Adequan vs Ichon

My vet has advised me to use Adequan I.M. On my son's 17 yr. Old western pleasure horse for arthritis. The treatment is a 5ml injection every forth day for 28 days (7 injections) at $42.95 per injection. I asked my vet why I couldn't just use Ichon, same drug but at half the cost. He told me that Ichon was not FDA approved for I.M. Injections and that Adequan was FDA approved.

Anybody out there used either of these drugs for arthritis and what were your results?

Need advise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most of the older horses at our barn are on Adequan (IM) with noticeably beneficial results. I'm a big big fan. I attended a seminar on degenerative joint disease given by a vet for Luitpold (Adequan's pharmaceutical company) that was very very informative. While she did explain how Adequan worked it was not a sales pitch and completely unbaised in presentation. But I did come out of there a bigger fan once understanding how it all works.

Ichon is NOT the same drug. It's not a generic form of it. In fact, if I recall correctly I believe it's licensed as a WOUND DRESSING and frankly I was shocked that people use it at all. I know a few people who use it and like it and I know a few people who use it and can't tell a difference. I wouldn't risk it. If something goes wrong you're screwed.

I've never heard of Ichon! Huh, learn something new everyday.

Upnover, thanks for your response. After doing research on the net, I will be calling the the vet in the morning and starting my son's horse on Adequan. I will give you an update on his results.

Team Penner- I think that's a great idea. Adquan's been around forever and very popular for a reason! Keep us updated!

MIE- Like I said, I'm pretty sure Ichon is a wound dressing. How someone thought of injecting it into their horses is beyond me! I'm all for saving a buck but wow, that's just scary.

Update on my son's horse: doing extremely well, has completed 3 injections of the 7, we could see the difference in him after 2 hrs of the first injection. My son will be showing him starting this weekend and continue into the summer and fall show season.