Question

There has been a lot of discussion about ways to stop wear and tear on joints, and I’ve seen lots of ads in magazines for supplements that are supposed to help horses. I’ve also been told oral supplements don’t work and injections do. What is the truth? I have a warmblood that I use for dressage. Do I need a joint supplement or do I need to get the vet to give him injections? If so, how many injections?

Answer

There is good evidence that the injectable products such as cartrophen or Adequan used to help horses with joint problems really do have some benefit for the joint. In my mind, the tricky part is to know if you should use these products as a preventative in the horse that is showing no signs of joint disorders. With the feed supplements, there are not the same amounts of controlled data showing the benefit of the products. They tend to contain glucosamine and or chondroitin sulphate. There are data showing that glucosamine can get to the joint. Chondroitin is a very large molecule and it is doubtful if this is absorbed whole in the gut. There are also some test tube data showing that glucosamine can play a role in suppressing some of the enzymes that cause cartilage breakdown.

There are too many anecdotal reports that these products do work to ignore them. Some previously lame and stiff horses are now jumping and working freely. If the oral products work they will be the best bet as they are cheaper and are not as invasive, but severe cases may need the injectable products.