# How useful do you think cod liver oil is for arthritic horses?



## Puppy (30 August 2009)

I take it for my own arthritis, and am thinking I shall maybe get some for Be; do many of you think it makes a noticeable difference? 

I bought some for Star's stiffness once, but she is a very picky girl and threw her feeds on the floor whenever I gave it to her


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## toomanyhorses26 (30 August 2009)

found apple cider vinegar helped by old boy more - extrafles ws the best though by far . Trial and error seems to be the way to go with arthritics as not everything works for every horse.


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## kirstyhen (30 August 2009)

Henry hates it and he will eat anything, including scoffing his bute down everyday ATM!
I think Green Lipped Mussel is supposed to be the best thing to take for arthritis, my Mum's dog is on it and it makes a huge difference to him.
Henry will be going on it depending on the outcome of his check up in a couple of weeks. He was Nupafeed Flex GLM a while ago and will eat it without any feed mixed in, which is perfect for his waistline


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## Puppy (30 August 2009)

LOL! Well I know Be will eat it, as when I bought some before, and Star wouldn't touch it, then I gave it to her, and it certainly gave her a nice coat 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  She will also scoff her bute quite happily!! The staff at the vet hospital kept commenting on how well she was at eating it, but she's such a gannet, I was not surprised 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I'm going to feed some glucosamine based supplements too, but am just pondering about getting some oil too


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## hadfos (30 August 2009)

Tbh i dont feed it horses are strictly herbivore,you would be better off with a product with glucosamine in it!!


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## hadfos (30 August 2009)

It is expensive,but even my lad at 14 who has limited mileage,was alot looser and more free in his movement(he really uses his shoulders to maximum capacity now 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) on the bluechip dynamic,i really like the stuff,it actually worked out cheaper than the cortaflex to feed,and i felt the ridden difference(with cortaflex i didnt)!!
All are differnt and it will be trial and error!!


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## pootleperkin (30 August 2009)

Defo feed it!

Here is just one report of the current ongoing positive results of studies into the effects of cod liver oil on arthritis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3480053.stm


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## Puppy (30 August 2009)

Oh, that's a helpful idea. Thanks 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I am a big fan of balancers these days, and Be doesn't have much other than fibre and lo cal in her diet. However, is bluechip dynamic designed for anything other than joints? ie, to build condition? As I certainly don't need any of that for her 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Is it suitable for younger horses? (she is only 8 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) Would I be able to feed it alongside her lo cal? 

How expensive is a 20kg bag? and how long would it last a 16hher? 

Thanks. xx


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## hadfos (30 August 2009)

But our bodies are designed to take the by products of fish!!
As horses are complete veggies??No meat/animal oils in their diets naturally at all,it makes me wonder just how good their systems are at utilising it??
Am not saying it dosnt help,as i dont know either way,but be interesting to see factual evidence from the equine scientists that it does


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## hadfos (30 August 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, that's a helpful idea. Thanks 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I am a big fan of balancers these days, and Be doesn't have much other than fibre and lo cal in her diet. However, is bluechip dynamic designed for anything other than joints? ie, to build condition? As I certainly don't need any of that for her 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Is it suitable for younger horses? (she is only 8 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) Would I be able to feed it alongside her lo cal? 

How expensive is a 20kg bag? and how long would it last a 16hher? 

Thanks. xx 

[/ QUOTE ]
It is for joints only 
	
	
		
		
	


	




(my lad dosnt need any help in the weight department,lol...you can feed it with the bluechip/pro because it is mobility based only 
	
	
		
		
	


	




)
I pay £42.50,but play the merchants off against each other they will price match to a few quid!! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




My lad is 17hh and a bag lasts him 6 wks 3 cups a day,she would only need 2 cups a day,so maybe couple wks longer!!
Age is not a factor either


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## Mike007 (30 August 2009)

The only thing cod liver oil is good for is Cod.It is dangerously rich in vitamin D.The WHO (not  a 70,s rock band but the world health organisation)produced a report some years back inwhich they described their policy of dishing out cod liver oil to everybody,as the worst mistake they had ever made.Spot treatment of cases of rickets would have been far preferable to the long term damage of vitamin D overdose.


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## kirstyhen (30 August 2009)

I think you will find that most Joint Supplements will contain Chondroitin and if I recall correctly this will be sourced from Shellfish (it's been a while since my lectures 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) so you will always be feeding your horse animal-by-products if you feed a joint supplement.


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## hadfos (31 August 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I think you will find that most Joint Supplements will contain Chondroitin and if I recall correctly this will be sourced from Shellfish (it's been a while since my lectures 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) so you will always be feeding your horse animal-by-products if you feed a joint supplement. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats why i feed Dynamic 
	
	
		
		
	


	




http://www.bluechipfeed.com/dynamic-ingredients.html
It dosnt have it!! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




I completely agree with you,most do have some sort of fish oil!!


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## Puppy (31 August 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, that's a helpful idea. Thanks 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I am a big fan of balancers these days, and Be doesn't have much other than fibre and lo cal in her diet. However, is bluechip dynamic designed for anything other than joints? ie, to build condition? As I certainly don't need any of that for her 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Is it suitable for younger horses? (she is only 8 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) Would I be able to feed it alongside her lo cal? 

How expensive is a 20kg bag? and how long would it last a 16hher? 

Thanks. xx 

[/ QUOTE ]
It is for joints only 
	
	
		
		
	


	




(my lad dosnt need any help in the weight department,lol...you can feed it with the bluechip/pro because it is mobility based only 
	
	
		
		
	


	




)
I pay £42.50,but play the merchants off against each other they will price match to a few quid!! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




My lad is 17hh and a bag lasts him 6 wks 3 cups a day,she would only need 2 cups a day,so maybe couple wks longer!!
Age is not a factor either 
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, fab, so I could feed this with her lo cal? 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 And would I not need to feed any further glucosamine on top of that? Or would it be best if I did so on top? Thanks! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 xx


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## hadfos (31 August 2009)

It should be all you need,but give it chance to get into the system 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Vet came out to my lad for a swollen pastern (which wasnt causing lameness issues)and picked up on a few tweaks,asked him if a physio would help..he said yes!!Physio came out picked up on him being slightly stiff on off hind,she recommended a joint supplement,i put him on dynamic,called her out last wk,she found nothing,she passed comment on how much better he was moving,didnt even need any muscle tweaks 
	
	
		
		
	


	




And no i dont work for bluechip 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 lol!!!


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## chestnut cob (31 August 2009)

Not at all, sorry!  Also don't like feeding animal products to horses.

I would give devil's claw or something like no bute, Superflex or similar.  Monty is on JointfX which my vet recommends - contains three types of glucoasamine, chrondrotin, MSM, devils claw, rosehip, and randomly things like shark fin and colostrum.

Does Be have arthirits?  If so then, if your insurance will pay up, get her a course of Adequan.  Great stuff 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  If it's a preventative thing then IMHO you're better with a good joint supp, though TBH I'm not sure they work until you actually have a problem...


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## Puppy (31 August 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Does Be have arthirits?  If so then, if your insurance will pay up, get her a course of Adequan.  Great stuff 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  If it's a preventative thing then IMHO you're better with a good joint supp, though TBH I'm not sure they work until you actually have a problem... 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 To what looks like a LOU case 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Shall be having all the injections etc once we get her sounds and over where she has bled into the joint. 

I just thought it was worth feeding her something for it too. I'm so desperate I'll try anything


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## pootleperkin (31 August 2009)

Based on daily RDA's, it seems it would be actually quite hard to overdose on vitamin D, unless you were trying to top yourself.....

This is  just a wiki quote, but the references seem sound -'Although normal food and pill vitamin D concentration levels are far too low to be toxic in adults, people taking multiples of the normal dose of codliver oil may reach toxic levels of vitamin A, not vitamin D, [44] if taken in an attempt to increase the levels of vitamin D. Most officially-recorded historical cases of vitamin D overdose have occurred due to manufacturing and industrial accidents.[43] In the United States, overdose exposure of vitamin D was reported by 284 individuals in 2004, leading to 1 death.[45]'

The reason I would suggest feeding cod liver is is that if a human, horse or dog has arthritis, then there is evidence that CLO does actually help to reduce the swelling at the point of deterioration of the joint, hence it should actually do some tangible good  - it is cheaper than gluscosamine and the effects found in scientific studies are more positive than those that for glucosamine.

I don't have a problem with feeding horses such a small amount of animal product - yes they are veggie, but you are talking about giving such a small amount to help with a specific problem, not as a source of nutrition per se. Fair do's if you can find some other way of attacking the problem effectively, but it seems to be a bit of an inflexible view to me - don't hate me for that !


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## Sooty (31 August 2009)

I don't like giving cod liver oil because it is not vegetable based, and horses are not designed to eat fish. Flax/linseed oil is an option, although we find Extraflex very good for arthritis and general stiffness. Have you tried (for yourself) rose hip extract and/or glucasamine and/or chondroitin?

ETS not sure if the glucosamine in Extraflex is the vegetarian one or not, will look into it.


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## Puppy (31 August 2009)

I usually take cod liver oil, evening primrose oil, starflower oil and glucosamine &amp; chondroitin; although I've run out of a couple at the mo...


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## woolyjumper (31 August 2009)

um...glucosamine is usually derived from crustaceans. Even if it is from a different source, It is no more a natural part of a horse's diet than cod liver oil, like so many of the substances we feed our horses. 

I feed cod liver oil to all my horses, whatever age. There is more scientific evidence that cod liver oil helps to maintain healthy cartilage than glucosamine. And it is so relatively cheap to buy!


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## welshied (31 August 2009)

i find cider vinegar is more effective than cod liver oil


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## woolyjumper (31 August 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Not at all, sorry!  Also don't like feeding animal products to horses.

I would give devil's claw or something like no bute, Superflex or similar.  Monty is on JointfX which my vet recommends - contains three types of glucoasamine, chrondrotin, MSM, devils claw, rosehip, and randomly things like shark fin and colostrum.


[/ QUOTE ]

But the glucosamine in jointfx is derived from shrimps, lobsters and crabs. If you don't like feeding animal products to your horse, doesn't this count?


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## camilla4 (31 August 2009)

Likely to be very useful Poppy.  You absolutely can feed all sorts of oils, including many of vegetable origin, but cod liver oil happens to be very high in two particular types of Omega 3 oils, which are the ones which have a beneificial effect on conditions such as arthritis.  The fact that it is fish-based is totally irrelevant - horses are perfectly well adapted to utilising these compounds whatever the source!


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## Mike007 (1 September 2009)

Unfortunately the problem with vitamin D overdose is not as pootleperkin would suggest,that of toxicity.It is its effect on bone formation and calcium salts deposited in soft tissues.


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## chestnut cob (1 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does Be have arthirits?  If so then, if your insurance will pay up, get her a course of Adequan.  Great stuff 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  If it's a preventative thing then IMHO you're better with a good joint supp, though TBH I'm not sure they work until you actually have a problem... 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 To what looks like a LOU case 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Shall be having all the injections etc once we get her sounds and over where she has bled into the joint. 

I just thought it was worth feeding her something for it too. I'm so desperate I'll try anything  
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]

Aww, poor girl 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Ok, so you know Monty has arthiritis?  If you PM me I'll tell you exactly what's up but not keen on putting it on a public forum as it's an active insurance claim!

Mont had injections into both hocks (Cortisone), is now on his second course of Adequan which my vet raves about, and is on JointFX which you can get from your vet.  Again, vet raves about JointFX.  It contains Devils Claw I think which is an anti-inflammatory and excellent for arthiritic type conditions.  I'll check the tub tonight but if not, I'd feed JointFX (which you *may* be able to get your insurance to pay for) with Devil's Claw -NAF do a good one - and add cider vinegar as well.  You need the cloudy cider vinegar that hasn't been processed like the ones in somewhere like Countrywide (so avoid the NAF one and the others in this instance).  You really need to get her on a good glucosamine joint supplement.  I wanted to use Cortavet but my vet said you just pay for the name and JointFX is better, so am following his advice.

FWIW, it's all really helped Monty. xxx


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