Everyday Joint Support: Helping Horses Stay Flexible and Mobile

Whether it is a racehorse galloping at speed, a sport horse repeatedly jumping and landing, or an older horse simply clocking up the miles, a horse’s joints are subjected to considerable forces throughout its lifetime.
We often think about joint supplements when a horse starts to become stiff or shows signs of wear and tear. However, supporting healthy joints before problems become apparent can be an important part of everyday nutritional management.

The Everyday Impact of Exercise

Every stride creates forces that must be absorbed by the horse’s musculoskeletal system. Hard ground, repetitive training, jumping and high-speed work can all increase the mechanical stresses placed on joints.
Inside a healthy joint, the ends of the bones are covered with smooth articular cartilage and surrounded by synovial fluid (more commonly known as joint fluid), which helps lubricate the joint and allows the surfaces to move smoothly against one another.

One of the key natural components of both synovial fluid and cartilage is hyaluronic acid (HA). HA contributes to the viscosity and lubricating properties of synovial fluid and plays an important role in maintaining the normal joint environment. Research in horses has demonstrated important biological roles for high-molecular-weight HA within the joint.

Why Does Molecular Weight Matter?

Not all hyaluronic acid is identical.

Plusvital Flexyl HA contains MHB3® Hyaluronan, a patented, high-molecular-weight form of hyaluronic acid selected to provide targeted nutritional support for healthy joint function.

Molecular weight is particularly interesting because HA molecules of different sizes can behave differently biologically. High-molecular-weight HA is characteristic of healthy synovial fluid and is associated with the normal lubricating, viscoelastic and protective properties of the joint environment.

This makes MHB3® an excellent choice for horses requiring simple, everyday joint support, rather than waiting until stiffness becomes noticeable.

Supporting the Older Horse

Ageing brings another challenge.

After years of training, competing and simply being active, normal wear and tear can begin to affect joint comfort and mobility. Older horses may become less flexible, take longer to warm up or simply feel a little stiffer than they did in their younger years.

Providing daily nutritional joint support can therefore be particularly valuable for the older horse, helping to maintain healthy joint function, flexibility and overall mobility as the years go by. Flexyl HA is specifically formulated for performance horses, racehorses and older horses requiring everyday joint support.

Everyday Protection for Every Stride

Joint care should not begin only when there is a problem.

Good management combines appropriate training, correct footing, regular farriery, maintaining a healthy bodyweight and giving horses sufficient recovery between periods of strenuous work. Nutrition can complement this approach.

Plusvital Flexyl HA provides MHB3® alongside hydroxytyrosol from olive leaf extract, providing targeted daily nutritional support for joint health.

Whether supporting the performance horse exposed to the daily jarring of training or helping an older horse stay comfortable and mobile, the philosophy is simple:

Support their joints today, to help keep them moving tomorrow.