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By: Shannon Margolis
 Joint health is such a concern these days,
especially for owners of performance horses, that it deserves some serious
attention. In this issue, we'll be discussing ways to create and maintain good
joint health in young horses. While many horse owners now consider it normal and
acceptable to give joint injections to 4 and 5 year old horses, my clinical
experience shows me that horses should not need this kind of support, if at all,
until much later in life. With excellent management and nutritional support,
it's possible for even hard working performance horses to have strong healthy
joints for many years.
What Causes Joint Problems?
To understand how to create and maintain good
joint health, you have to understand the causes of joint problems. Basically, if
the joint fluid stays thick, it can properly lubricate the joint and keep the
cartilage healthy. It's when the joint fluid becomes thin that joint problems
develop. What causes joint fluid to become thin? Lack of antioxidants.
Horses start developing joint problems (whether
they are noticeable yet or not) when they begin training or exercising hard.
When horses exercise hard, their bodies create more free radicals, which then
uses up their supply of natural antioxidants at a faster rate. When the body has
more free radicals than it has antioxidants, one area that suffers is the joint
fluid, which changes in consistency and becomes thin. At this point, the joint
fluid can't properly lubricate the joint, causing wear and tear on the
cartilage. As the cartilage wears down, the joint becomes less and less stable.
To compensate, the body lays bone down around the joint the stabilize it. At
this point, the joint develops calcium deposits and you can see structural
changes on X-rays.
Creating Joint Health from the Beginning
 One of the best ways to create a foundation for
joint health is to start before the foal is even born. Make sure that the
pregnant mare has plenty of vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals throughout
the pregnancy so that the foal is develops good bones and joints. Once the foal
is born it is more difficult to supplement trace minerals as he is nursing and
mare's milk contains mainly macro minerals like calcium. Be sure and start the
foals on good micromineral supplements as soon as they start to eat some grain
especially if good quality grass is not available.
One of the best and easiest ways to ensure that
mare and foal get all the micro nutrients they need is to feed blue green algae
because it's balanced in calcium and phosphorous. You can also feed the pregnant
mare some alfalfa for its micro nutrient and calcium content, but don't feed
alfalfa to young foals since it's not balanced in terms of calcium and
phosphorous.
Joint Health in Growing Horses
To keep joints healthy in young horses, feed
plenty of micro nutrients (from blue green algae, for instance), and avoid
overloading the diet with too many calories. Studies have linked diets high in
carbohydrates with developmental bone problems like OCD (Osteo Chondrosis
Dissecans). Plus, overfed young horses that are too fat will overstress their
joints with the extra weight. As a general rule, on young horses I like to be
able to feel ribs but not see them. You'll also want to monitor their exercise
regimen carefully. Young horses are not fully developed until they are 4 years
of age. While you can certainly start working them earlier, they are not strong
enough to handle heavy work until age 4.
Joint Health in Horses Ages 4 to 6
At this age, horses are able to handle a full
training schedule and start exercising heavily. To support this transition, feed
plenty of good quality micro and macro nutrients, along with minerals and trace
minerals. Since your horse is exercising hard, you'll also want to add in
antioxidants to neutralize the free radicals being produced from the heavy
exercise. Good antioxidants include blue green algae (which has beta carotene),
Tahitian noni juice, super oxide dismutase (found in Cell Tech's Super Blue
Green Algae), coenzyme Q10, grape seed extract, omega-3 fatty acids, and certain
minerals such as sulphur (found in the supplement MSM). Stick with natural
antioxidant supplements (i.e., those in their natural form) as much as possible
since the body can use naturally occurring antioxidants more efficiently than
synthetic ones.
At this point in your horse's life you want to
focus on good nutrition and antioxidants to prevent cartilage damage. Feeding
joint supplements like glucosamine, which is a single component of the
cartilage, is not as helpful. It will not prevent cartilage damage-antioxidants
do a much better job of it. In fact, you want to delay the use of joint
supplements as long as possible using the methods discussed above. Please note
that it is not normal for horses to develop joint problems at this age. Joint
problems at this age indicate a lack of nutrition, specifically antioxidants.
There is an intravenous injection that supports
the joints called Legend, which is hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid can also be
injected into the joints and is one substance that can be used to prevent
cartilage damage and reduce inflammation after a joint has already been damaged.
Hyaluronic acid will thicken the joint fluid and decrease inflammation in the
joint (which is the result of free radicals and can thin the joint fluid). If
your horse a little sore after a particularly hard workout or show, you may want
to consider giving him Legend instead of going immediately to a joint injection.
Remember that you can only give your horse so many joint injections in his
lifetime, and that each injection increases the chances of introducing
infection. Overall, if you have the choice, use excellent nutrition and
antioxidants before resorting to joint injections.
View their website at:
http://www.horsegalore.com
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