Collagen for horses: The underestimated building block for joints and tendons

Why we find this topic so important: From practical experience, for everyday practice.

Katja and Andrés are the people behind nuvallo. With over 20 years of practical experience in equestrian sports, we know that in the everyday stable routine, people often start thinking about the musculoskeletal system too late. In this article, we clear up half-truths about the effect of collagen on horses and show you in an easy-to-understand way how you can optimally support your horse's foundation.

What you need to know about the structural protein

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your horse's body. You can best imagine it as the internal glue or the architectural scaffolding that holds everything stably together in the musculoskeletal system. Tendons, ligaments, skin, and even bones consist to a very large extent of these extremely high-tensile, fibrous structural proteins.

It plays an absolute major role, especially in the articular cartilage. Imagine the cartilage as a moist, dense sponge lying between the ends of the bones: The collagen forms the stable network of fibres (the sponge itself) that has to withstand enormous pressure when your horse lands after a jump, makes a tight turn, or trots on hard ground.

But why is feeding it a topic at all? Doesn't the horse produce it all by itself? Yes, a healthy horse's body does. But with increasing age or heavy sporting exertion, the metabolism changes significantly. The body's own production slowly decreases, while the wear and tear on the joints often remains the same or even increases due to hard training. The fibrous scaffold gradually loses elasticity and resilience.

Older horses in particular, but also young sports horses in intensive training phases, therefore have an increased requirement that they cannot meet from their basic feed. Neither roughage (hay) nor standard concentrates or muesli contain collagen, as it is naturally of purely animal origin. Such a nutrient deficit often does not become noticeable immediately. It is a creeping process in which tendons and cartilage slowly lose resilience over months and years. This is exactly where many dedicated riders step in to strengthen the foundation from the inside out at an early stage.

The effect of collagen on horses: What does the science say?

When it comes to supplements, opinions are often divided. So let's look at what research can tell us today without rose-tinted glasses.

What has been proven in studies

Research has gained significant momentum in recent years. In laboratories (so-called in vitro studies), scientists have investigated how cartilage cells react directly to the addition of collagen peptides for horses. Collagen peptides are essentially collagen strands broken down into tiny, pre-digested building blocks (often also referred to as collagen hydrolysate for horses). The unprocessed collagen molecule would be far too large for the horse's gut to absorb efficiently. Only the breakdown into these peptides makes it bioavailable.

The laboratory results are impressive: They repeatedly show that cartilage cells are literally stimulated by these peptides to produce more of the body's own cartilage tissue (the so-called extracellular matrix) again themselves. In this context, science also frequently investigates how vitamin C and collagen interact in horses. Vitamin C is considered an essential cofactor in collagen synthesis – without sufficient vitamin C, the body cannot build a stable fibrous scaffold. But we all know: What works in isolation in a sterile petri dish under the perfect conditions of a university laboratory cannot automatically be transferred one-to-one to the complex digestive tract and metabolism of a 600 kg warmblood.

What has been studied in live horses

To see what actually reaches the joints, we have to look at in vivo studies (research on the living animal). Here, there is exciting, albeit more limited data. A frequently cited study by the renowned Michigan State University, for example, observed the feeding of specific collagen peptides to horses over a longer period. Other international studies with sample sizes of around 20 to 30 horses over periods of three to six months also point to positive trends regarding the joy of movement and joint metabolism.

If you look at human medicine or studies on dogs, the data is even more comprehensive. Nevertheless, as responsible horse owners, we have to remain honest: Animal studies in equine medicine often have methodological limitations. Often the sample sizes are relatively small, or for ethical and financial reasons, a completely independent control group is missing. Also, molecular changes in the cartilage of a living horse are difficult to measure exactly without invasive, painful procedures. Many positive results are therefore based on computer-assisted gait analyses or the documented experiences with collagen in horses that owners, riders, and attending veterinarians record over the course of the study months.

An honest conclusion on the effect

The biological and anatomical foundation is absolutely solid and scientifically comprehensible. Supplementation is not just marketing nonsense, but a biochemically highly sensible approach to nutritional support. However, it is no miracle cure that reverses chronic wear and tear overnight or makes severe injuries vanish into thin air.

Collagen provides the horse's body with the exact amino acids in the exact composition required for the repair and maintenance of connective tissue. But this approach only becomes truly valuable when you look at the bigger picture. In practice, it has been shown time and again that this substance plays to its true strengths best when it is not fed completely in isolation, but purposefully combined with other proven active joint ingredients.

Dosaging collagen for horses: What matters in practice

If you decide to support your horse's joints, you will inevitably face the question of the right amount. In many of the individual studies mentioned above, relatively high amounts of 25 to even 50 grams (i.e. 25,000 to 50,000 mg) per day are fed for an average large horse. It is important to understand, however: These large amounts generally refer to pure monopreparations where collagen powder is the absolutely only active ingredient being fed.

In the practice of horse feeding, we also almost always distinguish between a long-term maintenance dose and an initial course during an acute phase. If the musculoskeletal system is acutely under greater strain after an intensive competition season, during build-up training, or at the first signs of stiffness, a higher, often double amount is usually recommended for the first two to three weeks. This ensures that the stores in the tissue are well saturated first. After that, you can comfortably return to a lower, daily maintenance ration.

This brings us to a crucial point: If you feed a high-quality combination product that contains other joint-specific nutrients alongside collagen, the pure amount of collagen in the daily dose is lower – without losing efficiency. The reason for this lies in the synergistic effects of the substances, which we will go into in more detail in the next section.

A critical look at the supplement market is extremely worthwhile at this point. Unfortunately, many manufacturers hide behind very imprecise information. They write "with extra collagen" in large letters on the colourful label, but when you read the composition, you won't find the exact milligram figure per kilogram or per recommended daily dose anywhere. The European Feed Regulation (EU Regulation 767/2009) unfortunately allows such flexible declarations for certain feeds. But as an informed consumer, you have a right to know how much active ingredient actually ends up in your horse's feed trough. Therefore, always look for absolutely transparent figures and don't let pretty packaging blind you.

And last but not least: You need patience. Cartilage, tendons, and ligaments have an incredibly slow metabolism because, unlike muscle tissue, they have very little blood supply. Nutrients only reach their destination through diffusion (i.e. the exchange of joint fluid during movement). Consistent, uninterrupted feeding for at least 8 to 12 weeks is absolutely necessary before you can seriously assess whether the supplement is doing your horse good.

Why individual active ingredients are often not enough: The power of combination

A horse's joint is a highly complex, biomechanical system consisting of cartilage, joint fluid (synovia), the joint capsule, and the stabilising tendons and ligaments. If you only feed a single substance, you inevitably only ever support an isolated part of this system.

This is exactly where our philosophy with nuvallo comes in. We firmly believe that an intelligent, precisely balanced combination is the true secret of good feeding. Let's take a look at where the different active ingredients in our nuvallo move Snacks get to work:

While the collagen (with a strong 2,550 mg per daily ration) as a structural protein provides the solid fibrous scaffold for elasticity in connective tissue and cartilage, glucosamine (1,500 mg) acts as an essential, endogenous building block for cartilage formation. It directly supports the natural shock absorption of the sponge. At the same time, MSM (2,250 mg) provides highly bioavailable organic sulphur, which in practice is indispensable for the regeneration and resilience of strained tendons and ligaments. This strong team is rounded off by hyaluronic acid (150 mg), the undisputed main component of joint fluid, which lubricates the joint like good oil in an engine and ensures smooth movements.

That this teamwork approach works brilliantly is shown not only by our own observations in the stable. A very well-known, placebo-controlled crossover study by the British Animal Health Trust impressively demonstrated that combination preparations (the study examined glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM) have strong synergistic effects. In plain English, this means: The substances do not just add up; they complement and reinforce each other in their biological function.

The conclusion from this is simple and reassuring: A cleverly balanced combination product does not need extreme individual doses of 50 grams of a single substance, because the joint is being nutritionally supplied on all anatomical levels simultaneously. The nutrients interlock like the cogs of a Swiss watch.

The biggest challenge in practice: Feeding

An honest look at the feeding problem

We can talk shop for hours about milligrams, study protocols, and molecular structures. But in the harsh reality of the stable yard, the very best intentions usually fail due to a very mundane problem: our horses' fine sense of taste.

The unvarnished truth is: Many high-dose active joint ingredients taste bitter, slightly sulphurous, or simply unpleasant to the horse. What use is the highest-quality, most expensive joint powder on the market to us if it ends up sticking mushily to the bottom of the feed trough? We all know this gruelling frustration. You buy an expensive supplement, hopefully mix it into the daily hard feed, and your horse contemptuously turns up its nose and turns away.

Then the usual, time-consuming tricks at the stable begin: You mix the powder into lukewarm mash and hope that the smell will be masked. You painstakingly hollow out an apple or try to hide the dusty stuff in a mashed banana. Sometimes that works well for a few days. But our horses are true masters at sorting things out. They often eat neatly around the unloved powder. When you sweep out the trough the next morning, you find the dusty remains in the corners.

Standing tensely next to the trough every evening, wondering whether the painstakingly weighed dose really ended up inside the horse today or simply seeped away into the feed bucket, is incredibly nerve-wracking. And the most important point: If the horse doesn't eat the active ingredients continuously, day after day in the full dose, they simply cannot help.

Why we got rid of the powder

From our own, sometimes nerve-wracking experience with our horses and the intensive exchange with hundreds of desperate horse owners, a very crucial question arose for us. It wasn't: „How do we make an even better joint powder?“ It was: „How do we ensure that every single horse really consumes the full dose reliably, stress-free, and above all, gladly?“

The answer to this is our nuvallo move Snacks. We have radically simplified the concept of joint supplements: We have developed a functional joint snack that you simply feed from your hand like a reward.

The base of our snacks is absolutely stomach-friendly and completely free from wheat and corn. Our base is formed by linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed, supplemented by natural ingredients such as banana, apple, and carob powder. This not only ensures excellent acceptance even with fussy horses, but encloses the valuable active ingredients so gently that the bitter aftertaste completely disappears.

With nuvallo move, you will never need a sticky measuring spoon again. A daily ration for a 500 kg horse consists of exactly 6 nuvallo move Snacks (this corresponds to approx. 30 g). You can easily adjust this amount – give 4 to 5 snacks for lighter horses or ponies, and 7 to 8 for heavier breeds. For acute problems, you simply feed double the amount from your hand for the first two to three weeks before going back to the normal maintenance ration.

The biggest advantage for you? No sorting out in the trough, no nasty dust, no more stress at feeding time. For your horse, it is a daily, tasty reward. For you, it is the priceless feeling of certainty that the precisely defined amount of active ingredients is 100 % consumed. Since we started feeding nuvallo move ourselves, we personally feel our horses move much more supply and seem noticeably less stiff when led out in the mornings.

Because at the end of the day, the best supplement on the market is not the one with the longest ingredient list, the most colourful label, or the highest laboratory value. It is the one that actually ends up inside the horse every single day.

Sources

Dobenecker B. et al. — Specific bioactive collagen peptides (PETAGILE®) as supplement for horses with osteoarthritis: A two-centred study (Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2018) Link

Zdzieblik D. et al. — Improvement of activity-related knee joint discomfort following supplementation of specific collagen peptides (Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2017) Link

Byron C.R. et al. — Effects of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate on mediators of osteoarthritis in cultured equine chondrocytes (American Journal of Veterinary Research, Michigan State University, 2003) Link

Marañón G. et al. — The effect of methyl sulphonyl methane supplementation on biomarkers of oxidative stress in sport horses following jumping exercise (Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 2008) Link

Bergin B.J. et al. — Oral hyaluronan gel reduces post operative tarsocrural effusion in the yearling Thoroughbred (Equine Veterinary Journal, 2006) Link

Your peace of mind: The nuvallo quality promises

We know that you don't want to make any compromises when it comes to your horse's feed. That is why we guarantee you:

• ADMR-compliant: Guaranteed safe for competition. You can feed our snacks without any withdrawal period.
• No added sugar & fillers: Consistent exclusion of wheat, corn, molasses, and cheap bulking agents.
• Highest quality: Manufactured in Europe with the utmost care and under strict controls.
• 30-day satisfaction guarantee: Because we know from practical experience that nuvallo move works – and is loved by the horses.