Good Horsekeeping
A friend of mine just bought a young horse. In my conversation congratulating her and a discussion about hay, I encouraged her to start him on a joint supplement.
"But he's just 4" she said. Although young, I told her that when it comes to a horse's joints and maintaining their mobility and preventing arthritis in their older years "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." With how young horses are started these days (in show and training barns many horses are started as 2-year- olds and some as long yearlings), by the time they are 4 their joints have had a lot of miles on them.
With the last three middle aged horses I bought, I started them immediately on a good joint supplement. Doing so probably enabled me to be able to show and ride them well into their 20s. I had wished I had owned them a few years earlier as I believe starting a joint supplement might have helped to prevent the osteoarthritis which finally caught up to them.
For this reason, when we bought Jax, our younger gelding, despite just being 6 years old, I started him on a basic joint supplement.
You do not need to wait until your horse is fully grown at 6–8 years old to begin joint supplementation. According to research related to the development of an equine's bone development after 2 years of age, a horse's growth slows significantly, making it an appropriate time to start a low maintenance dose of joint supplements.
Joint supplements with glucosamine, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid (HA) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) help support joint repair and help reduce the effects of natural wear and tear. Early supplementation may also help heal minor injuries and slow the progression of degenerative joint changes before clinical signs of osteoarthritis appear.
Waiting until a horse is middle age, or starting to show joint stiffness can actually be one of the worst things a horse owner can do, as pointed out in a May 21, 2021 Kentucky Equine Research article "When to Offer Joint Supplements to Horses." "Many owners might not realize they should consider joint health and osteoarthritis in young horses before any permanent damage has been done," said Peter Huntington, director of nutrition at Kentucky Equine Research, in the article.
Huntington wrote that oral administration of joint supplements containing ingredients such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid may delay the onset of osteoarthritis. This means that owners should offer joint supplements to young, healthy horses prior to joint trauma or to natural wear and tear.
"Several studies have attempted to diagnose osteoarthritis in the early stages of disease. The goal is to identify degenerative joint changes early so that steps can be taken to slow the progression of this painful, incurable condition," Huntington wrote.
Although not in favor of over supplementing and starting joint injections prematurely my vet does think that starting a basic oral joint supplement (one with MSM, glucosamine and chondroitin) when a horse is between 4-8 years old can be beneficial in supporting joint health as they age.
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