Arthritis, musings about supplements

            I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but Talana has some arthritis in her rear joints. It's been there for years; as long as I've known her, in fact. Talana is a sturdy girl, but there are some things I won't ask her to do. We won't be jumping, or racing around barrels, or doing the levade. Which is all fine and dandy with me; I'm actually not too interested in doing any of that right now! But what I am interested in is Talana's comfort. So although she's been hanging out in the pasture with her arthritis for years and moving well enough to canter about when the other horses chased her (and to occasionally jump over things of her own choice), I thought I'd look into ways to help her out.
            The first things I think of when I know an animal is having joint problems are glucosamine and chondroitin. This is what helped Dandy, my elderly dog, for the last year and a half of her life. They are also helping Alice, my current elderly dog.
           Dandy:

            Alice:

            One of the problems with glucosamine is that it's pretty expensive. And, if you think it's expensive for the amount you need to feed a dog, think about how much you need to give an 800 pound horse! So I started searching around to see if I could get it for less than an arm and a leg, or if there is something else that helps horses.
            From what I've been able to gather, glucosamine and chondroitin are basically the building blocks of cartilage and connective tissues. Part of the reason you need to feed so much of it to have an effect is that these are huge molecules that are difficult for the horse's gut to absorb and use, so a lot of what you feed just passes right through. There is another component to joint health, which is MSM (methylsulfonylmethane - don't ask me how to pronounce it). This stuff is supposed to help the body put the building blocks together. Some horses seem to respond just as well to supplementation with MSM as to glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM together. Particularly those who already have issues, like Talana. Another key benefit is that it's less expensive.
           Now, I'm not knocking glucosamine and chondroitin. But if I can help Talana feel her best with less cost, you betcha I will. So we are trying MSM for her, and if we aren't seeing convincing improvements after a couple months, I'll look into glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, too.
            The good news is that it's been three days with this supplement, and Talana seems to be moving more smoothly in the mornings. She usually seems a tad slow to get started at the beginning of the day, but this morning she seemed to be moving more like she does later in the day, like she's already had her morning stretches or something. Of course, it's been a grand total of three days. I may just be imagining things. But I'm hoping that in a few weeks I'll continue to see improvement.
            Supplements aren't the only options for a horse with arthritis. It also helps to get them moving around - not too much, like I said, no jumping - but walking and trotting for a bit every day is supposed to help get things loosened up and moving more comfortably. And I would say that this is true for Talana. She moves better on the days I ride than the days I'm at work until dinner. I can tell because when she is sore, she won't do a proper turn on the forehand. She'll yield, yes, but she won't cross her legs. Instead she does an odd hop-step, moving one first and then the other without crossing them. But after we've walked around for a bit, if I ask for that movement she does it correctly. She can also sidepass better after exercise, like when she doesn't want the dog to get any closer to her and steps sideways.
            Generally, Talana seems to be doing well. She's growing in her winter coat already, in response to the chillier weather. She looks good, and her mane and tail seem to be continuing the trend of growing in shiny. She's feeling pretty spunky lately; when I had her grazing on a lead line she decided that Alice was sitting on a tasty patch of grass and chomped her on the ear.  Boy did Alice get a surprise! No harm done, Alice's ear was just a tad slobbery. It must have been a very soft nip. But Alice barked and Talana jumped back, too. Now they keep a skeptical eye on each other. Also, I'm policing them a bit more carefully, because that's pretty rude and I won't let Talana go around grabbing dogs. I am a little glad that she feels good enough to stake out a claim to her grass, though.
            And I'll leave you with a picture of her, even though it's not the most recent. Here she is from late August, finally giving in and trying the mint in the backyard.