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[RC] Joint Supplements - k s swigartThe article in The Horse (Jan '03) about the double blind study done on Corta-Flx can be found at: http://www.thehorse.com/qf.asp?fid=4050&submit.x=13&submit.y=11 It is worthwhile to note, however, that this study was done on horses that already had observable gait irregularities in the hock and radiographic evidence of DJD in the hock. What was noticed in the clinical trial was improvement in the range of motion of the hock and less gait irregularity when the supplement was given in the amounts recommended on the label. This suggests that the supplement does decrease the effect of discomfort from hock arthritis; however, last time I checked the label, one of the ingredients in Corta-Flx is yucca (an NSAID) although admitedly not very much, so it may be that the observed improvement comes entirely from the anti-inflamatory and analgesic properties of yucca and that the glucosamine and chondroiten compounds are having no effect and, indeed, are not being absorbed through the GI tract at all. This study does not address this at all. What the study shows is that if you have a horse with sore hocks from arthritis, Corta-Flx may likely help; however, that does not, by extension mean that Corta-Flx will provide glucosamine and/or chondroitens as the building blocks of joint cartilege and help prevent horses from getting arthritis. It may or it may not. What the science says (to my knowledge no studies have been done to prove the joint supplements don't work) is that the size of the molecules of these compounds it too big to be able to be absorbed through the GI tract of a horse, and therefore, feeding it to your horse is just making for expensive horse poop. My understanding is that Corta-Flx says that its variation on the compounds have a smaller molecular size and so are more readily absorbed, but no studies have been done to either prove or disprove this. kat Orange County, Calif. kat Orange County, Calif. ============================================================ REAL endurance is reading the LD vs. Endurance thread/debate every 3 months!!! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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