Joint support for horses

Joint health is important for EVERY horse, not just those showing obvious signs of stiffness. Whether your horse is a competing, hacking or retired, supporting healthy joints can help maintain comfort, mobility and performance throughout life.

For horses under 14 - Prevention, everyday support and weight management.

• Offer proactive and preventative joint support as part of the daily diet
• Even horses that appear sound and comfortable place considerable strain on their joints through exercise, turnout, schooling, jumping and everyday movement.
• Providing nutritional support when they are younger helps maintain healthy cartilage, joint fluid and connective tissue for the long term.

If your horse is a good doer (maintaining their weight and condition easily), a feed balancer with a focus on joint health can support mobility while keeping weight in check and ensuring a fully balanced diet.

Excess bodyweight places additional stress on your horses joints. Research consistently highlights weight management as one of the most important factors in maintaining long-term joint health.

Key ingredients in Joint Care

• Glucosamine (V) – a natural building block of cartilage and joint fluid.
• Turmeric Powder - contains curcumin, a natural antioxidant that may help support a healthy inflammatory response and promote comfort and mobility
• Piper Nigrum (Black Pepper) - contains piperine, which can significantly improve the absorption and bioavailability of curcumin, helping the horse make better use of turmeric's beneficial compounds.
• Natural oils - rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help support normal inflammatory processes and contribute to joint comfort, mobility and overall wellbeing in horses.
• Rosemary Extract - a natural source of antioxidants that help protect cells from oxidative stress, supporting overall health and complementing ingredients used to maintain joint comfort and mobility.
  
• Vitamin C and trace minerals – involved in collagen and connective tissue formation.

For younger horses, these ingredients are used as a preventative strategy alongside good hoof care, appropriate exercise and weight management.

Horses aged 14 and over - A senior horse strategy

Once a horse reaches around 14 to 15 years of age, the conversation can move from simple joint support to whole-horse senior care. Ageing horses are more likely to experience stiffness, reduced muscle mass, hormonal changes, digestive inefficiencies and age-related joint wear.

At this stage, you should consider two key questions:

Is my horse a good doer, maintaining their weight easily?

A senior horse that maintains weight easily may benefit from a lower calorie senior balancer that provides:

• Joint support
• Digestive support
• Hormonal support
• Quality protein for muscle maintenance
• Vitamins and minerals tailored to older horses

Key ingredients in Senior

• Glucosamine (V) – a natural building block of cartilage and joint fluid.
• Rosehip extract - rich in natural antioxidants and vitamin C, helping to support joint comfort, connective tissue health and overall mobility, making it a valuable ingredient for ageing horses.
• Calcium - The foundation of healthy bones, is balanced with phosphorus, potassium and magnesium for maximum effectiveness.
• Natural oils - rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help support normal inflammatory processes and contribute to joint comfort, mobility and overall wellbeing in horses.
• Vitamin C and trace minerals – involved in collagen and connective tissue formation.

Feeding a super concentrated feed balancer is particularly useful for horses with lower calorie requirements or those prone to conditions such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS).

Is my horse a poorer doer, still in heavier work, or struggling to maintain weight and/or topline?

Some older horses begin to lose condition due to dental changes, reduced digestive efficiency or age-related health issues. Senior Plus feed balancer provides:

• Additional digestible fibre, from which your horse can extract further calories
• Quality protein for muscle maintenance, and support for topline and condition
• Vitamins and minerals tailored to older horses
  
• Joint support
• Digestive support
• Hormonal support
  

Veterinary and nutrition experts note that older horses often require more specialised feeding programmes because their ability to digest and utilise nutrients may decline with age.

Key ingredients in Senior Plus

• Glucosamine (V) – a natural building block of cartilage and joint fluid.
• Rosehip extract - rich in natural antioxidants and vitamin C, helping to support joint comfort, connective tissue health and overall mobility, making it a valuable ingredient for ageing horses.
• MSM - The natural, organic form of MSM supports the production of
  glycosaminoglycans the key components of cartilage.
• Calcium - The foundation of healthy bones, is balanced with phosphorus, potassium and magnesium for maximum effectiveness.
• Natural oils - rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help support normal inflammatory processes and contribute to joint comfort, mobility and overall wellbeing in horses.
• Vitamin C and trace minerals – involved in collagen and connective tissue formation.

Joint health needs more than just supplements

By feeding supplementary ingredients as part of a feed balancer, absorption rates are increased. You can be sure than those additional ingredients are really getting to work, and that nothing is wasted. 

We also recommend focusing on:

• Maintaining a healthy body condition score
• Regular turnout and movement
• Appropriate exercise for age, fitness and muscle tone
• Routine dental care
• Regular farriery and hoof balance
• Veterinary assessment when stiffness or lameness develops

For horses under 14, joint support typically focuses on prevention, maintaining healthy cartilage, lubrication and mobility before age-related or wear and tear changes become apparent.

For horses 14 and over, joint care becomes part of a wider senior management strategy. The right approach depends not only on age but also on body condition, workload and whether the horse is a good doer or needs additional calories and protein to maintain weight, condition and topline.

Whatever your horse's age, supporting joint health early, maintaining a healthy weight and choosing nutrition appropriate for their life stage can help keep them comfortable, active and enjoying their work for years to come.