I need some help deciding my final choice on supplements for Yogi!

[WP~Paint]

I got the ok to try barrels with him, but have to take it slow. I want to put him on some supplements to help him and to hopefully prevent hurt. He has a slightly crooked leg, but not too bad. It is hardly noticible unless ur looking for it. I looked at Smartpak and here are the choices they have to help you decide what supplements to put horses on.

1) Maintenance:
Young horses
Horses in training
generally sound horses
Your goals
maintain healty joints
prevent problems
Look for products with
Glucosamine 2500-5000mg
chondroitin up to 1000mg
hyaluronic acid up to 50 mg

2) Acute injury
injury/lemeness
inflamation
Your goals are
alleviate pain
minimize damage from inflammation
speed recovery
Look for products with
anti-inflammatury
msm 10000mg
devils claw
yucca
glucosamine 5000-10000 mg
silica

3) intensice support
horses in heavy training
competitive horses
stiff or sore horses
your goals are
promote joing health
keep your horse sound
prevent flare-up
manage discomfor and stiffness
look for products with
glucosamine 5000-10000 mg
chondroitin 500-5000 mg
hyaluronic acid 50-200 mg
msm 10000mg

the other is senior and he is gunna be 8 in march so I dont think he needs that one yet!

I am kinda considering the third one and i think that is kinds what my friend had him on. what do you guys think. I want to prevent him from having problems, and im not sure the first one or second one would do it. what do you guys think?

[TLC97]

If it was me I would go with choice #3 as it has everything you will need for inflamation and injury prevention as well as be in his system should an injury occur.

You can also ask your vet what they think.

[Palogal]

What does your vet say? That's who I would ask a question like that. I would check into some boots for him before I'd supplement him, that might be a better course of action IMO.

[cloedoll]

Agreed with palo. =]

[westmanfarrier]

May I ask what boots will do in the place of supplements? I am confused. :huh:

I believe she is looking into maintaining joints.

[CrazyManda]

I would ask your vet too and I would also put SMBs on him when working him. I don't know if you've explained this somewhere else on here but what happened to him? Why does he have a crooked leg, from injury? I know at the college they use Platinum Performance....might check into that.

[CrazyManda]

Ok..just found another thread about him but I'm still not sure about his leg. In the other thread you said doing barrels could cause his leg to snap...YIKES...
I don't think I would even attempt doing something like barrels with this horse:(

[WP~Paint]

I asked her about snapping his leg and she said that it would most likely not. She said that even a horse with perfect conformation could snap his leg. It is just that the bone grew in a little crooked. She said it was a conformation issue. I have a friend who does barrels and has an older horse so I may her her help me. The vet also said we could check his leg in a few months. He will have to go back this summer to get his shots, so I will have her check him then. I also have a SMB's for him. I will defientily (spell?) watch for his leg to hurt or anything like that. I'm still not 100% sure I will do this with him. Would supplements be a good thing for him anyway with that leg? let me see if I have a pic...I'll pot in in a few when I find it!

[WP~Paint]

I will also be putting him on a hoof supplement because he has 3 white hooves and they get surface cracks. He is on Purina Strategy, so I'm still debating on a vitamin and/or mineral supplement. I believe they have mineral and/or salt blocks out for them and they get lots of hay, so I'm not sure about a vitamin/mineral supplement. Also what about a tendon supplement. I am re-thinking about which option because I will only be riding 2-4 times a week. And this summer we might introduce barrels and just work with him on basic stuff. So, I'm not sure. I also thought about a tendon supplement, but I may add that later. I'm not sure how often I will ride. So should I maybe start im out on a less powerful supplement and then if I ride more add more later?

[westmanfarrier]

I'd love to see some pictures of this leg.

White feet are the same as black feet, different pigment. Your surface cracks are probably from wet/dry/wet/dry conditions. Does he get out where it is wet, then come in on shavings which dry his feet rapidly?

As for tendons, your SLOW, PROGRESSIVE recovery exercise program should be the best. Start slow, don't push too much. Work on your patterns slowly before pushing. Just like any athlete, you have to build up to speed. Try to do more straight line work for exercise rather than loungeing, as this puts far less stress on the limbs.

[offgridgirl]

White feet are the same as black feet, different pigment. Your surface cracks are probably from wet/dry/wet/dry conditions. Does he get out where it is wet, then come in on shavings which dry his feet rapidly?

As for tendons, your SLOW, PROGRESSIVE recovery exercise program should be the best. Start slow, don't push too much. Work on your patterns slowly before pushing. Just like any athlete, you have to build up to speed. Try to do more straight line work for exercise rather than loungeing, as this puts far less stress on the limbs.

Ditto on what Westmanfarrier...Slow progressive recovery exercise and work in straight lines rather than circles. The ground will change with spring and summer footing. Supplements are great and try one @ a time before adding hoof supplements or tendon supplements. If there is a reaction, U won't know which one is causing it and the same with improvements!! take a video of him walking and trotting,now and then after a month with one supplement.:cool:

[WP~Paint]

I am stil trying to get my pic off of photobucket....grrr...I am thinking of Platform Joint. The vet assistant also said it would take a year for a new hoof to grow in, so with his Purina, I may wait till August, which is when I moved him, and see how his hooves look then. They get chipped off too, but he is outside pretty much 24/7, unless it is just horrible weather or too cold. So what about just the Platform for now. I may try like the hoof conditioner too. I have some of that. I believe I have Rainmaker.

[westmanfarrier]

I am not a huge fan of Rainmaker, it puts a film on the hoof and doesn't allow oxygen to pass. I wouldn't worry too much about the surface cracks, so long as they are only on the surface. If you feel you must use something try Life Data Labs Right Step or Keratex.

I think I missed what is wrong with the hooves and why they need to grow out. Please refresh my memory.

[WP~Paint]

The vet assistant said it takes a year to grow a new hoof, so I think I will wait to put him on any thing for them. Since he is on good feed right now, I want to see what happens before I start adding stuff to his feed. Is that correct that it takes about a year to grow a new hoof? And she also said if they are more than surface cracks, then they will flare out.

[Palogal]

I asked her about snapping his leg and she said that it would most likely not. She said that even a horse with perfect conformation could snap his leg. It is just that the bone grew in a little crooked. She said it was a conformation issue. I have a friend who does barrels and has an older horse so I may her her help me. The vet also said we could check his leg in a few months. He will have to go back this summer to get his shots, so I will have her check him then. I also have a SMB's for him. I will defientily (spell?) watch for his leg to hurt or anything like that. I'm still not 100% sure I will do this with him. Would supplements be a good thing for him anyway with that leg? let me see if I have a pic...I'll pot in in a few when I find it!

I would get a second opinion. "most likely not" would not be enough for me. True any horse could, but if your is more likely than a "normal" horse I'd find something else for him to do.

[zoel_222]

I would get a second opinion. "most likely not" would not be enough for me. True any horse could, but if your is more likely than a "normal" horse I'd find something else for him to do.


I was thinking the same thing.

[WP~Paint]

I thought I had pics of his leg...but I can't find them! I will have to get pics this weekend.

ETA: If I do decide to try it, I will go slow for sure and won't do much but introduce him to barrels this year. He will also be going back to the vet this summer to get shots, so I will have her check him then!

[zoel_222]

A second opinion is an opinion from a 2nd vet, not a 2nd opinion from the same vet

[TLC97]

WP- I mean this is the nicest sense possible....... What do you want to do as a rider? What do you want to do with this horse? Are these two answers going to be able to work together? I feel you need to do some soul searching here. I would not run barrels on a "most likely should be okay." I would want there to be NO issues. I will admit I tend to lean on the side of being over protective.

You also need to look at what your horse is missing feed wise to figure out what supplements are needed, but a salt block is almost always a good basic thing to have available at all times.

[WP~Paint]

I am trying a little bit of everything right now. I want to learn to do what my horse is happy doing. If he is not happy doing something, then I wouldn't be either. I believe they have a salt or mineral block in their pasture.

[WP~Paint]

Also, I'm still not 100% sure I am going to do barrels, but I do want to find a good joint supplement for him. I think that is about the only thing he needs right now. His feed has added minerals and vitamins in it, so I think with that and the blocks out in their pasture, he is good on that.

Also, I think when I go riding with my friend, the owner of her barn is heavily into barrels, so I might have her check it out and see what she thinks, since she is into that. I believe they breed for that also. I'm not sure we have another vet around here that is good with large animals...wait! I'll call our cat's vet, he used to do large animals! Maybe he can check his leg out! I trust him!


ETA: I just called my dad and he is going to call our cat's vet and see if he can take a look at Yogi and my boss at work has a horse and said she liked a vet in my fiance's town, so I have a couple options!!!

[TLC97]

WP- Sounds like you are on the right track.

[WP~Paint]

Should I go ahead and put him on a joint supplement though. Since I know he does have a leg like he does, I want to help prevent arthritis later in life. Even with trail riding and things like that. I was looking at Platform Joint, it's levels of the Glucosime, Chrondroitin, and Hylauronic Acid were low, but had them in there, and from what I can tell, and have read, it's all important for a horses joints.

[Palogal]

Talk to your vet. Just because his leg is crooked doesn't necessarily mean he has a joint problem. Hey may need corrective shoes or something. Before I spend money on a supplement, I'd get a professional opinion.

[TLC97]

I would talk with your vet. I feed Glucos. as a preventative, always have and was actually told by more than a few vets that I have dealt with lately that feeding something as a preventative is a good idea. Your vet sees this horses and knows exactly what is going on, they would have the best recommendation.

[WP~Paint]

She said it would be good to feed him one. I just don't want to start him out on too high a supplement at first, I can always get one higher in glucose and everything if a low dose of it all doesn't work very well. I think maybe he toes out. I guess a crooked leg just sounds horrible. It hit me last night that maybe this is what it is...Would this hurt him if this is the case?

[Tiz]

I'd be sure to condition him properly, and probably save my money on the supplements. Horses produce vitamins in their gut, and unless they are very stressed(sick, for instance), or in heavy training, they don't need them. Joint supplements, I don't know. There are no laws, pertaining to them, that require they even have the ingredients they claim to have. I'm skeptical about their cost/benefit.