Ridecamp: [RC] oral GAGS or injectable?

Nina Vasiliev rides4fun@xxxxxxxxxxx
Hi,

I have a horse who has hock problems. It's the most distal joint on both legs. He has a bog spavin on one hock which has gotten smaller over time.  I just had his hocks injected. The vet suggested putting him on Cosaquin (sp?) or Adequan.    My farrier states the the horses he works on who are treated orally seem to do better than the Adequan group.  He thinks that maybe it's because having a daily dose keeps more meds  on board, than monthly bursts of an injectable.  If I were to do Adequan, he suggested using it every two weeks rather than four.

I thought that the orals aren't as reliably found in the joint fluid as the IM meds. Yet, I see that the suppliment companies are advertising that the NEW GAGs are better about getting to the joint than the "first generation" GAGs were.

When I asked my vet, she suggested that I use both...It was a casual answer, but it stopped me cold as I tried to calculate how much that would run.

This is not my only horse.  I am willing to do what is necessary but can't spend money on stuff that won't help. Using Adequan twice a month would be quite an expense.  However, I don't want to spend money on an oral product that may only marginally make it to the joint.

Any thoughts?  Any studies out there?

Nina

Nina


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