Joints will deteriorate with age and also the workload of the horse, especially if the surfaces they are worked on are too hard, the workload is too demanding when the horse is young and still developing.

Support for Horses Ageing Joints

With age the cartilage starts to “dry out”, it can be compared to a kitchen sponge that becomes brittle when dry, but becomes soft and spongy again when it is wet. Well cartilage needs water to stay spongy too, however the process of keeping that water (hydrolysing) needs glucosamine. That is converted to GAGs and they cause the hydrolysing of the cartilage. With age the horses natural levels of glucosamine drop and so the sponge dries out and the cushioning effect of the joint reduces and the horse loses its spring. It then proceeds onto degenerative joint condition – osteoarthritis.

Joint Damage, Injuries, Trauma in Horses

The other main source of joint degeneration in horses comes from trauma – the concussive damage from the repetitive pounding of the feet and legs on firm surfaces. There is help at hand, these conditions can be alleviated by correctly formulated nutriceuticals that contain the right amounts of scientifically proven actives (such as collagen , glucosamine, chondroitin and manganese), injectable therapies from your veterinarian, helpful shoeing and care to check surfaces for working the horse and good nutrition with balanced healthy diet containing correct amounts of minerals.

Vetpro Flex Equine Plus with Collagen Type ll has been specially formulated to assist your horse with these issues.

To know more about this topic follow the articles on this site:

Joints – Damage, Arthritis, DJD

The Equine Hock Joint

The Equine Suspensory Ligament