Newsdate: Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 10:00 am
Location: GILROY, California

An aricle by Hannah Valigura, Agricultural Technician, and Clay Cavinder PhD, Professor and Extension Horse Specialist, Animal and Dairy Sciences with Mississippi State University Extension Service addresses important information and questions relative to joint supplementation in equines.

Veterinarian flexing horse's leg to observe joint movement

Despite the popularity of supplements in both human and veterinary medicine, there are various issues surrounding their use, partly because dietary supplements are not FDA-approved or regulated.
© 2017 by Melinda Nagy New window.

Dietary supplements are pharmaceutical alternatives that claim to have physiological benefit. These products have become increasingly popular in veterinary medicine to treat or manage various disorders resulting from age or stressors placed on performance horses. In 2012, an equine industry survey (Stowe, 2012) reported:

    •    77 percent of horse owners provide at least one supplement to the diet of their horse(s).
    ◦    35 percent for performance enhancement
    ◦    34 percent for preventing/treating joint disorders
    •    63 percent of respondents incorporate joint supplements into their horse’s diet.

It is not surprising that joint supplementation is very common among performance horse owners and trainers, considering lameness and osteoarthritis are two of the most common equine ailments.

Osteoarthritis is a disease process associated with alteration in the structure and function of synovial joints, resulting from a loss of balance between synthesis and degradation of essential macromolecules. It is most commonly considered an age-related issue; however, some research has suggested repeated heavy loading or injury may also induce the onset of the disease (CDC, 2020).

The typical symptoms are pain, stiffness, and limitation of motion, eventually resulting in difficulties performing daily activities and lower quality of life.

There are many products currently marketed as joint supplements for human and equine use, and the most common “active ingredient” found in them is glucosamine, which is synthesized naturally in the body and present in high quantities in joint cartilage, synovial fluid, and vertebral discs.

Synovial joints allow for movement and are covered with cartilage and lubricated by synovial fluid. Glucosamine is important in forming various components of articular cartilage and synovial fluid (Papich, 2016) and is shown to protect chondrocytes, which are cells that are responsible for maintaining the composition and organization of the cartilage and synovial fluid matrix (Jerosch, 2011).

The main idea behind the use of joint supplements is to supply “building blocks” for articular cartilage, which may help delay, stabilize, or even repair osteoarthritis-related changes to the joint.

The Risks of Supplement Use

Despite the popularity of supplements in both human and veterinary medicine, there are various issues surrounding their use. Dietary supplements, in general, are not FDA-approved or regulated. FDA approval of a product means that data on the product’s effects have been reviewed and determined to provide benefits that outweigh potential risks.

However, under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA,1994), dietary supplement firms do not need FDA approval before marketing their products, making it the company’s responsibility to ensure their products are safe and claims are valid.

Since the DSHEA does not demand the same rigorous requirements for quality manufacturing for supplements as it does pharmaceuticals, there is potential for dietary supplements to provide lower quality materials or not meet labeled quantities. In other words, just because you see a supplement product on a store shelf does not mean it is safe or effective, because there are no requirements for manufacturers to conform to quality control or quality assurance practices.

Unfortunately, this lack of regulation can lead to supplement contamination. In 1998, California investigators discovered that nearly one-third of 260 imported herbal products included unlisted drugs or contained potentially hazardous levels of lead, mercury, or arsenic (Gugliotta, 2000).

Another case in 2009 showed a vitamin/mineral supplement prepared by a compounding pharmacy contained toxic levels of selenium and resulted in the death of 21 horses (Thomas, 2009). In 2017, several horses were dismissed from competition due to positive drug tests, which eventually traced back to a gastric nutritional supplement that contained unlisted levels of ractopamine, which is an International Federation for Equestrian Sports banned substance (USEF, 2017).

See the complete article on Equine Joint Supplementation HERE

Article by Hannah Valigura, Agricultural Technician, and Clay Cavinder PhD, Professor and Extension Horse Specialist, Animal and Dairy Sciences  Mississippi State University Extension Service