Hi Dr. Getty,

I have an Appendix gelding diagnosed with lower ringbone on his fetlock joints of both front legs and I also have a young mare who was just diagnosed with mild navicular. UGH! I found this supplement called "Equi-Bone" which is supposed to be helpful for navicular, bone spurs, and calcium deposits. I have a few concerns and want your thoughts on the supplement and their feeding recommendation.

The manufacturer said to keep the navicular horse on the feed I am feeding her now and just add 2 scoops 2x day for 5 months. Then their feeding suggestion for my ringbone horse was to take him off any commercial feed that contains calcium and switch him to Whole or crimped oats (start with 1 qt), soybean or flaxseed meal (1/4 cup), and add the supplement. Supposedly the supplement contains all the vitamins and minerals they will need.

My concern is this... I am worried that my Appendix will become "hot" from the oats and lack of exercise and I am worried that the flaxseed meal will become rancid too quickly. I don't know the shelf life of flaxseed meal. Do I feed flaxseed meal or whole flaxseeds? I am willing to try the supplement but it is so hard to figure out what is the best for each individual horse without going broke. The supplement is highly expensive.

Thank you in advance!

Where are you from? Maryland

How did you locate this forum? surfing the internet

Hello Michele,

I, too, share your concern about feeding oats -- they can not only create behavioral highs and lows, but most horses do not do well with so much insulin in their blood stream at one time (can lead to laminitis in susceptible horses).

Flaxseed meal, on the other hand, is an excellent choice for ringbone and navicular because the high omega 3 fatty acid content reduces inflammation. Go with a commercial product that is stabilized against rancidity for 6 months or more, and has a small amount of calcium added to correct for the naturally high levels of phosphorus found in flax. I highly recommend Nutra Flax.

Do not feed flaxseeds whole -- they will not be adequately chewed to be helpful -- the stabilized meal I described is best.

But frankly, my approach toward treating these disorders is to not eliminate calcium, but rather make sure all of the nutrients are in balance, while providing enough anti-inflammatory agents. I would recommend two things:

First, instead of Nutra Flax, go with a flaxseed meal based supplement that adds high amounts of antioxidants along with proper mineral levels. This product is called Glanzen Complete and you would not feed an additional vitamin/mineral supplement with it.

Second, a joint preparation that offers high amounts of anti-inflammatory agents such as Boswellia and Perna canaliculus -- it's called Actiflex and I have had wonderful results with this product over the years.

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Thank you Dr. Getty for your response to my question about the Equi-bone supplement that I am feeding my ringbone gelding and navicular mare.

I have a few more questions. So you think I should take my ringbone horse off the Equi-bone supplement and start with the Glanzen Complete and Acti-flex for him. As you know I currently feed him whole oats and flaxseeds, so should I switch him to a commercial feed (I feed my other 3 horses Triple Crown Complete).

Currently, my navicular horse is on equi-bone, flaxseeds, and Triple Crown Complete (2x a day). Should I do the same type of feeding for her as my ringbone horse?

I am not sure if you know about the Equi-bone supplement but it is supposed to help with bone integrity and fill in any keyhold lesions on the navicular bone and supposedly help dissolve the bone spurs or calcium deposits on my ringbone horse. It is very expensive and I don't want to waste money if i don't have to.

Thank you so much for your time and advice!

Where are you from? Maryland

How did you locate this forum? surfing the web

Just wanted to give my feedback on the Equi-Bone. I have had AMAZING results with this product and highly recommend it. Since seeing my great results, my vet has been highly recommending it to many of his clients. I was concerned about feeding just the oats, soybean meal (or flaxseed) and Equi-Bone to my horse but I can't argue with the results I have had. TLC's reason for recommending unfortified feed is so that the minerals in the Equi-Bone don't interact with other minerals that may be in fortified feeds. You could use beet pulp instead. I only feed 1 lbs of oats twice per day. Hope my experience and feedback is some help.

Where are you from? Texas

How did you locate this forum? online

Lisa,

Thank you so much for your feedback about the Equi-bone supplement. It is encouraging to hear about your success. Does your horse have navicular or ringbone? How long before you saw results. What brand of flaxseed meal do you use?

Where are you from? Maryland

How did you locate this forum? surfing the web

Hi Michele and Lisa,

I took a close look at the Equi-bone website and could not find where the exact ingredients are listed -- so this makes it very difficult (if not impossible) for me to evaluate. It's also interesting that they discuss the need for feeding a diet that will keep the gut alkali and yet, they recommend oats, which make the gut acidic.

But, Lisa, if you've had good luck with it, by all means continue. I would change to beet pulp, however, and not feed oats.

Michele, you can feed the Triple Crown feed -- if you are feeding the recommended amounts, you won't need the Glanzen Complete, but if not, you can feed some Glanzen Complete. And the Actiflex is also worthwhile.

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Michele

Thank you Dr. Getty for your response to my question about the Equi-bone supplement that I am feeding my ringbone gelding and navicular mare.

I have a few more questions. So you think I should take my ringbone horse off the Equi-bone supplement and start with the Glanzen Complete and Acti-flex for him. As you know I currently feed him whole oats and flaxseeds, so should I switch him to a commercial feed (I feed my other 3 horses Triple Crown Complete).

Currently, my navicular horse is on equi-bone, flaxseeds, and Triple Crown Complete (2x a day). Should I do the same type of feeding for her as my ringbone horse?

I am not sure if you know about the Equi-bone supplement but it is supposed to help with bone integrity and fill in any keyhold lesions on the navicular bone and supposedly help dissolve the bone spurs or calcium deposits on my ringbone horse. It is very expensive and I don't want to waste money if i don't have to.

Thank you so much for your time and advice!

Where are you from? Waverly, OH

Both of my horses had navicular syndrome (caudal heel pain) but no changes were evident on x-ray. I noticed a significant improvement in both of my horses after being on the loading dose (2 scoops 2 x day) for about three weeks. This is in addition to good farrier work getting the palmer angles aligned correctly. I was feeding soybean meal with the oats (instead of the flax) as soybean meal was available at my local feed store. I have since switched back to what I was feeding before starting the Equi-Bone, which is Triple Crown 30% and Triple Crown Senior. I am still feeding the Equi-Bone with good results.

Where are you from? Texas

How did you locate this forum? online

Hi Lisa,

Excellent -- you are doing a fine job.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio

my 8 year old paint gelding had lameness in his front feet so i had xrays done and we found a navicular bone spur...my vet (my boss as well) said he will have to be retired september 2012 from showing. i dont want to give up yet. we are going to wedges on his shoes with anitimmflamatory meds, then if that doesnt work we are going to inject his coffin joints and hope that will make him last for the rest of the show season in august. in the fall we plan to nerve him but i want to know if there is a supplement or something that could dissolve the spur and keep others from forming...help me please!

Where are you from? wyoming

How did you locate this forum? google

Hello Kennedy,

I hope things are improving for your horse. I have had good results with making every effort to reduce inflammation. This can be done by giving flaxseed meal (I prefer Nutra Flax) plus a good joint preparation. You may already be feeding a joint supplement but if not, go with Actiflex Senior. I have had excellent results with this and even though he is not a senior, the additional fat is appropriate for his exercise level.

In addition, there are two other items to include:

1) Bioavailable Silica - OrthoPur Si. Silica is part of joint and bone tissue and is an excellent addition to his regimen.

2)Curcumin. I believe Uckele products carries it -- this is an herbal anti-inflammatory agent.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. You can also try the Equi-Bone that folks are discussing. Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio