here comes another of my argumentative posts

When I realized I had a horse with joint issues, I did a lot of research on joint supps.  From what I have gathered, it is chondrotion that cannot be taken up by the gut, and is better injected.
 
Do joint supps work?  I have my horse on a supp the vet recommended-- Cortaflex.  before he was on it, every time we wouold try to lift his right hind leg, he would try to put it down or hop on three legs to the wall so he could lean on it--he was obviously in pain.  He has been on the Cortaflex for a couple of months now, and we can lift the leg without drama [].  He has even been good for the farrier.  Nothing else about his life was changed, and it's not like he knows he's getting a joint suppliment.  If anyone else has an explaination, I'd like to hear it!

I wasn;t sure about cortiflexs, though it might be a steroid, ie throwing the corta in for cortisone but it is not..For that length of time on a steroid would be a serious probem but it is gluc/chondroitin and I think they threw in the term CORT to let people think it had cortisone but  it containaed  zero, zip, nada etc of cortisone so it can not be harmfull

This is what is in it--
[size=6]Corta-Flx Pellets
[font="arial (w1)"][size=5]Corta-Flx, Inc.[/size][/font][/size]
Ingredients:
Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dextrose, Yeast Culture, Mucopolysaccharides (source of Glucuronic and Hyaluronic Acids), Glycine, L-Glutamine, Aspartic Acid, L-Lysine, L-Proline, Condensed Extracted Glutamic Acid Fermentation Products, L-Arginine, L-Threonine, L-Tyrosine, Animal Protein Products, Manganese Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Copper Sulfate, Sulfur, Ascorbic Acid, L-Serine, L-Valine, L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Alanine, Bentonite, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Yucca Schidigera Extract (a natural flavoring agent), Natural and Artificial flavors
 





Crude Protein (min)

2.00%


Glycine (min)

1.00%


Glutamine (min)*

1.00%


Glucuronic Acid (min)*

0.50%


Aspartic Acid (min)*

0.50%


Lysine (min)

0.50%


Proline (min)

0.31%


Glutamic Acid (min)

0.30%


Arginine (min)

0.21%


Threonine (min)

0.08%


Crude Fat (min)

0.10%


Crude Fiber (max)

24.00%


Hyaluronic Acid (min)*

40 mg/oz

There is alot more stuff in there than just G/C and alot of them are EAA's and there's also vit C and some other nutrients, so maybe, just maybe, some of these other things are contributing to the benefits (or enhancing the effectiveness) of the G/C. This could be an interesting concept...
 

That is an interesting thought.  I used to use Absorbine Flex Plus.  I costs more and seemed to not work as well. 
 
 

The comment on Hyaluronic Acid working better than glucosamine or Chron. is right on.  There was a HUGE group of people who got involved in trying this supplement on their horses (as well as their dogs, cats and themselves) about 1-2 years ago and with some dramatic results.    The supplier and formula seemed to make a difference though, not all HA supplements were equal quality. 

I used it on my horse as well and differences were visibly noticable in days, not months like glucosamine.  Visible changes in joint swelling/inflamation as well as movement quality.

The product I saw the best results with is called Hyaluronex. ([linkhttp://www.hyaluronex.com]www.hyaluronex.com[/link])From what I saw, its the first product I'd resort to.  I was having it shipped from the US into Canada since I couldn't get it locally.

Another good one is Lubrisyn ([linkhttp://www.lubrisyn.com/]www.lubrisyn.com[/link]).  Hyalun is marketed under  the same name for dogs and as Synthovial-7 for humans.  , another good one is Lubrisyn ([linkhttp://www.lubrisyn.com/]www.lubrisyn.com[/link]).  Hyalun is marketed under  the same name for dogs and as Synthovial-7 for humans.  It isn't as good, not as much HA density per fl oz so more expensive to get the same effect.  The liquid versions work better than the dry powder versions.

A ton of top race and jump trainers are using this because it is significantly reducing the amount of bute (anti-inflammatory/painkiller) their charges need.

Great stuff
 
PS I can provide a link to a 20+ page thread on the topic if anyone wants it

re kennel keeprs post..it is possible that the incorporation of Vit. c may help the transferance of  gluc through the gut..it is used with other compounds so it may help with the gluc....just a rough guess and athought...