Animal Wellness

Just like people, horses undergo stress from many factors, including training, feeding schedules and interaction with other horses. Although some horses may deal with stressors better than others, even the toughest of horses can become affected and end up with health or behavioral problems if ignored. (Eilerts, J 2019) The ways in which stress can be imposed on a horse are by not having a consistent routine, domesticated lifestyle, and intense exercise pressure. In fact, decisions made about a horse’s care at every phase of life affect if, when, and to what extent he develops arthritis. (Barakat, C 2019) Horses’ natural instinct is to run in the face of danger, but when set in the domesticated lifestyle humans have conditioned them to, the response to stressful situations is no longer to run away. Instead, some are bound to their stalls and rely on humans for their nutrition. Additionally, certain disciplines undergo intense training that can cause additional stress on their joints and ligaments, as well as their overall wellbeing. (Threlkeld, L 2018) For example, race horse training is rigorous and can lead to chronic stress. Factors to consider that may lead to stress include a busier competition season, change in nutrition or feeding schedule, and adapting to new riders. (Barakat, C 2019) This can lead to poor performance and refusing to train either by bolting, rearing, bucking, etc. (Eilerts, J. 2019) By knowing the triggers that can lead to stress in your horse, you are able to start looking out for behavioral changes that might develop and can help you take the necessary steps to helping your horse lead a calmer, healthier life. Some behavioral changes to look out for include: Losing weight due to loss of appetite Acting out either by biting, bolting, kicking, etc. Increased heart rate or sweating Inflammation or gastric ulcers At every stage of your horse’s life, the quality of care and consistency put in to looking after your horse will ensure a happier and healthier life overall. These could include creating a consistent daily routine, increasing the amount of time out of their stall, and monitoring their exercise levels. (Eilerts, J. 2019) By not addressing constant stress, it can lead to further inflammation and, if the stress is being caused by constant exercise, you are at risk of aggravating early stages of arthritis. Here at Astaria, our advanced AlphaActive process can reduce inflammation and slow the progress of osteoarthritis.  Eilerts, J. (2019, September 24). Causes & effects of stress in horses. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://proearthanimalhealth.com/causes-and-effects-of-stress-in-horses/ Barakat, C. (2019, January 01). Arthritis prevention: A lifetime of joint care for your horse. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://equusmagazine.com/horse-care/prevent-arthritis-in-horses Threlkeld, L. (2018, August 02). Relax! how to Battle everyday HORSE STRESSORS. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/health-archive/relax-how-to-battle-everyday-horse-stressors

More than half of the horses in the US have developed osteoarthritis and are either lame or have health issues. (Beyond Osteoarthritis, 2019) The disease forms due to injury, which then triggers an inflammatory response in the joints and causes abnormal remodeling of the tissue. (Loeser 2012) A horse living with osteoarthritis can threaten its career, cause early retirement and be a financial burden. (McIlwraith 2012) However, this does not mean to say the horse cannot live a comfortable life and carry on its days by being turned out in the fields – in fact, it’s encouraged. When arthritis develops, it cannot be reversed. Instead, it is important to ensure that you reduce the inflammation and pain as much as possible to reduce future damages. If you are to catch the warning signs of arthritis early on (which include checking for stiffness, inflammation in the legs, and pain your horse might have) you stand a better chance of allowing the horse to live comfortably for many years and still enjoying low-impact riding disciplines. Along with continuing less strenuous activities, by optimizing turn out to the fields, the horse can move freely and at its own pace. It is very important to keep them active and not bound to the stalls. Daily movement can promote circulation, but depending on the severity of the case, limiting how much activity is advised so no further irritation causes a flare in inflammation. (Meszoly, 2020) If the progression of equine arthritis has advanced, simply turning out them out for the day could be enough. Here are a few guidelines of how to care of your horse’s needs: Keep riding, but only to the horse’s comfort level as you do not want to work the horse to the point of being lame. Choose suitable ground to ride on and avoid steep hillsides, rocky, uneven or thick mud terrain. Maintain a healthy weight for the horse so that there is no additional pressure on the joints. Monitor early warning signs of arthritis and if they get worse. Ensuring your horse lives a comfortable and healthy life is as important to you as it is to us. One way we can help you and your horse continue to happily ride together is with Alpha2EQ. Our AlphaActiveTM Concentration Process helps reduce inflammation and intensifies the all-natural healing proteins of the horse’s own blood. By preventing cartilage breakdown and loss, it slows the progression of osteoarthritis. To find more information on how our medicine could give your horse a happier, more comfortable life, please check out our research or contact us .  Meszoly, J. (2020, October 22). Coping with Arthritis in Horses. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://equusmagazine.com/lameness/coping-with-arthritis-in-horses-8356 Beyond Osteoarthritis: ‘Other’ Causes of Joint Disease. (2019, October 30). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://thehorse.com/154331/beyond-osteoarthritis-other-causes-of-joint-disease/ . Loeser RF, Goldring SR, Scanzello CR, et al. Osteoarthritis: a disease of the joint as an organ. Arthritis Rheumatism. 2012;64(6):1697-1707 McIlwraith CW, Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE. The horse as a model of naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Bone Joint Res. 2012;1(11):297-309.

When it comes to arthritis, all horses no matter what age, breed or discipline they train in, are at risk. Due to extensive training and competitions, the constant pressures sustained over a period of time wears down the protective cartilage, which most commonly occurs in the legs. The questions are not if horses will develop arthritis, but when. Common equine disciplines include dressage, horse jumping, racing, cross country and cutting. Each discipline showcases the horse’s athletic ability and can be very demanding on the ligaments, joints and tendons during extensive training or performances. However, this is not to say that horses early on in their years are at a lower risk of developing arthritis than a horse later on in its career. At any age, a horse has the chance of being affected, and statistics show that 60% of all equine lameness can be caused by osteoarthritis – which can limit the horse’s ability to perform well and could lead to an early retirement if not treated properly. (USDA 2000, Caron 2003) So, is there a certain discipline that is at higher risk? Well, all disciplines are potentially at the same risk of developing osteoarthritis, but each discipline may be strenuous on specific muscles and ligaments than the others. For example, dressage equine is established to be one of the most talented for showcasing the horse’s natural athletic ability and gymnastic development, causing most injuries to be centered around the hock and knees. (Dyson, 2019) But, if the horse is in cutting, because of the constant stop and turn motion, they can develop an injury in the lower orthopedic and back, as well as the legs. (Western Performance Horse Injuries and Problems, 2004) One thing to keep in mind though, is that all equine discipline put significant strain on the weight-bearing legs and should be carefully monitored for swelling, stiffness and discomfort. If you notice your horse is already lame, the arthritis could be advancing. (Meszoly, 2020) It is important to start making the steps to ease the pain as soon as you notice the symptoms so that your horse can continue to live a comfortable life and perform at any level. At Astaria, our mission is to give your animal the best life they can have pain-free. Our scientifically advanced formula of Alpha2EQ modulates cartilage degeneration that is the result of osteoarthritis and can decrease inflammation. So, whether your horse is at the beginning of its career or soon to be retired, don’t let them live the rest of their life in pain.  Meszoly, J. (2020, October 22). Coping with Arthritis in Horses. Retrieved January 25, 2021, from https://equusmagazine.com/lameness/coping-with-arthritis-in-horses-8356 United States Department of Agriculture. Lameness and laminitis in U.S. Horses. National Animal Health Monitoring System, 2000. Available at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/equine/downloads/equine98/Equine98_dr_Lameness.pdf . [Access date: July 10, 2020.] Dyson, S. (2016). Lameness and Performance in the Sport Horse: Dressage: AAEP. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://aaep.org/horsehealth/lameness-and-performance-sport-horse-dressage . Western Performance Horse Injuries and Problems. (2004, March 11). Retrieved from https://thehorse.com/152104/western-performance-horse-injuries-and-problems/ .

Osteoarthritis (OA), sometimes referred to as degenerative joint disease, is a chronic, ongoing, agonizing degenerative disease within the cartilage. It can affect any articular joint, which is a joint where two cartilage-covered bones meet. But what exactly is OA and is your horse suffering from it? OA can affect any horse at any age, and 60% of all equine lameness is related to it (USDA 2000, Caron 2003). OA is often associated with poor performance, early retirement, and a significant financial burden for owners of affected athletes (McIlwraith 2012). It is an active response to joint injury resulting from abnormal remodeling of joint tissues driven by a host of inflammatory mediators within the affected joint. (Loeser 2012) The extracellular matrix of articular cartilage is composed of proteins and glycoproteins, principally collagen, and several others (Fox 2009, Roughley 2001). The progression of OA is driven, at least in part, by upregulation of cartilage matrix degrading proteases, pro-inflammatory cytokines and genes that modulate inflammatory or catabolic processes within the joint (Loeser 2012). The result is loss of articular cartilage caused by extracellular matrix breakdown— the hallmark of arthritis (Liu 2009). This multi-factorial cascade of events may be amenable to molecular interventions targeting these mediators of joint degradation, but it is unlikely that blocking only one of these catabolic factors would be sufficient to suppress the multiple inflammatory and catabolic factors involved in the progression of osteoarthritis (Zhang 2017). The α2M molecule is unique amongst plasma protease inhibitors because of its ability to inhibit virtually any protease. In addition, it binds and regulates the activity of a number of cytokines, binds and regulates the activity of a number of hormones, and has demonstrated regulation of genes (Rehman 2013). If you are interested in learning more, please visit our website at https://alpha2eq.com or contact us here. Caron JP and Genovese RL. Principles and practices of joint disease treatment. In: Ross MW and Dyson SJ, eds. Diagnosis and management of lameness in the horse. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2003:746–764.Fox AJS, Bedi A and Rodeo SA. The basic science of articular cartilage: structure, composition, and function. Sports Health. 2009;1(6):461-468. Liu C-J. The role of ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12 in the pathogenesis of arthritis. Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol. 2009;5(1):38-45. Loeser RF, Goldring SR, Scanzello CR, et al. Osteoarthritis: a disease of the joint as an organ. Arthritis Rheumatism. 2012;64(6):1697-1707. McIlwraith CW, Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE. The horse as a model of naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Bone Joint Res. 2012;1(11):297-309. Rehman A, Ahsan H, Khan F. Alpha2-Macroglobulin: a physiological guardian. J Cell Physiol 2013;228:1665-1675. Zhang Y, Wei X, Browning S, et al. Targeted designed variants of alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) attenuate cartilage degeneration in a rat model of osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection. Arthritis Res Ther. 2017;19:1-11.

The purpose of orthobiologic medicines is to grow, repair or replace damaged cells within the body (Bogers 2018). The means of α2M protease inhibition has been referred to as the “trapping” mechanism. A short, unique segment of amino acids near the middle of the polypeptide chain acts as a “bait” region, which is vulnerable to cleavage by most proteases. After a protease cleaves the “bait” region, conformational changes in the α2M molecule are triggered— springing the “trap” — resulting in entrapment of the protease molecule. (Barrett 1973) Trapping the protease molecule produces two important results: the protease molecule is sterically hindered from accessing its substrate and the receptor binding site on each α2M monomer is exposed, enabling those molecules containing protease to be bound and cleared via phagocytosis— unbound α2M is not cleared from the site (Rehman 2013).  The mechanism of action suggests that — in addition to inhibiting protease activity — α2M supplementation beyond endogenous levels may inhibit osteoarthritic cartilage degradation in vivo by decreasing cartilage catabolic and inflammatory factors (Wang 2014). α2M may offer a useful therapeutic approach to the management of osteoarthritis by reducing gene expression of specific classes of proteases involved in cartilage matrix degradation and favoring its repair (Kobayashi 2005). If you are interested in learning more or would like to find an associated veterinarian in your area, please contact us here. Barrett AJ and Starkey PM. The interaction of Alpha2-Macroglobulin with proteinases. Biochem J 1973;133:709-724.Bogers S. H. (2018). Cell-Based Therapies for Joint Disease in Veterinary Medicine: What We Have Learned and What We Need to Know. Frontiers in veterinary science, 5, 70. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00070. Kobayashi M, Squires GR, Mousa A, et al. Role of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor ­in matrix degradation of human osteoarthritic cartilage. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(1):128-135. Rehman A, Ahsan H, Khan F. Alpha2-Macroglobulin: a physiological guardian. J Cell Physiol 2013;228:1665-1675. Wang S, Wei X, Zhou J, et al. Identification of Alpha2-Macroglobulin as a master inhibitor of cartilage-degrading factors that attenuates the progression of posttraumatic osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheumatol 2014;66:1843-1853.

Horse and companion owners are starting to see more and more information regarding regenerative and orthobiologic therapies for their animals. Regenerative and orthobiologic therapies are a form of therapy that allows the body to heal itself in a safe and non-toxic manner and holds much promise in managing pain and injuries. These therapies elicit a variety of biologic responses, such as stimulating growth factors, anti-inflammatory mediators and even the regeneration of tissue (Angelone, 2017). In 2018, North America held the largest regenerative market share revenue and is projected to dominate the market. According to a recent study, the regenerative therapy market is expected to grow from 13.6 billion USD to 72.6 billion USD by 2026, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 24.2%. This is due in part to their forecasted positive impact in healthcare to treat health conditions associated with cancer, neurology, orthopedics and potentially even certain genetic diseases. The funding of the global regenerative medicine market is what provides research and therapy dollars to drive the success of new regenerative therapies, like Alpha2EQ, making them safe and reliable (By, 2020). Regenerative therapies allow the body to heal itself in a natural, safe and effective manner. Various regenerative therapies have been found to be extremely successful in providing instant pain-relief and targeted biologic treatment to ligament and tendon injuries. Because of its wide variety of relevance and substantial developments in tissue engineering, stem cell therapy, gene therapy and more, regenerative therapies will only continue to garner more awareness and support (Evans, 2019). As more research is conducted, doctors and scientists are discovering more options in these therapies to treat pain, inflammation and musculoskeletal injuries suffered by equine, particularly those in high performance careers. Many universities and research organizations, such as Boise State University, will assist in propelling this growth by conducting studies that test different regenerative therapy approaches and techniques to ensure these treatments are safe and reliable when they get to market (Marycz, 2018). This is an exciting advancement in the realm of animal medicine and, with the increases in funding, hold promise for effective and enduring treatment of animals that is both safe, comfortable and provides no proven adverse effects. Read more about the studies that Astaria Global has conducted thus far here: Equine Safety Study Alpha-2 Macroglobulin: A Physiological Guardian  Angelone M, conti V, Biacca c, et al. the contribution of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells and platelet-rich plasma to the treatment of chronic equine laminitis: a proof of concept. international Journal of Molecular Science. 2017;18(10). pii: e2122By. (2020, January 24). Regenerative Medicines Market Size, Status and Future Outlook 2020 to 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/regenerative-medicines-market-size-status-and-future-outlook-2020-to-2026-2020-01-24 Evans, M. (2019, August 22). Regenerative Medicine. Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/alternative-therapies/regenerative-medicine Marycz k, Michalak i, kornicka k. advanced nutritional and stem cells approaches to prevent equine metabolic syndrome. research in Veterinary Science. 2018;118:115-125.