Osteoarthritis in horses: My experience with the right supplement

The diagnosis: Osteoarthritis – suddenly everything was different

When the vet first mentions osteoarthritis in your horse, your heart sinks. You often notice it a good while beforehand: your horse is a bit stiff coming out of the stable in the morning, and the first few rounds of trot feel unnaturally rigid. For my gelding, the confirmation came last spring — a positive flexion test, clear x-rays, mild osteoarthritis in the hock.

Especially when such joint problems slowly become noticeable, you worry incredibly as an owner. You want to support your horse in the best possible way and protect their musculoskeletal system, so that your time together in the saddle becomes a joy again.

My odyssey through the powder jungle

So began my personal odyssey through the jungle of osteoarthritis supplements. Finding a high-quality feed supplement for the joints is one thing – getting it reliably into the horse is another entirely.

Almost everything that contains good active ingredients comes as a dusty powder or an artificially smelling liquid. My gelding often just looked at me unimpressed, meticulously sorted out the fine powder, and simply ate around it. In the end, there was always a dusty layer left at the bottom of the feed bowl. I tried hiding it in mashed bananas or mixing up mash every day — but in the stressful daily yard routine after work, that is just incredibly time-consuming and gets annoying in the long run.

The worst part was this constant uncertainty: had he actually received his full dose today? Over a 12-week course, losing 30% at the bottom of the feed bowl adds up to a considerable loss of active ingredients – and in the end, you wonder if all that expensive powder did any good at all.

How I came across nuvallo move

Eventually, I poured my heart out to a friend on the stable yard. She had a similar problem with her 18-year-old mare and told me about nuvallo move Snacks. The concept sounded like absolute salvation to me: no more powders, but a functional joint snack that you simply feed straight from the hand.

What convinced me was the transparency of the ingredients. Per daily ration (6 Snacks for a 500 kg horse), my gelding gets:

• 1,500 mg glucosamine for cartilage building
• 2,550 mg collagen for connective tissue and stability
• 2,250 mg MSM for regeneration and the body's own inflammation regulation
• 150 mg hyaluronic acid for joint fluid

Exactly the building blocks that cartilage, tendons and joint fluid need in cases of osteoarthritis — and in a dosage that I could finally understand.

Everyday life: Finally, relaxed feeding

nuvallo move Snacks are truly brilliant in everyday life. You no longer have to awkwardly weigh or mix anything. I just give them to him as a greeting at the grooming area – and he loves them.

The base of linseed cake, rice bran and linseed is extremely gentle on the stomach. It is completely free from wheat, corn, added sugar and cheap fillers — which was important to me with a horse suffering from osteoarthritis, because I didn't want to place additional strain on a sensitive stomach.

What I particularly appreciate: I can see what goes into the horse. Feeding six Snacks means six Snacks actually ingested. No extrapolating, no guessing, no 'hopefully he ate the powder too'.

After 10 weeks: How my horse has changed

I have now been consistently feeding nuvallo move every day for a good ten weeks. Here are my honest observations:

• After approx. 4 weeks: The first slight changes when getting up in the morning, less of a 'stiff phase' during grooming.
• After 6 weeks: Noticeably shorter warming-up phase when riding. He finds his rhythm faster.
• After 10 weeks: He is moving around the paddock with significantly more joy and spring in his step again. He simply appears less stiff in the mornings.

I want to be honest: osteoarthritis is not curable, and I never expected a snack to magically restore damaged cartilage. But the noticeable improvement in suppleness and the feeling that my horse is more comfortable in his body again is exactly what I was hoping for. My vet supports feeding this as a sensible accompaniment to movement therapy and any other necessary measures.

Since the Snacks are completely ADMR-compliant and have no withdrawal period, I don't have to worry even if we decide to enter a competition spontaneously.

My conclusion: Would I buy it again?

For us, nuvallo move Snacks have become a real game-changer. If your horse has also been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and you are looking for a supplement that actually gets eaten instead of sticking to the bottom of the feed bowl, I can highly recommend nuvallo to you.

What made the decision even easier for me: there is a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If your horse doesn't accept the Snacks after all (which would be unimaginable with my gelding, but every horse is different), you get your money back. So there is no risk involved.