simplytaylor16 - 2021-06-02 11:05 AM

Hello, the mare I just bought just turned 7 a few days or so ago. According to the old owner she has only been broke since she was 5 and she has not been competed on(she is not a finished barrel horse, just barely started at home but I am doing some basic work with her before I start training barrels) so if this is true I would assume her joints should be pretty darn good. I thought about getting Adequan for her when I do start barrels with her, would this help prevent arthritis/joint issues? I just want to do what I can to help prevent joint issues later on. How often do you give Adequan for this purpose? Any other recommendations? 

Ricki - 2021-06-02 3:23 PM

Per my veterinarian's recommendation on prevention I do a loading dose of Adequan with once a month or twice a month depending on the work load or how often I am hauling.

1DSoon - 2021-06-02 3:35 PM

your vet is wasting your money. 

simplytaylor16 - 2021-06-02 10:05 AM

Hello, the mare I just bought just turned 7 a few days or so ago. According to the old owner she has only been broke since she was 5 and she has not been competed on(she is not a finished barrel horse, just barely started at home but I am doing some basic work with her before I start training barrels) so if this is true I would assume her joints should be pretty darn good. I thought about getting Adequan for her when I do start barrels with her, would this help prevent arthritis/joint issues? I just want to do what I can to help prevent joint issues later on. How often do you give Adequan for this purpose? Any other recommendations? 

Southtxponygirl - 2021-06-02 3:02 PM

How is this mare doing? Did the Vet find the issue as to why shes lame? 

okhorselover - 2021-06-02 8:09 PM

I started my 6 yr old on adaquan as a prevenitive . Before I did,I had my vet go over her & she had inflamation in her hocks so he injected her. Before starting adaquan it's not a bad idea to have your horse gone over by a good equine vet. If any injections are needed they should be done before starting adaquan. My vet told me to do 1 shot every 5 days for 4 weeks. Then every month. Please don't bash my vet as he was one of the vets who came up with adaquan years ago for horses. He is an amazing vet & highly respected 

Ricki - 2021-06-02 3:58 PM

Lol says who?

GLP - 2021-06-03 11:01 AM

Every vet I have taken my horse to has recommended the protocol 1D posted.  Granted, that is only 3 vets, but they have consistently given me the same advice and it has worked well for us. 

Ricki - 2021-06-03 1:56 PM

Same here.  Every vet I have worked for and then used as a client has recommended the protocal I mentioned.  Works well for me.  I don't know 1D or their credentials or who your veterinarians are but it sounds like we are both using Adequan in a method that works for us.

1DSoon - 2021-06-03 1:00 PM

my credentials are impeccable, beyond reproach most would say. 


And you are not using it correctly. 

But good luck. 

r_beau - 2021-06-03 2:57 PM

Adequan **might** help prevent issues down the road.

I say that if you want the best chance of prevention is to use an injectable such as Adequan.

I have chosen to put my new mare on pentosan because I already have it on hand for another horse ... and then I started my other horse on it so now I have three on it. It's dirt cheap compared to Adequan and since my one horse has had amazing results with it, I figured I'll give it a shot with the others.

As far as dosing, the label that 1D posted is what the company recommends. HOWEVER, keep in mind that medications can and are used "off label". My vet has always instructed me to do the loading dose (give 7 shot series, once every 4 days) and then give 1 to 2 times per month as maintenance.

It was a couple years ago but I tried to dig up studies on why they suggest this dosing. The every 4 days makes sense b/c that's about how long the medication stayed detectable in the system. However, I could not find their reasoning for 7 shots. Hypothetically, you could give your horse a shot every 4 days year round according to their study. (But who has the money to do that?)

I could not find any scientific research that explained why it's a 7 shot series.

So if my vet recommends I use it in a different way and I get results, well that is what I do.

For reference, my horse does the best with pentosan every 2 weeks so he get it every 2 weeks. One time I went 3 weeks and I noticed that I did that (he was stiff again), so never again. I'm keeping the other on every 2 weeks as well.

simplytaylor16 - 2021-06-04 8:46 AM

Oh okay, I was under the impression it definitely would help prevent future issues...I guess I just don't wanna be on the same boat I am with my gelding if I can prevent it. How much do you pay for the pentosan? Is that pretty much the same as adequan? 

r_beau - 2021-06-04 3:46 PM

There's never certainly with any medication or supplement. It's not going to hurt to have your horse on Adequan but it's not going to guarantee they won't ever have an issue.

IMO, I like having my barrel horses on some sort of joint support. So that I feel I am doing everything I can to keep them as healthy as possible.

Adequan and pentosan are not the same; they are different medications (and pentosan is off label) but their intent is the same = joint support.

I buy the big bottle of Pentosan and it comes out to like $16 a shot. Dirt cheap compared to Adequan. I've obviously had great success with it but not everything works for every horse. I've always been told Adquan is better for preventing issues and pentosan is better when there already is an issue, but again, that's going to vary widely horse to horse.

If I were starting one from scratch like you, I'd honestly probably go with Adequan. But that's your call.

JLazyT_perf_horses - 2021-06-07 11:04 AM

If you have that kind of $ to blow on adequan for prevention then go for it, it's not going to hurt. I personally use just an injectable glucosamine. Studies are showing its nearly as effective and a fraction of the price. A 100ml bottle is $48 from my vet, thats 10 shots, $4.80 per shot.  I do every 5 days for the first bottle and then every 2 weeks, every week if I'm going hard, like 3-4 runs in a week. It works well for mine, but they also get joint injections and Exceed as well. So they're very well covered. But my 28 year old runs & spins & acts silly now with just glucosamine shots every other week and he was struggling to even walk before. He's not on anything else right now either and we didn't inject his hocks this year yet, doesn't look like we'll need to either. 

JLazyT_perf_horses - 2021-06-07 12:04 PM

If you have that kind of $ to blow on adequan for prevention then go for it, it's not going to hurt. I personally use just an injectable glucosamine. Studies are showing its nearly as effective and a fraction of the price. A 100ml bottle is $48 from my vet, thats 10 shots, $4.80 per shot.  I do every 5 days for the first bottle and then every 2 weeks, every week if I'm going hard, like 3-4 runs in a week. It works well for mine, but they also get joint injections and Exceed as well. So they're very well covered. But my 28 year old runs & spins & acts silly now with just glucosamine shots every other week and he was struggling to even walk before. He's not on anything else right now either and we didn't inject his hocks this year yet, doesn't look like we'll need to either.