As soon as my 20-year-old gelding was diagnosed with equine Cushing’s disease, I eliminated glucosamine from his diet. However, he appears to have become gradually and increasingly stiff and short-strided without it. I really think that it helped him, and I’d love to put him back on the supplement if I could safely do so.

Based on current thinking, would it be at all possible to start him back on glucosamine, perhaps at a lower level? Is the risk of something negative occurring a substantial one or a minimal one? If it makes any difference, my horse’s only symptoms of Cushing’s are a high insulin level and an abnormal cortisol rhythm test. He’s not laminitic and has a normal haircoat.