Hi,
first off let me say the horse is under vet care and basically the vet said it was my call which joint "medicine" to use.
the horse came sound, to me at 4 yrs old. that was 2 years ago.
his left hind stifle quickly became a big soundness issue.AFTER about 3 months off the track. once his body started to let down (i was riding him but it is not the same as race training) all the nasty little lameness started to show them selves. i dont know what drugs/anti inflamatory’s/ or medicines they had him on.
he was recovering from surgery to have knee chips removed from racing. it was 3months into his training to get back to racing when they finally threw in the towel and called me.
in any event he is a wonderful horse, and i have been working with a vet and acupuncturist to get him sound.
which would you recommend for this fella?
he is prone to all over body soreness, so i am leaning toward the adequan…but am not sure if it would fully address the stifle issue.
before going the route of injections i decided to try an herbal supplement.
got it from england…called "after ace".
it has devils claw in it which is a mild anti inflmatory. it also had some other herbs for tieing up syndrome which can be created by messed up joints and the horse compensating with other parts of his body.
by day 10 the horse was completely "freed up" is the only way i can describe it.
the down side to this product is that it is about 80 per month…plus you have to dose them in the mouth …because mixing it in food breaks it down and it doesnt do anything.
but it did work which tells me the horse can become more sound long term if i pick the right product.
sounds like the cortisone shot is NOT the way to go…and thank u so much for your answers so far!

The following reply is by : Ponygirl :
Cortisone is only a short term treatment. It is the best anti inflammatory out there, hands down. BUT it completely stops all remodeling of cartilage. A single cortisone shot was put in 5 horses knees, and after a year, a horse was sacrificed, and it was noted that the cartilage was in stasis. So each year for the next 4 years, a horse was sacrificed, and the single cortisone shot had shut down the cartilage such that at the cellular level, no cartilage had been made in 5 years. Vets were very surprised at this, and they do not know how long the process will be shut down since they ran out of horses.

In any case, a horse does a lot of moving around on his legs during that time.

Adequan, or even better, Legend is the same chemical makeup of the synovial fluid within the joints, and puts the joints and cartilage in a position to repair itself.

Adequan will take longer to work; about 3 months, and that is 5-6 shots, so quite costly, but there are no downsides except your wallet. Cortisone will give you short term success, is very cheap, but will shut down his repair and rebuilding system.

Go for the Adequan. Ask your vet about Legend; it is a second generation medication that has some advantages over Adequan, and when given with Rubella Vac or Ketophen, works very, very well body wide to help the horse heal.

Depending on what’s going on with the stifle, sometimes, you can have the vet inject Iodine into the lateral collateral ligament of the stifle to tighten it up. It works very well for some horses.

I have a mare that has been recently diagnosed with Navicular. I am wanting to hear feedback from people who have dealt with the same. She was taken to the Ocala Equine Hospital where x-rays were done with a full examination and she had her Bursa sac injected with cortisone and HA.

The doctor suggested I give her Adequan once a week and to follow up with a good shoeing program and joint supplement. I have been searching high and Low for the right supplement. He told me to ask around I am coming to each of you wanting to know what you have found to work best. He wants me to choose the supplement.

I don’t need anyone to respond that has not dealt first hand with this or who is going to be a smart ass. I took her to the vet and am doing what he suggested…

Thanks to everyone in advance that can and tries to help me…

The question was answered by :
burdfour :
Sounds like we are right in line with the situation you are in, but with my 18 year old gelding. My vets (Auburn University Large Animal Clinic) found very severe navicular changes in my horse. They only did a coffin joint injection, and did not do bursa, although it seemes to be wildly recommended online and by vets that I have confirred with. One vet agreed with Auburn’s decision NOT to do bursa injections because my horse’s case is so advanced.

On suppliments: My chiroprator recommended a suppliment called GLC 5500, I got it through SmartPac, I could by a one month supply with them, versus a three month supply from the manufacturer. This has only been about 3 days, so I don’t have anything to report yet. Figurola (?sp) labratories has a product called "Navicular Saver" that is supposed to be good, but my horse is too advanced in the problem for that. "Isoxoprin" increases blood flow to the hooves. It never helped my horse. We are also on "Previcox," a NSAID, for pain and inflamation.

What was OEH’s defination of "good shoeing program"? I know that the standard is wedges and rocker shoes, but my horse is already so upright that he can not stand wedges. We are padding him and handmaking rocker shoes. When they were first put on, he seemed to get immediate relief, but was lamer after a couple of days. Didn’t see him yesterday, or yet today.

Auburn has ordered Tildren from France for this horse. It is going to take 4 weeks to come in, and then he may have to say at Auburn for up to 2 weeks for the treatment. Google Tildren and you will get a lot of informtion on this new treatment. If the Tildren does not work we are already debating nerving this horse, he is that far advanced.

I would love to stay in contact with you, as we seem to be going through the same thing at the same time. It is very sad and stressful. Good luck to you.

Does anyone have a good source (other than SmartPack) for Adequan and Legend? I’m checking with the local vets to see how much they charge, plus I know someone that works for a vet that can order it directly from the supplier cheap, but does anyone have any other brilliant ideas about where to get it?

The answer is provided by :
drillfevergal_011 :
http://www.nextag.com/adequan-equine/stores-html

http://www.bullwrinkle.com/ShoppingPages/equine_legend_horses.htm

Hope this helps!

I have an 11 year old quarter horse gelding. A little over a year ago, he started having some issues with what we thought was founder. He would be very stiff and not moving around very well, but it seemed to move from hoof to hoof. We pulled him off the pasture and put him on a dry lot so we could better monitor his feedings, and he lost quite a bit of weight (he has always been a stocky horse- not fat, just big). Some days he would be better and other days he was worse. Finally, it seemed to settle into his front right hoof. We called one vet and he said it looked like founder, but he didn’t perform a thorough examination. He gave us some bute tabs to give to the horse and we followed his instructions. About a month later, there was no change so we contacted another vet. She came and looked at him and really checked him out and said she felt like it was either arthritis or ring bone, but didn’t think it was founder, as his hooves still looked healthy. Her farrier/trainer did some corrective trimming to try and ease the pain for the horse, but that didn’t seem to help. The farrier said that he was certain it wasn’t founder. He recommended we try the Adequan shots, which we did, but they didn’t help.

He is barely getting around now, and in the mornings he acts like he doesn’t want to move at all. He gets led around the pasture a couple of times every morning to try to loosen his joints up, but that hasn’t been helping either. Keeping him on bute all the time just isn’t healthy for him.

Has anyone else had a horse with this problem? We have talked to several different trainers and breeders and none of them have ever had a horse with problems like this one without it being obvious what was wrong. Thanks in advance.

This is was answered by :
charm :
Possible suggestions would be some sort of Rheumatism, OCD, or Cushings disease. He’s actually at about the right age for Cushings, so it might be a good idea to check into that.

The traveling lameness suggests to me that it is something systemic, and not just a problem with his hooves. Might be time for some bloodwork.

i am looking into buying an experienced jumper that is around 10, but the women says that the vet recommended he be on adequan shots. she said that he passed a full vet check except for his flexsion in his hock and that after being xrayed he had the beginnings of arthritis. are the shots necessary or just a precaution? also roughly how much do they cost? thanks so much

The question was answered by :
twhrider :
I would highly recommend you have another impartial vet do a prepurchase exam for your peace of mind. At least have your own vet evaluate the radiographs, or send them to a board cert radiologist for an evaluation. As far as is the adequan necessary or just a precaution, that’s for the vets to answer….different horses respond in different ways, and not seeing this horse, there’s no way for people online to say "Yes he has to have it" or "No, just a precaution". As for cost, at our place vials are $65 each. Another possibility would be joint injections in his hocks. They can be pricey, but depending on the problem, can make a huge difference in the horse’s comfort level.

I have a 5 y.o. 1/2 TB mare who has some spurring on both front sesamoid bones that causes joint inflammation and discomfort when consistently worked.

The equine specialist that diagnosed her recommended placing her on a wedge shoe and starting her on Adequan injections. My "regular" vet is ok with the wedge shoe but feels I should start the mare on an oral joint supplement like Grand Flex, Figuerola’s Joint Saver, etc. instead of the injectable Adequan. If, and only if, the oral supplements don’t work, then she would recommend going with the Adequan.

She tells me that vets are finding now that horses are developing allergies to the proteins in Adequan. From what she said, these are horses that had taken Adequan without prior issue for multiple years.

Has anyone else heard of allergy development related to long-term Adequan administration?
*I* am not having allergic issues. The question was related to reports of HORSES developing an allergy to the medication, Adequan, when given to them consistently over a multiple year period.
I know that animals, people, etc. can develop allergies at any time – even to medicines they’ve taken or foods they’ve eaten before. The reason I asked the question is that my vet led me to believe that there was an inordinate number of late-term allergic reactions now being reported. A small percentage is to be expected, but the vet insinuated that it was a growing and significant problem that might indicate we shouldn’t go that route.

The question was answered by :
HorsemanshipQueen :
We have a few horses on Adequan, and have never, ever had a problem with it (and this is like 10+ years).

I would ask a different vet about giving a combination of Adequan/Legend. We’ve found it works wonders for those horses needing a little extra help.

The following reply is by : AmandaL :
Around here, Adequan is $45 a bottle (one shot). Legend is $90. It’s not cheap, but it works. Our vet recommends using Adequan every week for the first month and Legend every other week for the first month then going down from there.

This is was answered by :
AmandaL :
Around here, Adequan is $45 a bottle (one shot). Legend is $90. It’s not cheap, but it works. Our vet recommends using Adequan every week for the first month and Legend every other week for the first month then going down from there.

You know how people say like CIC*** rolex kentucy 2009…… what does that mean??
ex.
She went on to win the Foxhall Cup CCI*** in 2001, and most recently in 2003 won the Fair Hill CCI*** and earned the individual silver at the Pan American Games, and in 2004 was named the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Intermediate champion. Last year she and Upstage finished seventh at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and this year were chosen to represent the U.S. at the FEI World Equestrian Games where they finished 42nd. (describing karen o connor on http://useventing.com/media.php?section=bios&id=365)
and what does the stars mean?

This is was answered by :
Starlight 1 :
The letters refer to French words which, when translated, mean "international cross country competition". The stars are indications of the difficulty level in the competition. 3 and 4 stars indicated advanced level, one and two stars preliminary and intermediate levels. Rolex, Badminton, Burghley, and a few other events in Europe are all four star events- that means they are advanced and represent the highest level of competition. Examples of 3 star events include Fair Hill, Fox Hall, High Prarie, The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana, and several others. One and two star events include most of the horse trials, and various events which are run at Preliminary level.

The reason French words and letters are used in this sport has a lot to do with the FEI itself. The sport’s governing body is based and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland- and the Swiss have multiple official languages, including English and French, which get used on score sheets and other documents used in competition. This also is not confined solely to eventing- all of the other recognized FEI disciplines also use French terms. International dressage competitions, for example, are called CDIO’s, and international show jumping competitions are called CSIO’s. Both of these terms also have stars after them which indicate difficulty level.

Does this help you out?

My 1.5 year old puppy has just been dianoised with Elbow Dysplasia in both her front elbow with severe arthritis. She is on the highest does of rimadyl that can be given before internal organ damage starts to occur and she is now able to walk without limping.

There is no surgical option as the arthritis is to severe.

My question is how long will my dog be able to walk for if anyone has experience with this problem.

And has anyone used the drug called Adequan to treat the dysplasia.
we have spoken with a specialist and are in the process of getting her an apt. We have so far been to the vet for her more times then we can count but I want to get some advice from dog owners who have had to deal with this problem. Thanks for the advice
we have spoken with a specialist and are in the process of getting her an apt. We have so far been to the vet for her more times then we can count but I want to get some advice from dog owners who have had to deal with this problem. Thanks for the advice
we have spoken with a specialist and are in the process of getting her an apt. We have so far been to the vet for her more times then we can count but I want to get some advice from dog owners who have had to deal with this problem. Thanks for the advice
Sry about the repeat edit my computer is acting up

The answer is provided by :
Barb :
Wow that’s a tough diagnosis, I’m sorry.

Though I myself have not used Adequan (My German Shepherd’s ED is mild) I’ve known several people that for their dogs it made all the difference in their quality of life.

I do hope that you’ve taken your dog to an ortho vet and you’re not just going by what a "regular" vet says.

Best of luck to you and your dog!