Equine Sports Medicine & Regenerative Medicine
By Dr. Lindsey Smogor
Over the past decade, the options for regenerative therapies in equine medicine have exploded—giving veterinarians new ways to help performance horses heal, recover, and stay comfortable in their work.
We know that corticosteroids aren't the answer for every case, and repeated or inappropriate use may have undesirable effects on joint tissues and cartilage. Regenerative medicine gives us additional tools to address inflammation and injury while supporting the horse's own healing processes.
Equine veterinarians have been at the forefront of incorporating these therapies into sports medicine. As regenerative treatments have become more accessible and easier to use, we've also learned more about case selection, joint selection, treatment protocols, and timing—all of which help us make better treatment decisions for each individual horse.
Watch our Jackpot Veterinary Center veterinarians demonstrate the Alpha2EQ process, an innovative orthobiologic treatment that uses a horse’s own blood to concentrate alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), a naturally occurring protein. This process allows our veterinarians to prepare a concentrated treatment designed to help manage inflammation and support joint, tendon, and ligament health in equine patients.
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine uses biological and cellular therapies to support and stimulate the body's natural healing processes. Simply put, the goal is to help the body recover better.
Many regenerative products are created from the individual horse's own blood or tissues, allowing us to use components of that horse's biology as part of the treatment. Depending on the case, options may include:
PRP – Platelet-Rich Plasma
APS – Autologous Protein Solution
APC – Autologous Platelet Concentrate
IRAP – Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein
Alpha-2-Macroglobulin (A2M)
Stem cell therapies
Other commercially prepared biologic products
Some therapies can be processed directly from your horse, while others are prepared and available for use when a particular case indicates them.
The exciting part isn't simply having more products available—it's having more options to tailor treatment to the individual horse, injury, joint, discipline, and performance goals.
Regenerative Medicine at Jackpot Veterinary Center
AtJackpot Veterinary Center, we began using IRAP more than a decade ago. Since then, we've expanded our regenerative medicine capabilities to include a variety of options—some of which can be prepared onsite from your horse's own blood and others that are available off the shelf when appropriate for the case.
Our goal is to select the right therapy for the right horse and the right problem, helping support healing, improve comfort, and get our equine athletes back to doing what they do best.
Interested in learning whether regenerative medicine could be appropriate for your horse?
Ask your Jackpot veterinarian about regenerative medicine at your horse's next wellness or lameness evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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Alpha2EQ is an orthobiologic, which means it is composed of biological, naturally occurring substances to help improve the body’s own healing process. Using a sample of your horse’s own blood, your veterinarian will use the patented AlphaActive process to separate the plasma, then filter and functionally isolate the protein alpha-2-macroglobulin.
This protein is the key factor.
When injected or applied to areas of inflammation, alpha-2-macroglobulin removes the damage-causing enzymes to help improve the healing process and protect against further damage.
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Alpha-2-macroglobulin is a large glycoprotein found within the bloodstream of many species, including dogs, horses and humans. It has a unique function and structure.
The function of this protein is to bind to substances that can be harmful to the healing process within joints and tissue and eliminate them.
Its molecular structure acts like a trap to capture and remove the harmful substances from the site.
Alpha-2-macroglobulin is found in joint fluid and other tissues throughout the body, but due to its large size it is not able to access certain areas at a high enough concentration to be most effective. Alpha2EQ helps deliver this powerful protein directly to the sites that need it the most!
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Inflammation occurs when there is irritation or damage to a site. It can affect joints, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues. If unaddressed, long-term damage can occur. Alpha2EQ is a potent anti-inflammatory that can be applied to areas of inflammation to aid the body in the healing and protection of these structures.
Some conditions include: tendon lesions, osteoarthritis, synovitis, bursitis and others.
Some areas of use: coffin joint, navicular bursa, hock joints, SI joint, cervical facet joints, suspensory branch, deep digital flexor tendon, collateral ligament, stifle joints, and many others.
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Similar to humans, each horse is different. The body responds in different ways and a majority of the time this response is related to stage of injury.
Prophylactic use as a chondroprotectant is recommended.
In most cases, the results of the treatment can be observed within a few days of the procedure and may have long-lasting effects of 6-12 months. Sometimes a series of injections may be needed.
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Contact your veterinarian for the costs associated with Alpha2EQ therapy.
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Risks may be considered inherent with any procedure or injection with any substance. Unlike steroid injection, there are no known long-term risks of Alpha2EQ therapy.
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Alpha2EQ is only available through veterinarians. Jackpot Veterinary Center provides Alpha2EQ. Call us to schedule an appointment 520-999-3887.
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Yes. There are no contraindications of using Alpha2EQ before or after other therapies including PRP, IRAP, stem cells, or amnion-based products or shockwave therapy. Because of it’s anti-inflammatory properties, it is an excellent choice for normalizing an inflamed environment as a pretreatment to other regenerative therapies such as PRP or stem cells, or amnion-based products. Be sure to discuss these options with your Jackpot veterinarian.
For more information on Alpha2EQ, visit their website