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Discussion on Supplements for geriatric wobbler
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New Member:
hanovera
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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 6:37 pm:
I have the 21 year old gelding who was diagnosed as a wobbler from probably osteoarthritic degeneration and I'm trying to decide what supplements to keep him on. One vet recommended vitamin E, 5000 units per day and I notice that a similar product is recommended for EPM horses; do you think Vitamin E is still good even if the cause of the neurological problem isn't EPM? Second, I have been feeding him a joint supplement with glucosamine, chonDrOitin, and MSM and wonder if that's useful for this particular condition (started him on that years ago for general joint condition). He's currently on Bute 1 scoop a day. He is on grass almost all day which a vet said would help protect his gut from the bute (when the grass is gone I should use some other ulcer preventative I guess). But I'm thinking of taking him off bute and putting him on BL solution or some other devils claw/ yucca type product.
Any veterinary recommendations for his supplements?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 9:57 am:
The problem with devils claw is that though it does relieve pain, it is not antiinflammatory that I am aware of (note statement is corrected below). The antiinflammatory action helps minimize the swelling associated with increased loss of function. It is believed that inflamed tissue benefits from high antioxidants so the Vit E remains a logical though untested therapy. On the other hand if there is plenty of fresh grass there may be plenty of vitamin E already. As for the other arthritis supplements and treatments we discuss these in detail in the arthritis article and should provide you with the information to decide if these fit in with your goals.
DrO
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Member:
zarr
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Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 6:04 pm:
Susanin, I've used BL for years as I have a bute intolerant horse. I can't say enough good about this product.On another site there was a long thread on this stuff and they came to the conclusion it works very well.That being said no vets input there.However in the mag. Horse Journal it was recommended by all! Since it is now in pellet form easy to use.But Dr.O's point is very good in that it is one of those items were the medical opinion is not the same as the public one.Good Luck.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 8:20 am:
Cindy, you misstate what is currently thought about devil's claw in the medicine community. Devil's claw has been found to have pain relief qualities and, looking at some recent research and correcting my statement above, even some anti-inflammatory properties in recent well conducted experiments. The mode of action may partially be through free radical reduction but this remains to be well elucidated.
That all said there is no work to suggest this product is more effective or safer than bute. If you have a bute intolerant horse this would appear to be a alternative, but since we do not know how many devil's claw intolerant horses are out there. This is the best review I can find of what is currently known about toxicity in humans as there is no research in horses:
Phytother Res. 2008 Feb;22(2):149-52.
Systematic review on the safety of Harpagophytum preparations for osteoarthritic and low back pain.
Vlachojannis J, Roufogalis BD, Chrubasik S.
Department of Orthodontics, Columbia University, 630 W 168th, VC 9, Rm 219 B 10032 NYC, NY, USA.
Harpagophytum products are a treatment option for osteoarthritic and low back pain. The aim of this study was to review the safety of treatment with Harpagophytum procumbens. The databases OVID(MEDLINE), PUBMED and COCHRANE COLLABORATION LIBRARY were searched back to 1985 for studies with Harpagophytum procumbens. Twenty-eight clinical trials were identified of which 20 stated adverse events. In none of the double-blind studies was the incidence of adverse events during treatment with Harpagophytum procumbens higher than during placebo treatment. Minor adverse events occurred in around 3% of the patients, mainly gastrointestinal adverse events. A few reports of acute toxicity were found but there were no reports on chronic toxicity.Since the dosage used in most of the studies is at the lower limit and since long-term treatment with Harpagophytum products is advisable, more safety data are urgently needed.
DrO
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Member:
zarr
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 11:41 am:
Dr.O am very glad to be in error.BL has been a wonderful solution here and when I started using it there was a lot of skepticism by many so it is good to be wrong in this case.Never thought it better than bute just a good alternative. 
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