Joint Disease and Chondroprotection

Tubs or sachets

ORAL SUPPLIMENT FOR HEALTHY JOINTS

Joint problems occur in many horses and are frequently the reason for the loss of use. This applies to all types of horses, from veteran ponies through to race horses, where over two thirds of the days that horses are unable to train are due to lameness. Although there are many different causes of lameness, joint disease, including osteoarthritis, is a major reason.

Management of these problems includes controlled exercise/rest, anti-inflammatories and chondroprotection. Many people know about rest and pain relief, but although many horse owners have heard of and use some form of chondroprotection, the level of understanding about it is generally quite low.

A chondroprotective agent is described as "a basic cartilage building block necessary to help maintain joint fluid and cartilage form within the joint" and can be administered by injection, or more conveniently by mouth via the food. The best oral agents are Glucosamine Hydrochloride, N-Acetyl D-Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulphate, with recent studies showing that glucosamine and chondroitin should be used in combination as they work better together than either ingredient alone. The components of a chondroprotective product should be as pure as possible to not only make sure that your horse gets the right amount of treatment, but that you get what you pay for as well. Not all products are the same in terms of type, quality and levels of ingredients and studies into label claims have shown that some products do not meet the levels that are written on the packaging. The authors of the studies concluded that due to this, horse owners should talk to their veterinary surgeons before buying condroprotective products.

The benefits that have been shown in trials when using oral chondroprotective agents of high purity and quality have been an increase in stride length and joint flexion angles, as well as decreases in degrees of lameness and joint inflammation. In addition to this, benefit has been seen when using good quality chondroprotectives for horses suffering from navicular disease.

Synequin from VetPlus, is a UK patented chondroprotective available only from veterinary surgeons. It benefits from having a combination of glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulphate at very high purity, as well as containing N-Acetyl D-Glucosamine, the form of glucosamine that combines with glucuronate in the formation of cartilage.

Available to order for next day delivery at our surgeries. Remember that the direct dial number for equine and farm calls, during office hours, is 01382 811111. Phone 810777 at all other times.

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