Pentosan vs Legend

[Janet]

I currently give my horse IV Legend injections every month. And Legend does work - really, really well. As long as I keep it up monthly - he does great, but if I let it slip a week or two beyond a month, I quickly have difficulties getting him to connect and he is often braced against the bit. He does not have a noticeable lameness, just a stiff way of moving and a reluctance for contact and engagement. I give him the legend injection and in less than a week he is happy at his work again. It is hard to fight those sort of consistent results. However while I *can* do the IV injections myself, I hate doing them. I am always afraid the needle will move once it is in the vein and I will end up injecting the costly supplement into muscle. My vet assures me that this won't cause any harm - except to my pocket book. Still, I am wanting to investigate other options.

I have been reading about Pentosan. Does anyone use it? Has anyone gone from Legend to Pentosan? Is it as effective? Is it more effective? How does it compare price wise with Legend? Currently I get about 4 months out of a 20 ML bottle of Legend - my vet has prescribed two doses one week apart any time I start a new bottle - and it really does keep him comfortable. I am currently paying $370 for the 20 ML bottle.

Am I crazy to want to even try something else? I am going to talk to my vet this week about it as well. I've read so many mixed reviews of Adequan, I don't think I want to try that. I also don't want to do an oral supplement as I am not aware of any which test as conclusively beneficial as the injected joint supplements.

Thanks in advance!

[Canyon]

Here is an article in Horse Journal that discusses all three drugs.

I probably would stick with Legend if he is responding so well.

I tried Legend for a while on my big warmblood; I didn’t see a difference. I started him on compounded Pentosan for a few years. He did improve, but I never was comfortable with the short shelf life. I had him on PentAussie for a few years (until I retired him) and had good results.

[Chancellor]

Pentosan is ridiculously inexpensive compared to Legend.
When I still had Mocha, I was treating him with both. Mind you, Mocha was never exactly sound. I was giving him Adequan with zero results. Then I read about Pentosan and gave it a try. I saw marked results with just the Pentosan. That worked for about a year or so and then he needed both the Pentosan and the Legend. Of course, he was 19 or so when I started doing that.
I got my Pentosan through my aunt (she is a vet) and it lasted a few months unrefrigerated.

It worked so well, I started giving it to my dog who had spinal arthritis starting.

[mld02004]

My vet won't prescribe the compounded pentosan (off label use), but I've used pentaussie and pentosan eq. Pentaussie was awesome, I saw a real difference with it, not so much with pentosan eq. Pentaussie is no longer being made.

[lorilu]

If I am correct, pentosan is an NSAID ( pain reliever/ anti inflammatory) while Legend works to replace joint fluid. Completely different functions.

[Abby Kogler]

Pentosan is not an NSAID.

I use it and love it. I have stopped using Legend; just never saw any results with it on any horse, although I have known people who had good results with it. It doesn't stay in the horses system/joint very long; it doesn't seem to make much physiological sense to me.

I see results with Adequan. But it is expensive. Wayne MacIlwraith prefers Pentosan. I feel a difference in my old guys when they are on it. I do the 6 cc every four days protocol. Some I do every couple of years; some I do more often, like every six months or when they start to feel creaky.

[Chisamba]

I have used pentosan, compounded, on my horse and my dog. I have seen positive effects in both, it's use had been studied in humans and other countries prescribe it for human use too, so it's av real thing

[Srhorselady]

I went from Adequan to Pentosan with my 4 seniors. IAdequan was just too expensive to give to 4 since I use it as a maintenance injection once a month after the loading dose. I find both effective with Pentosan slightly more effective as well as cheaper. If I go more than 5 weeks between IM injections they all move stiffer and the lateral work isn't as nice. The Pentosan I get is good for about 5 months and I dose at 6ml once monthly (after the loading dose).

[Janet]

Thanks to all for the responses. I think I will give Pentosan a try. First because of my anxiety giving IV injections and second for the cost. I'll let you know how it works!