Finish Line Horse Products

Healthier joint function, guaranteed, with Finish Line®'s Fluid Action® HA pellets, liquid & powder. The field of equine joint health supplements is very large; surprisingly so, given the competitive pricing and relatively small equine market. Where, in the spectrum of equine joint supplements, does Finish Line®'s Fluid Action® HA stand? Exactly where it should: supplying the right amount (not too little and not too much) of the most important joint supplement ingredients, along with the right supporting ingredients, without analgesics, and at a great economic value, and guaranteed to promote healthy joints, normally within 8 days. Let's take a closer look at that last sentence to see why this is true. Fluid Action® HA liquid or powder supplies 5000mg of shellfish sourced glucosamine hydrochloride per maintenance serving. The 8 day loading dose is 2 servings, or 10,000mg per day. This is the ideal amount for a 1000lb horse; improved joint health is seen within a reasonable amount of time, yet it's not so high that the horse refuses to ingest it, or worse yet, is at increased risk of gastrointestinal upset. Glucosamine is readily absorbed by the horse's gastrointestinal tract, at over 90%, and is an important building block in the production of healthy cartilage. Fluid Action® HA liquid or powder also supplies 1000mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the maintenance serving or 2000mg during the 8 day loading dose. Vitamin C is an important ingredient for joint health; it is a well known antioxidant, and oxidative stress has been shown to be potentially harmful to chondrocytes (cartilage cells). Sodium Hyaluronate is also present in Fluid Action® HA liquid or powder at 25mg per maintenance serving or 50mg loading dose. Sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid salt) is an important component of intraarticular fluid (the liquid inside the joint, literally between the bone ends). For years, there was debate over whether such a large molecule could be absorbed by the gut at all. There is, in fact, solid evidence that orally ingested HA is absorbed to a significant degree. Fluid Action® HA liquid/powder also supplies 60mg maintenance/120mg loading of MSM. Methylsulfonylmethane is a very bioavailable source of sulfur, and has a good reputation on its own as a joint supplement, much like ® vitamin C. In one published research experiment, oxidative stress markers in sport horses were followed, with and without supplementation with MSM, and the results were that the oxidative stress markers were lower in the horses getting MSM. In a curious tie-in between MSM and vitamin C, the horses getting MSM were also able to maintain their healthy levels of vitamin C better than horses without MSM. Recall also that oxidative stress has negative effects on the cells in joints! HERBAL INGREDIENTS: Fluid Action HA supplies several herbal ingredients targeted at helping promote healthy joint function. Both liquid and powder contain Yucca, which promotes a healthy inflammatory response. Then the formulas diverge a little, with the liquid containing Ginkgo, Aloe vera, and Boswellia. The powder contains Turmeric and Bromelain. Ginkgo is believed to promote healthy circulation, while boswellia, turmeric and bromelain all support a healthy inflammatory response. B-COMPLEX VITAMINS: Both Fluid Action® liquid and powder contain several B-complex vitamins, including riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and B12 (cyanocobalamin). B vitamins are involved in many metabolic reactions, including reactions carried out by the cells of the cartilage and bone. A deficiency of riboflavin, for example, was shown to adversely affect the development of cartilage in mice (4). Pyridoxine was also shown to have an important effect on bone growth, importantly in the thickness of cartilage (5). WHAT DOESN'T FLUID ACTION® HA CONTAIN? Notice that chondroitin sulfate is not listed as an ingredient in either Fluid Action® HA liquid or powder. The absorption of chondroitin, in its normal form, is considered very poor, about 13% at best, whereas glucosamine's absorption is over 90%. Yes, the little bit of chondroitin that is absorbed probably does help promote healthy joints, but in Finish Line's own research, comparing glucosamine formulas with and without chondroitin, no significant improvement in performance was noted by including chondroitin in the formula. Why pay for something that doesn't detectably increase the performance of a product? In addition there are several forms of chondroitin, making analysis complex and expensive. Then the source issue: it's available as bovine source or porcine source to name the top two. Bovine is probably the cheaper, since it's from cows. That introduces a BSE risk (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow). Fluid Action® HA liquid and powder contain no ingredients that pose a risk of BSE. Some joint products state on the ingredient listing that they include herbal ingredients like white willow (source of salicin) or devil's claw (source of harpagosides) or other pharmaceutical analgesics (painkillers). Any joint product that appears to give relief within a day or two of beginning use, probably has some kind of painkiller. At Finish Line®, it's our philosophy that a daily fed joint health product should not include pain killers. These should be given separately, only as needed. The horse's stomach is sensitive enough, without adding daily analgesics to the mix. NSAID's are known to increase the risk of stomach problems. Besides, the joint discomfort is nature's way of reminding your horse to "take it easy for a bit", give it time for healing, don't overwork that joint right now which could cause additional damage. That's why Fluid Action®'s loading dose is 8 days…you will see healthier joint motion by then, guaranteed! Discomfort is not masked by painkillers! Fluid Action® HA is formulated to give excellent joint health results, as quickly as possible, without compromising gastric or long term joint health! WHO USES FLUID ACTION® HA? All of Finish Line®'s major endorsers use Fluid Action® HA to help promote healthy joints for their horses! Satisfied users include Margie Engle, Leslie Burr Howard, Anne Kursinski, Buck Davidson, Bruce Davidson, Joe Holloway, Chris Kappler, Michael Matz and George Morris! WHAT'S THE NASC SEAL ON THE BOTTLE? NASC, or National Animal Supplement Council, is an industry support group that promotes high quality in companion animal supplements. To be an NASC member, companies are audited by NASC, and have and use an approved cGMP program, all to insure the quality and safety of the product. Finish Line® is an audited member of NASC! Check out NASC's work at http://www.nasc.cc/

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