Along with stomach problems, arthrosis and SPAT are among the most common diseases in horses. It should be noted that the former is in most cases a side effect of horses suffering from arthrosis.
How does arthrosis actually develop?
The joint metabolism is stimulated from birth with lots of exercise and nutrients. It is particularly important to provide the necessary nutrients at foal age. In foals and young horses, calcium plays a particularly important role in building up the bone structure. In adult horses, trace elements such as manganese, copper and amino acids are essential for maintaining the health of the joint apparatus. Also important is the structural protein collagen, which is an important component of the joint cartilage.
The three main causes of arthrosis are:
- congenital or acquired misalignments of the joints
- repeated overexertion or injuries
- Lack of exercise and associated metabolic aspects such as obesity
- Bone
- healthy cartilage tissue
- Worn-out cartilage
- thickening of the capsule and synovial membrane
- Destroyed cartilage tissue
- cartilage fragments
- Osteophytes (reactive new bone formations)
How can you support healthy cartilage?
Exercise is the most important factor in stimulating joint metabolism and keeping it healthy. It supplies the cartilage with nutrients and oxygen, but also removes metabolic products. Since the cartilage tissue in the joints does not receive any blood, the tissue is passively nourished by the surrounding synovial fluid (joint lubricant), the synovia.
The synovia is located in the joint spaces and serves as a cushion due to its viscous fluid. It consists of 94% water, the remaining 6% is made up of hyaluronic acid and smaller proteins.
The cartilage itself is a transparent matrix made up of approximately 70% water. The remaining components are hyaluronic acid, water-binding proteins and fibers.
The structural protein collagen is the most common protein in the horse's body. Collagen is a component of bones, joints, muscles, tendons and skin. It is produced by the body itself, mainly from the amino acids glycine, proline and hydroxyproline and the co-enzyme vitamin C. The body's own synthesis decreases with age.
How can CBD help?
Cannabinoids have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on pain sensation, especially in chronic pain. They modulate the function of certain cells in the nervous system (glial cells) and the activity at the nerve synapses.
In the endocannabinoid system (ECS), there are receptors on cells. Type 1 cannabinoid CB1 binds to a nerve cell in the nervous system and CB2 to the immune cell in the immune, digestive or reproductive systems. In between are the body's own cannabinoids or endocannabinoids or the plant-based cannabinoid from hemp. When cannabinoids dock onto a CB1 receptor in the nerve cell or CB2 onto the immune cell, the sensation of pain is impaired or even eliminated, depending on the concentration and purity.
It therefore has a milder, longer-term and natural effect of a medical anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with significantly fewer or no side effects.
And what is special about arthroFIT?
Both young and older horses benefit from our unique supplementary feed, which is specially tailored to their needs. The areas of application range from supporting tendons and ligaments to joint health, alleviating joint diseases and arthrosis, following injuries and for horses that train intensively.
Here you can learn more about the ingredients of arthroFIT.
The best thing about our ArthroFIT is that it is gentle on the stomach and contains no hidden allergenic additives. It is low in sugar and starch-free, making it ideal for horses with metabolic problems such as PSSM, ESM and Cushing - try it and see for yourself!
Sources:
- Yocom AF, O'Fallon ES, Gustafson DL, Contino EK. Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Synovial Fluid Concentrations of Single- and Multiple-Dose Oral Administration of 1 and 3 mg/kg Cannabidiol in Horses. J Equine Vet Sci. 2022 Jun;113:103933. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2022.103933. Epub 2022 Mar 18. PMID: 35307550.
- De Briyne N, Holmes D, Sandler I, Stiles E, Szymanski D, Moody S, Neumann S, Anadón A. Cannabis, Cannabidiol Oils and Tetrahydrocannabinol-What Do Veterinarians Need to Know? Animals (Basel). 2021 Mar 20;11(3):892. doi: 10.3390/ani11030892. PMID: 33804793; PMCID: PMC8003882.
- Shelley E. Turner MSc Shelley.turner@uky.edu , Heather K. Knych DVM, PhD, and Amanda A. Adams PhD, Pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol in a randomized crossover trial in senior horses Volume/Issue: Volume 83: Issue 9 Online Publication Date: July 18, 2022
- Frane N, Stapleton E, Iturriaga C, Ganz M, Rasquinha V, Duarte R. Cannabidiol as a treatment for arthritis and joint pain: an exploratory cross-sectional study. J Cannabis Res. 2022 Aug 24;4(1):47. doi: 10.1186/s42238-022-00154-9. PMID: 35999581; PMCID: PMC9400326.
- Dr. Tanja Berger, Hemp Medicine – How Hemp Helps with Pain, Rheumatism, Cancer and Stress, 2019, Kneipp Verlag Wien
