Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

First, I have to say PLEASE try an IV series of Legend (HA) 
before you decide you have to inject those joints.   "They" 
are not really sure why (at least not the last time I spoke 
with a knowledgeable vet on the subject), but the Legend 
and Adequan injections do show up in the joints.   It's not 
necessary to inject directly into the joint in many cases. 

Second, per the idea of Legend / Adequan and our horses 
who are actively competing in endurance. 

Y'all know I am a staunch supporter of our Rule 13 as it 
stands.   I do not think that our endurance horses should 
compete under performance enhancing substances.

So, why don't I put Adequan injections, CS and Glucosamine 
supplements and Legend injections into that category?
Because we do need to protect the horse.   Our horse is 
doing quite a bit of athletic work.   He deserves to have 
the best support we can give him.   Excellent feed, good 
clean water, balanced nutrition, excellent farrier, dental, 
and vet care... massage, chiropractic too.   He also 
deserves to have those articulated joints protected.   

Taking the 3 main substances here, CS, Glucosamine and 
HA, none of these will mask an injury, reduce inflammation,
or artificially increase stamina.   What they do is protect 
the joints from wear and tear.   Take the oral supplementation.

(Side note here:   I'm assuming a "clean" supplementation of 
CS, GA, and / or HA orally *without* MSM, Yucca, etc.)

You can remove these 3 days before a competition.   It doesn't
really matter either way.   Their main strength is in their long 
term effect... small building blocks, or just that little extra 
that keeps those joints from going dry in the first place.   They
have *no* short term affect if given orally.   They have no 
accumultive affect if given in large quantities (except to 
your checkbook).   I really don't care if you feed these at a 
ride or not.   In the big scheme of life, your ride is going to 
go the same that day and depend on all the other factors.

The issue really comes up with the arthritic horse who has 
started to show a bit of soreness.   What then?   Does he 
have to retire?   Well, it's really up to the rider to make 
that decision, if the horse can still pass the checks and 
have fun on the trail.   Excersize and moving those joints 
is good for an arthritic horse.   If he's happy to go and 
you are both still having fun and he is sound, _with the 
proper joint support_ he's may not get any worse by 
going and doing an endurance ride.   Turning around sore 
joints is not like heat in a tendon.   

Giving such a horse a series of IV Legend and / or IM 
adequan injections for the long haul is a good thing.   If 
the horse turns around, great.   A complete reversal of 
stiffness can sometimes be achieved.   However, if I 
were the rider, I would remember there is a huge difference 
between giving the horse and his joints time to recover 
with normal excersize, and giving an IA injection of 
Legend in that hock on Wednesday so you can pass the 
checks on Saturday.   

So there is quite the gray area here.   IMHO, if you find 
yourself giving IV Legend, give that horse some time off 
and see how he comes back.   Give him monthly IM support 
of Adequan.   Give him daily oral supplements for the rest 
of his life.   If he turns around and is sound and happy, put 
him back to work.   Take him back to rides.   Let him do 
what he loves to do as long as he can.   I see no problem 
with this second scenario.   We do need to keep the 
horse's best interests in mind and keeping him going 
and active is much better than retiring him to pasture 
if he's sound and standing at the gate when you hook up 
that trailer.   Drop back the distance if you like, but take 
him!   Ride him!

Probably clear as mud, but I hope it helps someone and
their horse out there in the Internet ether...

:) - Kathy Myers
in Santa Fe, NM
...Why did I retire Magnum from endurance?   Well, he had 
a condalyr fracture of his left fore off the track.   His joint 
is quite good, considering.   But it was decided that his leg 
probably shouldn't be doing extended trotting at 50 mile 
rides over the long haul.   Could he have done another ride?
Yup.   Given the old injury, should he have done a few 50's 
a year for the next few years?   Probably not.   He's still 
climbing mountains, loving the trails, and I understand he'll 
be at Pt. Reyes going down the single tracks there for 
many miles some weekend soon.    We just changed his 
work a bit and dropped back to shorter distances.   :)   He 
is on, I believe, just oral joint support these days.   He did 
get Adequan IM when I had him with me, and he did get 1 
series of IV Legend several years back.   And of course 
his daily oral joint supplements.