My horse was crippled and very nearly died from infection after joint injections.
My veterinarian sent back the entire lot of the Pfizer Hylartin V product she had
purchased after another horse had a reaction.

Meanwhile, my horse endured the most painful infection in two of his joints,
spent 10 days in the Equine Hospital and almost had to be put down 3 times.
You can imagine the anguish and the cost!

He was the most beautiful show hunter, now he is completely lame, will probably
never be able to be ridden again. We are lucky he’s alive.

Pfizer refuses to award any damages, let alone pay for the original treatment.
No attorney will take on Pfizer for a horse that is worth less than a million. I am
heartbroken at the loss of my riding partner.

Check out my blog for the ultimate bad customer service story.

Pfizer Doesn't Care

Has anyone else had this happen?

Sorry to hear about your horse.

Can't say I have ever heard anything bad about it. Had it used personally on one of my horses and have seen it used on dozens of horses that we have worked on and never had a problem.

Thanks for your reply.

If I had to do it again, I would not do the sodium hyluronate/steriod joint injections again. In the hunter world we've all done it as regular maintenance. My horse did have arthritic changes in his stifles that required injections. However, now there is IRAP, were they take healthy cells, process them then re-inject into the joint. It only has to be done one to three times then the healing begins. The horses that have had it done at my barn saw fabulous results. Two in particular - a 14-year old veteran hunter that has been shown every year over fences since he was 4 or 5 and another 17-year old ex top EQ horse that is taking a new rider to long stirrup. Both are moving like they did when they were youngsters.

I only wish I had done IRAP instead. My horse would still be going strong. It just stands to reason, the more you inject, the higher the risk is of a bad batch or infection. It is rare, but it happens. About twenty years ago another vet in my area got a bad batch and ten horses were put down. I guess they didn't flush joints back then. He retired.

In time, if we have progress, that's what I'll do. If I buy another, I'll definitely opt to spend more money on the front end for IRAP.

Oh, well. Hind sight is twenty-twenty.

Sorry, But coming from the Event world. I must say that it seems that Hunters are pushed harder, used harder and jumped harder without the regular interval training, maintnance and time off, allowing their bodies to recover naturally. Spending alot of time on a lunge line, which puts extreme torque on joints, jumping every time out, and using ace as a matter of coarse instead of extra Slow hours of correct flat work. Having Evented for numerous years on a variety of horses @ upper levels. The last thing we look for is a needle. Although it is hard to put aside your own personal goals and ambitions, it is in the best interest of the horse.

While I understand your point and agree that in many disciplines horses are pushed hard, you are making a blanket statement about an entire discipline without knowledge of my particular program and my trainer's approach. I suggest, in this forum, demonstrating respect for all disciplines.

My trainer is an ex-eventer and is a stickler about the flat work. Look at Flax's pictures on my blog. http://pfizerdoesn'tcare.blogspot.com
We did our homework. We have always kept the lunging to a minimum because of Flax's stifles. We never jumped more than three times a week - we're talking 2'6" and rode six times a week unless he was sore or missing a shoe. He always got time off after a show and at the end of the season. Now he is on permanent turn-out at my farm due to his lameness. He will not go back to a jumping career unless he shows a miraculous recovery, which we don't expect.

Every discipline has its issues- racing starts horses too soon, saddlebreds and high-stepping breeds- unnatural shoeing and creating a fearful horse so they look on fire, quarter horses- creating the peanut rolling- way of going... The point is all disciplines have their issues, including eventing- a dangerous sport where people and horses die! My trainer quit eventing at the prelim level because she felt it was completely dangerous to make a horse negotiate solid jumps in the fast times they were requiring. She is not a fearful rider- does grand prix jumping and wins (in Colorado, Florida, and our zone).

I have played polo, fox-hunted, evented, done hunters and dressage. I have an appreciation for all the disciplines (including eventing, many of my friends are eventers). A good horseperson is a good horseperson no matter the discipline and always puts the horse first. I respect good horsepeople, period.

As far as joint injections, it has become the norm. I agree it seems excessive. I read an article about foals and their dams' missing out on essential nutrition early on in their lives that help their joints develop with plenty of cushion. Supposedly that is why we're seeing a lot of joint issues. Again, in the future if I have a horse that the vet suggests joint injections to make him more comfortable, I'll opt for IRAP instead- since it is a one (at most three) time deal.

Hello all,

I thought you all might like to read the article on thehorse.com (the equine veterinary magazine) "BEVA 2007: Joint Authorities--Orthopedic State of the Art". The experts in every field of equine orthopedics talk about pain meds, glucosamine, chondroiton, Surpass, HA, joint injections, IRAP, Vet Stem, stifle lameness, hock lameness, etc. It is a wonderful article. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for free. They send out a great newsletter.

CWirth