I have a 18 year old TB... mild but good joint supplements?

Question

I have an 18 year old Thoroughbred, however he wasn't even broken in at all until he was 10 years old-- so he doesnt have 15 years of work on his legs like most other horses that age. Hes not showing signs of MUCH stiffness and NO lameness at all but his neck and joints in his legs snap, crackle and pop even after riding! (haha) So could you guys recommend some joint supplements that i can put with his feed or something? But nothing TOO strong that is made for really old horses, because he really isnt that old considering his past....THANKS!

Answer 1

Speak with your vet about therapeutic daily supplements such as "Buteless solutions" Like the new "Devil's Claw and Yucca Root" (herbal) supplement which can help with arthritis.

The snap crackle pop sounds are stiffness and possibly arthritis in his joints. Even a horse that doesn't have 'riding' miles on him can have normal life wear and tear. Someone who is 40 but has never worked a day in their life still has a body that is 40-- but they might be in a bit better shape than someone who is 40 but has worked a farm all their life.

So an 18 year old horse is very likely to have some signs of arthritis or normal joint wear and tear just from daily life (getting up and laying down, running and playing in a field, bucking during herd dominance, etc.)

The BL or buteless solutions on the market these days are anti-inflamatories. They work like bute to keep inflamation down. However, BL solutions don't have the same side effects that Bute has which can cause stomach ulcers and high tolerance levels over extended use. BL solution is a daily addative to feed.

I have a 16 year old gelding who, after 2 weeks on BL, showed such an improvement that his stiffness and lameness are almost 100% gone. Of course in cold/damp weather he still is a bit sore (like me with my arthritis!) but for the most part he's SO MUCH BETTER!!

Talk with your vet but these are great new dietary supplements that work well for most horses and have no known side effects. From what I understand, they are good for all ('adult' = 3+) age ranges of horses.

Again, don't judge his age by his riding life- judge his age by his physical life. He's still been alive for 18 years which puts wear on the body, too, just not as much as a horse who's been in hard work his whole life. :-)

Don't forget that GOOD quality riding (especially dressage training which works to specifically strengthen joints and muscles!) which makes the horse build muscle tone, will help lengthen the working life of the horse much more than any supplement!!

Good luck to you. Feel free to email if you have additional questions. My kid is old, too, with arthritis and 'snap crackle pop joints.' Happy to compare notes with ya!


As a side note: BL solution costs about $20 a month. And does NOT require the invasive procedures that joint-injections or Intra-muscular injections such as cosequin injections do.

BL Its just a regular pelleted feed supplement like electrolytes, etc. It is MUCH cheaper for you than joint injections and because it is not as drastic as injections, there's very little risk of your horse being 'hot' or a 'handful' the next day.
You can also calibrate the dosage to meet your horse's needs.
For example, in summer when it is less likely to be cold and damp, I feed my gelding 1/2 the dosage b/c his arthritis doesn't act up as much. It is much more difficult to tailor injections to a horse than it is a feed supplement.

Cosequin the feed supplement and injection only encourages the body to produce more sonovial fluid (joint fluid) -- it does NOT ensure that the fluid is delivered to the specific joints needed. More importantly, it does NOT reduce the inflamation of the joint which is what causes arthritis or ringbone in the first place, where as BL solution gets rid of the inflamation and allows existing joint fluid to work effectively. It also allows the body to focus on producing sonovial fluid FIRST since BL is reducing inflamation-- instead of producing anti inflamatories and then making sonovial fluid production secondary which is what joint-injection specific supplements do.
Your vet may reccomend the combination of both an anti inflamatory and a joint supplement like MSM (which is a mineral supplement much healthier than cosequin) or Cosequin or a Cosequin derivative. If this is the case, go with your vet's instruction.
Otherwise, give the BL solution a try. For $20 a month, try it for two months-- give your gelding a week off when you first try it to ensure he doens't have a reaction. Then continue your regular work routine. You should see results almost immediately. If you don't see the results you want, talk to your doctor about MSM as a joint supplement WITH The BL solution-- this, again, is cheaper than joint injections and you should find this works to clear up the horse's issues.

Answer 2

The absolute best (and cheap, and effective) supplement is Glucosamine injections. You can get a generic brand 100ml bottle from your vet for about a 100 bucks. It needs to be prescribed, but shouldn't be a problem to get.
You do need to be able to give shots, but it is easy. If you don't know already, have the vet show you.
You give a loading dose every week for a month, and then usually give it every 3-4 weeks. A bottle lasts a little under a year.
Most feeding supplements are not known to be effective. The only one clinically tested was Cosequin, and that runs about $100 a month.
I use glucosamine on my mare as a preventative. She is a 17.2h draft horse and I do dressage on her- she is going to have joint problems early in her life, so I am trying to help that point be later.
You can definately tell the day after the shot- she is a lot more flexible. If your boy was feeling any pain before, he may be hard to handle because he feels so good after it. I know some horses that can not get the injections because they would buck and run constantly until the supplement wore off.

I have seen it used in about 30 or so horses and all except one show extreme improvements within the first 2 weeks.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I use Cortaflex. It's great for horses of any age. Although it may seem expensive, a tub last for months, and I've never known a horse be put off it's feed while using it, unlike some other joint supplements. It contains balanced ingredients and has good research to back up it's claims (rather than being sold on the back of 'old wives tales').
See the link for more information:
http://www.equine-america.co.uk/welcome.html

You can buy it at a reasonable price here:
http://www.supplementsolutions.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21_40&products_id=216http://

Answer 5

I have a 20 yr old TB/QH cross, He has to have a joint supplement also. We give him" FluidFlex", He uses one bottle a month. And it's about 20.00, We started seeing a diffrence in him in about 3 to 4 days of him taking it. It just gets mixed in his feed.
They also make a pellet mix called "joint combo" that also works great we use this on our draft mare. This is a bit more i belive we pay around 30.00 a month for this.
But i would say to go to your local feed store, or even go online like valley vet and look and read. Ask the people at your local feed store for what they belive would work best for your baby ( horse). But take the time and read up on diffrent supplements and understand whats in them. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

fluid flex is what our vet recommended for our senior quarter horse/TB cross. we gave it to him year round to keep him from having any joint problems. it worked because our vet said that he was the healthest 20 year old he had ever seen. its a thick liquid that you pour in there food whenever you feed. we go ours at tractor supply. you can go to www.mytsc.com

Answer 7

glucosamine is probley best for what you are looking for i have a few of my horses on it it's great also i would recommend MSM after you ride him hard it preventes inflamation i hope this helped.KIT.

Answer 8

Remember, we're all advil. lol