There is some confusion about feeding Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum) to horses. Some people think it causes ulcers. It does not cause ulcers. It doesn’t even cause any gastrointestinal irritation at all. Sonya Axmann and her colleagues investigated the pharmacokinetics of Devil’s Claw inhorses. (Pharmacokinetics is how the horse’s body reacts with a substance for the entire duration of it being in the body.) She concluded: “Treatment of horses with Harpagophytum extract did not cause any clinically detectable side effects.”

I think the confusion comes in because Devil’s Claw can increase the production of stomach acid, so it should be avoided in horses with existing ulcers.

This is in stark contrast to NSAIDs (eg Bute, Flunixin, Firocoxib, Meloxicam, Diclfenac), which can cause ulcers. “The usefulness of NSAIDs is offset by the potential of their toxicological implications like the development of gastric and intestinal ulcer (Reed, Messer, Tessman, & Keegan, 2006). In addition, long-term treatment with NSAIDs has been associated with the suppression of normal proteoglycan synthesis in horses (Beluche, Bertone, Anderson, & Rohde, 2001).” This is important because proteoglycans provide structural integrity to connective tissue.

So, it is NSAIDs that cause ulcers (and other problems), not Devil’s Claw.

Devil’s Claw is as effective as NSAIDs but does not have the harmful side effects.

This is why we use Devil’s Claw in our Rejuven mix and in the dog products, Joint Formula and Joint Care chews.

Link to study quoted: https://bit.ly/3Emsq42.