Windgalls in horses: what feeding can do for healthy joints

You run your hand down your horse's leg while grooming and feel it: a soft, taut but elastic swelling on the fetlock joint. Perhaps a bit higher up, on the knee. It doesn't hurt, your horse doesn't flinch, and it moves completely normally – yet you immediately ask yourself: what is this, and is there something I can feed for it?

A short, honest answer right from the start: a windgall itself cannot be "fed away" – that is not how it works. But the question behind it is spot on. Because how well you support your horse's joints and connective tissue in everyday life really does make a difference for an active horse. And a well-thought-out diet can contribute a lot of positives to precisely this.

In this article, you will get clear, honest answers based on research and stable practice: what windgalls are, how to recognise a harmless one, when to consult the vet to be on the safe side – and above all, how you can actively support your horse's joints through movement, good management and the right feeding.

What windgalls actually are

First, an all-clear regarding the name: it has nothing to do with the gallbladder – horses do not even have one. "Windgall" (or gall) is simply the stable term for a certain type of soft swelling on the leg: bulge-like thickenings on joint capsules, tendon sheaths or bursae. In technical terms, you sometimes also read the word "hygroma".

To understand how they develop, it helps to look at the joint fluid, the so-called synovia. Imagine it like the lubricating film in a well-oiled hinge: it ensures that the joint components glide smoothly against each other, cushions impacts, nourishes the cartilage and transports away waste products. If a joint or a tendon sheath is ever subjected to heavier strain or irritation, the body produces more of this fluid. The affected structure fills up and bulges outwards. When the strain subsides, the additional fluid is not always completely broken down again – what remains is a soft, painless swelling: the windgall.

Depending on where this happens, experts distinguish between different forms. A windgall typically sits around the fetlock joint – these are the classic soft, harmless bulges that countless horses carry with them for a lifetime without it bothering them. Joint galls affect the joint capsule, tendon galls affect the tendon sheath. They can appear in different places, including the carpal joint – the front knee joint, which in the stable is usually simply called the "knee". A windgall on a horse's carpal joint is therefore nothing fundamentally different from one on the fetlock, just in a different place.

And why does a horse get windgalls? Mostly, mechanical stress is behind it: starting training too early or too hard, a warm-up phase that is too short, poor conformation, hard ground, continuous pressure from ill-fitting boots or bandages. Over many years of work, this adds up – which is why windgalls are seen particularly often in older and athletically challenged horses. So it is less a sign of illness than a mark of a life full of movement.

Harmless or a case for the vet?

The good news first: the vast majority of windgalls are harmless. And whether a windgall falls into this category is something you can often gauge quite well yourself on the leg.

A harmless windgall feels soft, is painless, no warmer than the surrounding tissue and can be moved slightly under the skin. It remains the same size over a longer period of time, and your horse moves completely normally. Such windgalls do not usually need to be treated – many sport and leisure horses carry them for years without them ever causing problems.

You should involve the vet if any of these signs appear:

• The swelling appears suddenly, especially together with lameness.
• The area is warm, sensitive to pressure or painful.
• The windgall feels hard or hardens over time.
• It grows quickly or becomes noticeably large.

It is best to have such signs checked out promptly – some things only show up on an X-ray. This is no cause for concern, but simply a responsible way of dealing with the issue: make sure once, then carry on with peace of mind.

A practical tip from the stable: windgalls are not the same as filled legs. With filled legs, lymphatic fluid accumulates; it is not increased joint fluid. You can test the difference yourself – if you press briefly on the swelling with your finger, a dent remains with filled legs, whereas a soft windgall springs back. Not a substitute for a diagnosis, but a good initial indicator.

Supporting healthy joints – why it is worth looking at feeding

A windgall itself cannot be fed away – we have established that. But as soon as you take a step back, the really exciting part becomes visible: windgalls are an issue of the joints, tendon sheaths and connective tissue – exactly the structures that carry and are needed by your horse with every movement. And you can actively support these structures in everyday life.

What works best here is the interplay of good management and care: regular, well-measured exercise keeps joints supple and promotes blood circulation, a proper warm-up phase prepares them for work, while turnout and free movement do the rest. Many horse owners cool the legs after intensive work, ensure boots fit well and ride on suitable surfaces – simple measures that benefit the musculoskeletal system. Feeding complements this picture perfectly: it provides the body with the building blocks from which cartilage, connective tissue and joint fluid are made. Movement and targeted joint care via the feed are a strong team – especially for horses that work regularly or are getting older.

This is exactly why many horse owners consciously choose to support their horse's joints from the very beginning – not just when something becomes visible, but as part of a good daily routine. We will now look at which building blocks play a role in this and what research shows about them.

The active ingredients – what they do for healthy joints

Let us look at the four building blocks that consistently play a role in joint care – and the positive things research shows about each of them.

Glucosamine is a natural building block of cartilage – that smooth, elastic padding at the ends of the bones that acts like a shock absorber. In a study on 14 young horses, one group received glucosamine daily (in the magnitude of ten grams per dose) for around 14 weeks, while a control group received only their normal feed. Following targeted irritation of the carpal joint – exactly that "knee" where windgalls can also appear – the glucosamine group showed more favourable values in the joint fluid, with lower markers for inflammation and cartilage degradation. This suggests that glucosamine can support cartilage metabolism. Because the body only absorbs glucosamine to a limited extent, it is dosed generously in research.

Collagen is the structural protein that gives connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and cartilage their tensile strength and elasticity – imagine it like the fibre ropes that hold a tissue together while also making it stretchy. In a laboratory study, tendon and ligament cells were treated with collagen peptides and subsequently produced significantly more matrix building blocks, including around 50 percent more elastin. This suggests that collagen peptides can stimulate the building of a resilient connective tissue framework. This study took place on cells in the laboratory – it shows a plausible mechanism that provides a solid foundation to build upon.

MSM is an organic sulphur compound, and the body needs sulphur for many structures. MSM is primarily researched in relation to physical exertion. In one study, ten horses were given 21 grams of MSM daily for 30 days; after a standardised exercise test, a more favourable, inflammation-regulating pattern was seen in the musculature. MSM is also considered to be well tolerated. This makes it a sensible building block, especially for horses that are regularly challenged.

Hyaluronic acid is the main component of joint fluid – exactly the synovia that is involved in windgalls. It gives the fluid its suppleness and lubricating effect. In a placebo-controlled study, young horses received oral hyaluronic acid daily for 60 days; the supplement proved to be safe and well tolerated. In veterinary medicine, hyaluronic acid has long been established as a joint treatment, and as an endogenous building block of joint fluid, it is one of the most obvious substances when it comes to supple joints.

Taken together, these are four building blocks with a solid biological foundation – genuine components of cartilage, connective tissue and joint fluid. That is exactly why they are a sensible supplement for horses whose joints perform daily.

Dosage and practice

Looking at the studies, it is striking that individual active ingredients are often used there in high amounts: glucosamine in the magnitude of around ten grams per dose, MSM at 21 grams a day, oral hyaluronic acid at 250 mg. These are research doses for a single substance in each case.

In a well-balanced combination product, the logic looks different – and this is a strength. This is where the synergy concept comes into play: when several building blocks act at different points – one as a cartilage building block, one as a structural framework, one as a sulphur source, one as a component of the joint fluid – they complement each other. It is about the clever interplay, not the maximum amount of a single substance. More on this in a moment.

In practice, a distinction is also made between maintenance and an initial phase. For ongoing, daily support, the normal daily ration is sufficient. In an initial phase or during special exertion, many people increase to a slightly higher amount for the first two to three weeks and then return to the maintenance dose.

A plus point in terms of transparency: many products do not even state how much active ingredient is actually in a daily ration – this is not mandatory for animal feed (EU Regulation 767/2009). A clear statement of quantity in milligrams per day is therefore a good sign: it allows you to evaluate and compare a product in the first place.

And the most important practical tip: give it time. The structures in the musculoskeletal system renew themselves slowly. If you start joint care, it is best to stick with it consistently for at least eight to twelve weeks; the first positive changes are often seen after four to six weeks. This is good news – it means that continuous care really does pay off.

Why the combination is more than the sum of its parts

Let us pick up the idea of interplay in concrete terms. The four building blocks discussed act at different points – and a well-thought-out combination product bundles them in coordinated amounts per daily ration. In nuvallo move, these are 1,500 mg glucosamine as a cartilage building block, 2,550 mg collagen as a structural protein for connective tissue and cartilage, 2,250 mg MSM as a sulphur source and 150 mg hyaluronic acid as a building block for joint fluid. Each substance works in its place.

An indication that such an interplay can make a difference is provided by a crossover study from England: 24 horses with mild lameness received a combination preparation (including glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and omega-3 fatty acids) and each served as its own control. During the active ingredient phase, the researchers measured improved movement – such as greater flexion in the hock – and lower degrees of lameness. The combination investigated was different from that of nuvallo move, but the result shows how promising the combination approach is.

The practical thing about it: a well-balanced combination product does not need extreme individual dosages because it relies on the interplay of several building blocks. This is exactly how nuvallo move is intended.

The biggest challenge in everyday stable life: feeding

The problem with powder

Most joint supplements come as a powder. And powder has its pitfalls in everyday life. It is dusty when stirred in. It changes the smell and taste of the feed – MSM, for example, tastes distinctly bitter. Many people know the result: the horse eats around it and leaves the powder, or a residue remains at the bottom of the trough. Even if your horse eats everything at first, the question remains whether it is really taking in the full, weighed amount.

You then try the usual tricks: introduce it slowly, dampen the powder, mix it into the mash, hide it in a piece of banana or apple, use sugar beet pulp as a carrier. With one horse it works, with the next it does not. And in the end, you stand by the trough in the evening, see the leftovers in the bucket and wonder whether the supplement is just lying there unused.

Why we did away with powder

We know this frustration first-hand – from our own horses and from talking to hundreds of horse owners. At some point, we asked the question differently. Not: "How do we make a better powder?", but: "How do we ensure that every horse reliably takes the full dose – and is even happy about it?"

The answer to this is nuvallo move – a functional joint snack that you feed directly from your hand. Every snack contains a defined amount of active ingredients: no weighing, no dusty powder. Sorting it out is not possible – your horse eats the whole snack; there is no half-eaten "taste residue" at the bottom of the trough. No stress at the feed trough, and daily joint care incidentally becomes a reward that your horse looks forward to. The nuvallo move Snacks rely on a stomach-friendly base of linseed cake, rice bran and linseed – free from wheat and corn, with no added sugar. For a horse weighing around 500 kg, six snacks a day (about 30 g) are intended as the daily ration; lighter horses receive correspondingly less, heavier ones slightly more.

This turns daily joint care into something that really works in everyday stable life – reliably dosed and happily eaten. If your horse ever shows an acute, painful swelling or is lame, the vet is of course your first point of contact; for daily support afterwards, the snack is exactly the right thing.

Because in the end, the best supplement is not the one with the longest ingredient list or the highest laboratory value. It is the one that actually ends up in the horse.

What nuvallo move stands for

• ADMR-compliant and therefore safe for competition, no withdrawal period
• No added sugar
• Made in Europe, to the highest quality
• 30-day satisfaction guarantee

Who is behind nuvallo

Behind nuvallo are Katja and Andrés. With over 20 years of practical experience in equestrian sport, we know only too well how important healthy, supple joints and resilient tendons are for our horses. In conversations with countless horse owners, we constantly find that there is a lack of clear, honest information – and that is exactly why we write these articles.

Sources & Studies

[1] Leatherwood, J. L., Gehl, K. L., Coverdale, J. A., Arnold, C. E., Dabareiner, R. A., Walter, K. N., & Lamprecht, E. D. (2016). Influence of oral glucosamine supplementation in young horses challenged with intra-articular lipopolysaccharide. Journal of Animal Science, 94(8), 3294–3302. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2016-0343

[2] Schunck, M., & Oesser, S. (2013). Specific collagen peptides benefit the biosynthesis of matrix molecules of tendons and ligaments. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(Suppl 1), P23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-S1-P23 (In vitro / cell culture study)

[3] Barshick, M. R., Ely, K. M., Mogge, K. C., Chance, L. M., & Johnson, S. E. (2025). Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) supplementation in adult horses supports improved skeletal muscle inflammatory gene expression following exercise. Animals, 15(2), 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020215

[4] Carmona, J. U., Argüelles, D., Deulofeu, R., Martínez-Puig, D., & Prades, M. (2009). Effect of the administration of an oral hyaluronan formulation on clinical and biochemical parameters in young horses with osteochondrosis. Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 22(6), 455–459. https://doi.org/10.3415/VCOT-09-01-0001

[5] European Parliament and Council (2009). Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed. Official Journal of the European Union. (Legal basis for the labelling of feed; no obligation to state the amount of active ingredients per daily ration.)

[6] Murray, R. C., Walker, V. A., Tranquille, C. A., Spear, J., & Adams, V. (2017). A randomized blinded crossover clinical trial to determine the effect of an oral joint supplement on equine limb kinematics, orthopedic, physiotherapy, and handler evaluation scores. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 50, 121–128.