have 3 horses with stifle injuries and they are on adequan and perform so sound. My one mare fell and did the splits and a vet told me she could never be ridden again and we gave her adequan and now she has returned to full training and even jumping.

If you can't afford a joint supplement turn the horse out as much as possible! it is free and will work wonders on a stiff horse. My vet tells me to just turn out my horses that get injured. They need to keep moving to not be stiff.

Good luck

Answer 9

There are a lot of suggestions there, you can get a glucosamine supplement for your horse from the feed store, it is quite expensive though, also I use apple cider vinegar (also from the feed store) very cheap, I give mine about 1/4 of a cup a day in their feed, the other thing is linseed oil as it contains omega oils and vitamin E which help a lot with joint problems, or if that is too expensive sunflower oil isn't bad it has the Vitamin E but not the omega oils.  Iv heard too much lucerne can made a horse stiff as its too high in some minerals and puts out the balance.

Because your horse is being worked quite hard, he would be needing extra minerals and salts (from sweat loss), do you have a salt/mineral block (thats the cheap way) or a vitamin / mineral supplement from the feed store, just check that you aren't double dosing him as a lot of the complete feeds have extra vitamins and minerals added.

I get a supplement from my local health food shop and it is made from sprouted grasses its called super greens and my horses look the best they have ever looked (and its cheap), but it is something the lady makes up so I don't know if you can get it everywhere.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Cheers Sandi

Answer 10

I think glucasamine is good, and it certainly would not do any harm.  Linseed (soaked of course) is another good one - also gives a shinier coat - so double whammy!

I wonder if she might have azoturia - stiffness in back end, can sometimes be known as Monday Morning Sickness - where too much protein is fed on rest day and then stiffness and possible paralysis can occur, especially if you do not do proper warm up.  

There is an old saying which says "Walk the first mile, trot the second and do what the h**l you like after that!" I am not sure about the last bit, but I guess that depends on the health and fitness of the horse, but I think the first bit is good today.

Have you had the vet or chiroprachter out to have a look?

Answer 11

Research shows that its best to use a combination of all three joint supplements: Chondroitin Sulphate, Glucasamine and MSM. its really difficult to find a product on the market but there is a company I'v found that sells this combination. Its from "Equimins" and is called Flexijoint 600g (60 days) is £20.95. I use the flexijoint liquid for my elderly pony which has the three joint supplements but in a Devils Claw base (a natural painkiller) which is £21.95 for 1 litre (60 days). Cod liver oil is a commonly used product, but im not convinced it really works, but it would possibly be the first thing I'd try if she's just a little stiff, as its so readily available.

Answer 12

glucosamine and also rub her with horse liniment.  Check with you vet to see if there are any new products on the market that he would recommend.

Answer 13

I give my horse joint supplement made by animed.  It's very reasonibly priced.  You have to do a loading dose then he gets a smaller dose for maintenance.  You can purchase it at www.horse.com.  I also heard that devil's claw works, but I never tried it. Best thing is to have your horse outside.  The more they move around the better.  The more they stay in a stall the siffer they get.  I would also suggest putting on some horse linament before and after you ride.   Warm him up alot before getting into the work out.  Good stretching exercises are a good place to start.

Answer 14

no dont always turn to a supliment if something goes wrong...good nutrition comes first but i dont think it has anything to do with her joints or nutrition anyway.her saddle may not have the proper fit or something along those lines.so call the vet.

Answer 15

is you want cheap, get MSM.  Its about $10 for a months supply and works REALLY well.

If you are willing to spend $30 then get corta-flex, its works very well also, but if you are just starting her out on supplements then start with MSM so you have something to work up to..

Answer 16

glucosamine or cod liver oil helps for humans ask the vet if its ok to give to horse.