Side effects of Devil's Claw?

Midnight_Ashes

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Apr 1, 2008
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Thinking about putting Stevie on Devil's Claw alongside Equine America's 10000mg Glucosamine+MSM to help with his various niggles. I am reluctant to put him on bute as he is not yet at that stage and as he is only 14 I don't want to ruin his liver. Are there any side effects/long term damage from feeding this? I would feed the purest form I could find.
 
it increases stomach acid so is not good if ulcers are known or suspected and can in long term use lead to ulcers and stomach problems.

can cause a loss of appetite also so loss of condition and energy.

can cause an allergic reaction.

can cause heart rhythm changes also.
 
Where did you get that information from Cieron? The main selling point of these herbal alternatives to bute is their lack of long term side effects.

It's almost twice the price but Danilon is a much gentler alternative to bute, and apparently just as effective.
 
If he only has "niggles", why not try him on turmeric? I've been adding it to Roo's diet for about 6 months now and he changed within a few days :) He's had a fractured pelvis in the past which affects his off-hind and although he's learned to compensate very well, without the T he's short and unlevel. All the body workers I've had out for him agree that he's not in pain, he's just got a limp but since I've had him on it, the limp has gone.
 
Good idea :) It's cheap too. My two creaky girls get turmeric and devils claw at the moment, seems to be working either way :)
 
i too have started Rosie on Turmeric, shes not a great fan of eating it though....but eventually does when she realises shes not having anything else!! what amount of Turmeric should i be giving her daily? shes prob approx 550kg.
 
Where do you get tumeric from? Is it the normal stuff from the shop? Or can you buy it it larger quantities from health food shops? Interested in trying this for my TB?
 
Abby has lots of creaking parts! :eek: Shes on 16+ mix which has added everything in it and i have just started her on Global Herbs Moverfree Plus and it seems to have made a difference. She usually comes out of her stable in the morning a little slow and creaky (or maybe she goes slow just past the stallions :rolleyes:) But today she seemed more loose and came out at quite a speed and trotted off up the field. She has navicular changes and some side bone change but is on no pain relief and manages on the basics as above :D
 
Ooh what is tumeric and where do I get it? Also how much do I feed a horse who weighs in around 550Kg (varies through the seasons)?
He has (are you sitting down?):

Arthritis of the off fore coffin joint which was medicated in October but vet doesn't want to do it again.
Extensive scar tissue and damage on the near side check ligament and flexor tendon.
A lump of bone where the annular ligament joins the pedal bone in the off fore foot.
What appears to be the starting of sidebone in his pasterns all round.

Gosh he sounds like he's falling to pieces! :rolleyes: Please rest assured, I am not keeping a hobbling horse dragging itself round the field in agony!! He is a very happy horse and most people don't think there's anything wrong with him (certainly he did well out in-hand at the weekend). He is one/two tenths lame most of the time, worsening to three or four tenths lame after a complete hooly when the ground is rock hard or when it is eight inches deep in mud (winter upsets the tendon/check ligament, summer upsets the arthritis :p). He comes sound on a bute or two.

I just want something to help him along, but not as "agressive" as bute or other *mediciines*. He is not yet at the stage where he needs maintainance bute and I want to keep that stage as far off as possible, as he is only 14 and I am fully aware of the damaging effects of long-term bute.
 
Where did you get that information from Cieron? The main selling point of these herbal alternatives to bute is their lack of long term side effects.

It's almost twice the price but Danilon is a much gentler alternative to bute, and apparently just as effective.

from extensive research.

there has been numerous animal and human trials of devils claw and those are the listed contra indication.

herbalists claim they arent damaging but they lie.

the medical research is there in journals and the like.

great having access to the uni online journal systems.

as a side note, aspirin is also ment to have similar side affects in humans even in short courses so its long term use is being questioned.
 
That's interesting as my horse seems a bit nuts when I put him on the Devils Claw. Can't really describe how his temperament changes but he's not himself!

I'd be interested to know more about Tumeric too please? Where to buy and how much to feed?

from extensive research.

there has been numerous animal and human trials of devils claw and those are the listed contra indication.

herbalists claim they arent damaging but they lie.

the medical research is there in journals and the like.

great having access to the uni online journal systems.

as a side note, aspirin is also ment to have similar side affects in humans even in short courses so its long term use is being questioned.
 
Ive heard a few things about devils claw only being recommended for a short time as if can effect there stomach.

MA what about changing equine america for equine answers premier flex, it has more Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Hyaluronic Acid than a few well known brands. I had LL on movefree plus and she was still clicking, she has been on this a few weeks, I completed the inital loading dose and can notice a difference. Price wise is good too.

http://www.equineanswers.co.uk/prodpage.asp?ProdID=4

I think owned by chanter put him on the plus one with devils claw ?? I know she did lots of research and this came up best ingredients/price wise.
 
Anything that you feed your horse can have side effects, but the effects of feeding a herbal alternative are likely to be less than that from drugs. A lot of drugs are synthetic forms of single compounds found in plants, but they therefore miss out the other compounds within the plants that often reduce the side effects. So, for example, aspirin being a synthetic form of a compound found in white willow bark, does give more side effects than white willow bark itself. But not everyone will get side effects from aspirin and some people will get more reaction to white willow bark if they are allergic to something else within it.

I think all you can do is try it and see how your individual horse responds. The downside with feeding herbal products is that they're not subject to clinical trials, so things can be sold that haven't been through rigorous testing. But in reality with things like devils claw that have been used for years, there's unlikely to be a high risk of serious side effects.
 
from extensive research.

there has been numerous animal and human trials of devils claw and those are the listed contra indication.

Can you link to anything in the public domain? I'd be interested to learn more.

I'd be interested to know more about Tumeric too please? Where to buy and how much to feed?

Best place to get it from is your local continental grocer. I believe places like Tesco sell it in bulk too. I pay about £5 for 1.2kg. I give my two a couple of cortaflex scoops a day each. It has the added advantage of masking the taste of other less pleasant supplements too.
 
MA I need to know the amount too.

I think I remember from another thread someone saying they fed their cob a pink powder scoup, hope I didn't dream that.
 
Devil's claw used long term will also cause liver damage, same as bute.

Having weighed the pros and cons last year when it looked as though my 15 year old pony was going to have to be on some sort of painkiller for life, the decision I came to was that you're better off feeding half a sachet of Danilon a day (kinder on the stomach than bute or devils claw) than feeding an arbitrary amount of devil's claw, potentially causing the same side effects and not having the benefits of using a well-tested and more effective NSAID.

If he's sound enough not to need bute/danilon then I'd stay well away from NoBute and all the other devil's claw preparations. Turmeric sounds like a good bet and you could also play around with different joint supplements (although do not necessarily expect to see an improvement in flexibility with any joint supplement - they will keep existing cartilage in good shape and prevent further degeneration, but won't make any more grow. According to my vet, any joint supplement that claims to be able to improve suppleness is lying).
 
Problem is they do, or people wouldn't bother with them. I think the problem is nobody knows exactly how they work, although all the anecdotal (and some clinical) evidence suggests they do.

They work in humans too :)

ETA A browse round the web suggests Devils Claw can indeed potentially cause irritation in horses with stomach ulcers. But also that this effect is much less than with bute. Didn't find anything to suggest it would actually cause ulcers though, and like Zingy says everything will have a side effect of some kind and you have to balance up the benefits against the small risk of negative effects. There are horses that have been on bute for years on end and come up clean when tested for liver damage.
 
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