We don’t have to tell you that lameness is the major reason for time lost to riding in both competitive and pleasure horses. Of course many food supplements are currently available, all claiming to contain the magic ingredients that will maintain healthy joints in your horse. So which supplement do we recommend? Well, to answer that, it is important to look at what we are trying to achieve in the joint.
Good joint health depends on the good state of the cartilage (the "shock absorber" of the joint) and the presence of good quality joint fluid (the "lubricant" of the joint). The main substances in both cartilage and joint fluid are the Glycosaminoglycans. Glycosaminoglycans are very large protein molecules- one you may have heard of is chondroitin sulphate. Apart from their essential role in the actual structure in the joint, glycosaminoglycans also have potent anti-inflammatory properties and inhibit the action of degradative enzymes, which harm the joint and begin the process of osteo-arthritis. In order to maintain good joint health, it is important to maximise the quantity of these molecules in the joint. It may seem that the best way of doing this is to feed a supplement rich in chondroitin sulphate but unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy as that! As we said, chondroitin sulphate is a very large molecule, too large in fact to cross the gut wall into your horse’s body without being broken down into products rarely of any use to the joint. Simply put, feeding your horse a chondroitin sulphate supplement may help give him a nice shiny coat or help him put on weight but it won’t protect his joints against the daily wear and tear of exercise or help repair damage already done!
So, how can we get round this problem? Well, the answer to the problem would seem to be found in a very important molecule called glucosamine. Glucosamine is a very small molecule that, when linked to hydrochloride, passes through the gut wall in the horse without being broken down. It also happens to be a very important building block in the production of glycosaminoglycans; those molecules that we are attempting to increase the concentration of in the joint. In other words, we cannot feed glycosaminoglycans directly to your horse and expect to help his joints but we can provide his joints with the building blocks to produce glycosaminoglycans. Clinical trials have been very encouraging and it is suggested that beneficial effects can be seen in your horse within 2 to 3 weeks of commencing feeding a glucosamine supplement.
Pool House Equine Joint Supplement is 99% glucosamine. Many other joint supplements contain glucosamine but they are made more expensive by the inclusion of other substances, which are either unproven to aid the equine joint or, as we have explained, are digested by the horse’s gut before they can do so. No other supplement on the market contains such a high concentration of glucosamine as Pool House Joint Supplement and with a 100-day course for a 500kg horse costing £47.50, it is also the most cost-effective available.
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