Sudden drop in performance during training: joint check & solution

Sound familiar? You arrive at the yard in a good mood, saddle your horse, and start your training. The last few weeks have been fantastic, movements were spot on, the hindquarters were active. But today, everything is different. Your horse seems flat, stiff, and somehow dissatisfied. It is not an obvious lameness where you immediately call the vet and put the horse on box rest. It is more subtle.

My heart sank when this happened to me a few months ago. My gelding, who is usually always motivated to work, suddenly felt "wooden". He was behind the leg, did not lift through the back, and seemed stiff in the turns. I immediately asked myself: Have I asked too much of him? Does the saddle not fit? Or is there a twinge in the joints somewhere? Especially with sports horses or during more intensive training, the strain on tendons and joints is not to be underestimated. When the vet then gives the "all clear" and there is no acute injury, you are often left at a loss. The diagnosis is often simply: he needs more support for his musculoskeletal system.

The daily battle with the feed bucket

So I did what we all do: I bought joint powder. Promising tubs of glucosamine and MSM piled up in my feed room. But my horse had an entirely different opinion on the matter.

The scenario was the same every evening: I carefully mixed the white powder into his hard feed. He stuck his nose into the bucket, snorted vigorously into it (so that a white cloud met me), and then began to meticulously pick out every single grain of oats. The expensive powder remained stuck to the bottom of the bucket as a dusty residue.

I tried everything. I hid it in soaked mash – which worked, but in the hectic daily yard routine, it is a massive faff and takes up time that I cannot spare every day. I tried to smuggle it in hollowed-out apples (he ate the apple and spat out the powder). It was exasperating. What use is the best active ingredient if it does not actually end up in the horse?

The discovery: nuvallo move Snacks

Looking for an alternative that would not be left behind in the bucket, I came across the nuvallo move Snacks. Finally, someone who has thought this through! The concept sounded almost too good to be true: a functional joint snack that contains all the important nutrients, but can be fed like a reward.

No weighing, no mixing, no scraping leftovers out of the bucket.

What convinced me immediately was the composition. In the daily ration of 6 Snacks (for my 600 kg horse, I sometimes give 7), there are substantial amounts of active ingredients:

• Glucosamine & collagen: The classics for cartilage and structure.
• MSM: Organic sulphur, which I completely swear by when it comes to tendons and ligaments.
• Hyaluronic acid: Essentially the "oil" in the machine.

Added to this is the fact that the base consists of linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed. This is not only free from wheat and maize, but also brilliant for the stomach and the coat. As my horse is sensitive to too much starch and sugar, this was a crucial point for me.

The Snack advantage in practice

I ordered the nuvallo move Snacks and immediately put them to the ultimate acceptance test. I arrived at the yard, took a Snack out of the bag, and offered it to him. He took it, chewed happily, and immediately looked for more. I was so relieved!

Since we were experiencing this dip in performance, I followed the recommendation and fed double the amount for the first three weeks to really replenish his reserves. So that was about 12 Snacks a day – 6 before riding, 6 afterwards as a reward. It is so incredibly practical to be able to simply feed the joint supplement straight from the hand.

The result: back to his old self

You have to be patient with joint nutrients. They are not painkillers that work overnight. But after about five weeks of consistently giving the nuvallo move Snacks (by then I was back to the normal dose of 6 a day), the way he felt under saddle changed.

The warming-up phase, where he usually took a long time to loosen up, felt significantly shorter. He stepped more confidently into the contact again, and that "woodenness" in tight turns disappeared. I just have the subjective feeling that he is moving with more joy again and is much more supple in his paces. He seems less stiff in the mornings when he comes out of his stable, and is ready for work much quicker.

A huge plus for me as a competition rider: the Snacks are ADMR-compliant. So I do not need to worry when the competition season starts again. I can support him consistently without having to calculate withdrawal times.

Conclusion

If you notice your horse dropping off during training and you feel their joints could do with a little "lubrication", I can highly recommend the nuvallo move Snacks. They solve the biggest problem we horse owners face with supplements: acceptance.

It brings peace of mind to your daily yard routine when you know the essential nutrients are actually in your horse, and that they even tasted great. For us, the 6 Snacks a day are now a firm part of our ritual – and my horse is already waiting for them the moment he hears the rustling of the bag.