Box rest in horses: supporting joints and tendons the right way

Why we consider this topic so important: from practical experience, for practical use

Behind nuvallo are Katja and Andrés. With over 20 years of practical experience in equestrian sport, we know only too well how unsettling the diagnosis of 'box rest' can be. This article provides you with easy-to-understand answers from practical experience, so that you can optimally support your horse's healing process with the right supplement.

The knowledge base: what happens in the horse's body during periods of rest

When a horse is forced to stay in its box for weeks, something critical happens in its body: the musculoskeletal system slows right down. To understand why this is so problematic, it helps to look at the anatomy. Articular cartilage, tendons and ligaments are what is known as bradytrophic tissue. This means they have little to no connection to the bloodstream.

Normally, joint cartilage is nourished like a sponge through the horse's constant movement. The weight-bearing phase squeezes out used joint fluid (synovia), and during the unweighting phase, fresh, nutrient-rich fluid is sucked into the cartilage. If this constant movement is missing due to box rest, the cartilage is literally put on a diet and nutrient exchange stagnates.

At the same time, the stability in the tendons and ligaments also degrades. Tendons consist largely of fine collagen fibres, which rely on gentle mechanical stimuli to structure themselves in a supple and tear-resistant way. Building a horse up after a tendon injury therefore requires not only time and a precise training plan later on, but also the right building material from the inside.

Especially in older horses or those that already have minor deficits due to sporting exertion, standing for long periods can lead to them appearing stiff in the mornings and their legs filling. In addition, forage in Germany is often subject to strong weather-related fluctuations and does not always provide essential building blocks for cartilage and tendon metabolism in sufficient quantities. This is exactly where a high-quality supplement during box rest comes into play: it is not about making damage magically disappear. Rather, it is about providing the organism with the exact building blocks it urgently needs for its own maintenance of cell structures.

What does science say?

When you look around the supplement market, a lot is often promised. But what is really behind it? A closer look at the research helps to separate the wheat from the chaff.

What has been proven in studies

There are very promising approaches in research into joints and tendons. Universities and veterinary institutes worldwide are investigating the effects of substances such as glucosamine, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) and hyaluronic acid. In laboratory studies (known as in-vitro studies), for example, it has been impressively shown that cartilage cells in a Petri dish react measurably positively to the addition of hyaluronic acid and glucosamine. The production of the cartilage matrix is stimulated and the cells show increased activity.

However, we must remain honest and transparent here: laboratory results cannot be transferred one-to-one to a living, 600-kilo warmblood. What works in isolated cell cultures must first pass through the horse's complex gastrointestinal tract, be absorbed by the small intestine and finally arrive at the joint via the bloodstream.

What has been studied in the living horse

This is exactly why research on the living horse (in vivo) gets exciting. There are studies that investigate the actual effects of joint supplements in everyday life. For example, researchers at Texas A&M University conducted studies in which young horses were fed specific joint building blocks. Compared to the control group, these horses showed positive reactions in their joint metabolism and fewer inflammatory markers in their blood after exertion. In humans, too, there are numerous meaningful studies on the oral intake of collagen peptides (often over periods of 12 to 24 weeks), which indicate a noticeable support of joint function. This excellently complements the evidence base in mammalian research.

However, the study situation in horses has its limitations, which we do not want to hide. Animal studies in the field of nutritional supplementation often only have small sample sizes – sometimes just 10 to 15 horses – or comparatively short durations. The perfect, clinical double-blind long-term study with hundreds of horses over several years is quite simply extremely rare for nutritional supplements, as it is incredibly expensive in veterinary medicine. Nevertheless, the sum of the available data shows: the targeted supplementary feeding of specific building blocks can make a measurable difference in metabolic processes.

An honest conclusion

The biological basis for the use of joint nutrients is absolutely solid. Building blocks such as glucosamine and collagen are completely natural components of joint cartilage and connective tissue. Research indicates that the administration of these substances can support the joint system.

However, a supplement during box rest is no miracle cure that will repair a damaged tendon overnight. It is much more an extremely sensible building block in your overall rehab management. Especially when the period of absolute rest ends and the controlled movement programme for the horse begins after a tendon injury, the fresh tissue structures must be well-supplied to withstand the slowly increasing load. Nutritional supply becomes particularly valuable when you don't just rely on an isolated ingredient, but choose a clever combination.

Dosage and practice: the right supplement during box rest

If you are wondering what you should feed during your horse's box rest, a close look at the dosages of the ingredients is crucial. In scientific studies, very specific amounts are usually used. For a horse weighing around 500 kg, for example, 1,500 mg of glucosamine and roughly 2,000 to 3,000 mg of MSM per day are considered sensible and proven amounts to achieve any effect in the tissue at all.

In practice, we usually distinguish between a maintenance dose and an initial course in an acute phase. If the horse is standing in the box with a fresh injury, double the amount is often recommended in the first two to three weeks to provide the body with intensive support during this critical time. After that, you can safely return to the normal daily ration for long-term maintenance.

Important to know: in high-quality combination products, the dosage of the individual isolated substances can often be slightly lower than in pure mono-preparations (i.e. tubs that only contain a single substance). Why? Because the different substances do not work in isolation, but support and reinforce each other in the metabolism. This is known as the synergy effect.

A critical look at the feed market is worthwhile at this point: unfortunately, many manufacturers hide behind EU Regulation 767/2009. This regulation allows that the exact amounts of active ingredients per kilogram or per daily dose do not always necessarily have to be declared. Many tubs then prominently state 'contains MSM' or 'with valuable glucosamine' – but you don't find out how much of it is actually inside. As a consumer, however, you should know exactly what is in the product so that you don't end up spending a lot of money on useless carrier materials like apple pomace.

Another important tip for practice: you need patience. As we learned above, joint cartilage and tendons have an extremely slow metabolism. A supplement, especially during box rest, needs time to unfold its effect. You should feed it consistently for at least 8 to 12 weeks to give the body a chance to build the nutrients into the tissue. The first small positive changes are often only noticed by owners after 4 to 6 weeks.

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

When it comes to the optimal supplement during box rest, many owners rely on countless individual powders – a scoop of pure MSM here, some glucosamine there, and perhaps a bottle of hyaluronic acid. But in the body, joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons work as a closely interlinked, finely tuned system. Different active ingredients act on completely different points within this system.

This is exactly where the previously mentioned synergy effect comes into play: a well-known crossover study by the renowned Animal Health Trust in the UK, for example, showed that the combination of various joint building blocks had significantly more positive effects on the joy of movement and joint health of horses than the administration of isolated individual substances alone. A well-coordinated combination product therefore does not need extreme individual dosages, because the building blocks work together smoothly like a well-trained team.

This is exactly the scientific approach we pursue at nuvallo. Our nuvallo move Snacks provide exactly the building blocks that meaningfully complement each other per recommended daily ration (6 Snacks for an approx. 500-kg horse, which corresponds to roughly 30 g):

• 1,500 mg glucosamine serves as an important building block for cartilage formation and supports the natural shock absorption of the joint.
• 2,550 mg collagen provides the necessary structural protein for the elasticity and stability of connective tissue and cartilage – absolutely essential when you want to build your horse up after a tendon injury.
• 2,250 mg MSM (organic sulphur) is an elementary building block and important for the regeneration of tendons and ligaments.
• 150 mg hyaluronic acid acts as the main component of the joint fluid (synovia).

So instead of painstakingly weighing and mixing five different tubs in the feed room in the evenings, your horse gets a scientifically based combination that works directly in the right places.

The biggest challenge in practice: feeding

We have now talked a lot about ingredients, studies and dosages. But let's talk about reality – about the actual emotional core of this topic.

The everyday feeding problem

You have probably spent hours researching online to find out which supplement is best during box rest. You've battled your way through specialist articles, ordered the expensive joint powder, are looking forward to the positive effect – and then you stand in the stable. Your horse sniffs at the manger, turns up its nose and turns its head away.

Most joint active ingredients, particularly MSM and certain herbs, naturally have a very bitter and unpleasant taste. In addition, almost all powders are very dusty and enormously change the familiar consistency of the hard feed. We all know the result: the horse neatly sorts out the powder with its fine lips and simply eats around it. In the end, a thick, expensive layer of the supplement sticks to the bottom of the bowl or in the corners of the feed trough.

We all know and try the usual tricks from the stable yard: we painstakingly stir the powder into warm mash, grate apples over it, hide it deep inside a banana or mix it into damp sugar beet pulp. Sometimes it works if you introduce the powder slowly, gram by gram, over a period of weeks. But let's be honest: often enough, with fussy horses, it just doesn't work.

And even if the horse eats without complaint: does it really get exactly the full dose stated on the packet every day? Standing at the manger every evening, keeping your fingers crossed and wondering whether the valuable and expensive supplement might just be left behind in the end is extremely frustrating for us as owners.

Why we got rid of the powder

Exactly out of this deep frustration, which we experienced with our own horses and which we encountered again and again in conversations with hundreds of other horse owners, a new idea was born. We didn't ask ourselves: 'How do we simply make another, even finer powder?' We asked ourselves: 'How do we ensure that every horse reliably and happily takes the full dose?'

The solution to this problem is our nuvallo move Snacks – a functional joint snack that is simply fed directly from the hand like a reward.

Thanks to the extremely stomach-friendly base of high-quality linseed cake, fine rice bran and linseed, supplemented by natural ingredients such as banana, apple and carob powder, we achieve an enormously high acceptance among horses. And that entirely free from wheat and corn, molasses or cheap fillers. The advantages for you in everyday life are immense: you always have a clearly defined amount of active ingredients per snack. Sorting it out is practically impossible for the horse. There is no more stress at the feed manger, no more sticky mash-mixing, and no more dusty powder left behind in the bucket.

Your horse no longer experiences the feeding of nutrients as a disgusting medicine mix, but as a positive ritual. Many customers confirm our experience: since feeding the snacks, we see that the horses really look forward to their ration and seem less stiff in the mornings when they come out of the box. It is exactly for these small, precious moments that we do this.

Because in the end, the best supplement on the market is not the one with the very longest list of ingredients or the highest theoretical laboratory value on the label. It is the supplement that actually ends up inside the horse.

Sources

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

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

What you can rely on with nuvallo move:

• ADMR-compliant with no withdrawal period: 100% safe for competition and sports horses.
• No added sugar & fillers: Free from wheat and corn.
• Made in Europe: Highest raw material and production quality.
• 30-day satisfaction guarantee: Test it completely risk-free for you and your horse.