One Month Cur-OST + Legend IV = Even Sounder Horse

Her appetite and love for dirt show no signs of slowing down

My mare has not truly been sound in a very long time. 2013 was not a great year for us. Two ligament injuries, stall-rest, and arthritis left her quite lame. Read more about our soundness struggle here.

Just before Christmas, she came down with a respiratory infection that resulted in a week of stall rest and quarantine. I kicked off the New Year with a cold virus and secondary sinus infection that kept me out of the saddle for an additional week. And the brutal temps accompanying the polar vortex meant several days of hand-walking only.

But she completed her bi-daily loading doses of a product called Cur-OST EQ Plus on Christmas. After trading questions with the founder of the company, I decided to add the Immune and Repair formula to her daily regimen for the next three months. And she received her first dose of Legend, a hyaluronan injectable from Bayer that can be used in the joint space (Intra-articular “IA”) or in the vein systemically (“IV”).

Intra-articular injection of hyaluronan has been shown to block the inflammation response in joints with osteoarthritis. Veterinarians often administer IA hyaluronan with a corticosteroid to maximize the anti-inflammatory and pain relief effect of the injection. But IA administration is not a risk-free silver bullet. Infection is a real and severe possibility.

The mare had been showing decent progress with the combination of EQ Plus, light exercise, and cold laser. I was terrified of the possibility of joint infection. So I figured we could try Legend IV. There is a lower risk associated with this method of administration. Legend studies indicate that 96% of horses receiving the product IA show good or excellent improvement. For IV administration, the number is 90%. If there were ever a time to bet on horses, I can’t think of a better one than 9-out of 10 odds in favor of a sounder mare!

So, after one month of EQ Plus and cold laser, and two weeks of Immune & Repair and Legend IV, how is she doing? Have a look (and please excuse the poor quality of the video):

I could not be happier with my gamble. I just hope our luck holds out!