Any miracle cures for Navicular???

[Chermar]

I know I'm clutching at straws but has anyone had any success with this?? The horse in question is 6yro and hasn't done much in those two years due to one thing and another, primarily it is a conformation thing, but may be helped by remedial shoeing. The treatment suggested to us is hugely expensive and it's 50/50 even at that, so my OH won't entertain this. As it's a conformation problem breeding from her isn't an option for us, she has cronic sweet itch so even giving her a life of DR Green really isn't an option. The most likely thing for her atm is to be PTS then you know she won't suffer at the hands of cowboys etc. I would like to give her a chance but OH says we are putting off the inevitable, it's his horse and his decision, but can anyone offer me a glimmer of hope??

 

[Leg_end]

Didn't want to look and run but my personal experience is negative, however it totally depends on how advanced the navicular is and what other damage there is. My boy was diagnosed in June and also had DJD in the hind fetlock. His nav was severe and the deep digital flexor tendor was also severly damaged. I tried tildren and remedial shoeing and it didnt work for us but as i say his was v advanced and he had the hind limb lameness which accentuated the problem. We couldnt even keep him field sound (which he wouldnt have coped with anyway) so I decided it was the kindest thing to have him PTS.

However, my MIL and several friends have all had mild to severe cases that have responded well to remedial shoeing and in some cases they have had tildren too. I think if its just nav and no other issues then you stand a far better chance.

I also investigated a place called Rockley Farm which has got a lot of success but my lad just didnt fit the criteria. Some insurance companies will cover alternative treatment so this could also be an option...


Is the horse insured?

 

[emma587]

Hiya one of my really good friends horses had navicular and he is 7. I know it sounds drastic but they de-nerved his feet about 6 weeks ago and now shes back schooling/jumping/hacking and he's perfectly sound. The only downside is that if something ever does hurt his foot like a puncture or rock we wouldn't know but he has his feet checked 3 times a day, were all very vigilant and so far everything is fine with him. It is worthwhile to spend the money although it is alot, it just means you can have a horse that you can ride again rather than having to turn away if it is serious. hope this helps! x

 

[Chermar]

Didn't want to look and run but my personal experience is negative, however it totally depends on how advanced the navicular is and what other damage there is. My boy was diagnosed in June and also had DJD in the hind fetlock. His nav was severe and the deep digital flexor tendor was also severly damaged. I tried tildren and remedial shoeing and it didnt work for us but as i say his was v advanced and he had the hind limb lameness which accentuated the problem. We couldnt even keep him field sound (which he wouldnt have coped with anyway) so I decided it was the kindest thing to have him PTS.

However, my MIL and several friends have all had mild to severe cases that have responded well to remedial shoeing and in some cases they have had tildren too. I think if its just nav and no other issues then you stand a far better chance.

I also investigated a place called Rockley Farm which has got a lot of success but my lad just didnt fit the criteria. Some insurance companies will cover alternative treatment so this could also be an option...


Is the horse insured?

I am sorry for your loss. Not insured - had a terrible experience at the loss of a previous horse and decided to cut my losses.

The changes are slight but enough to cause lameness on both front feet, my vet said we are at early to mid stages of the disease. So I would like to go down the route of remedial shoeing, convincing OH is something else, he thinks we're delaying the inevitable, I would just like to give her a chance.

 

[Chermar]

Hiya one of my really good friends horses had navicular and he is 7. I know it sounds drastic but they de-nerved his feet about 6 weeks ago and now shes back schooling/jumping/hacking and he's perfectly sound. The only downside is that if something ever does hurt his foot like a puncture or rock we wouldn't know but he has his feet checked 3 times a day, were all very vigilant and so far everything is fine with him. It is worthwhile to spend the money although it is alot, it just means you can have a horse that you can ride again rather than having to turn away if it is serious. hope this helps! x

Hi Emma....................welcome to the forum!!

it could be an option............. roughly how much did it cost?

 

[KatB]

Have you tried taking the shoes off completely? I would take her shoes off, and find somewhere to throw her out for 6mnths, keeping her trimmed regularly to keep correct foot balance.

Whats the option been suggested for corrective farriery?

 

[emma587]

Hi, thanks, only joined last night!
urrr I couldnt tell you exactly but shes only 21 and a vetinary student so she was able to afford it, think it was about £800 a foot, and the insurance covered some of the costs which helped her. it is alot but i suppose for my friend it was completely worth it as she has him back now. Its just the work that goes before it, she had to take him to liverpool for a MRI which did cost alot, but in our opinion we think the vets were messing her around as it was quite obviously navicular and they could have just gone ahead and done the operation!

 

[Leg_end]

I am sorry for your loss. Not insured - had a terrible experience at the loss of a previous horse and decided to cut my losses.

The changes are slight but enough to cause lameness on both front feet, my vet said we are at early to mid stages of the disease. So I would like to go down the route of remedial shoeing, convincing OH is something else, he thinks we're delaying the inevitable, I would just like to give her a chance.

Thank you.

If the changes are only slight then, in my opinion, I wouldnt have her PTS. MIL's horse has mild nav in both feet and has had egg bars on and is now completely sound with no other treatment. She will have to watch him on hard ground but has been given the OK to carry on as normal. In the harder months we will probably put pads on too but that will only be when the ground is hard.

 

[Chermar]

Have you tried taking the shoes off completely? I would take her shoes off, and find somewhere to throw her out for 6mnths, keeping her trimmed regularly to keep correct foot balance.

Whats the option been suggested for corrective farriery?

Yes we took the shoes off her when we came home from the vets, and she's been 'ok' .......... I so want to give her a chance I think it's an early enough stage that we can stop any further deterroiration. She's only diagnosed from Tuesday....haven't done anything yet as it's OH's horse. But with the answers I've had here I think the least we can do is try this option, we have nothing to loose!

 

[coreteam1]

I have a 17.1 14year old gelding. I bought him as a 3yr old and was advised at the time of vetting not to buy him due to his foot confirmation. He had very flat feet and widely spread, but hey I didn't listen and went ahead and bought him anyway!! Probably because his grad sire was Jennie Loriston Clarkes, Dutch Courage!

By the time he was five/six the problems had started. He would be sound on soft ground but lame on hard, especially in the summer months. He had x rays and was under the brilliant care of Chine House in Leicestershire at the time. A vet called Neil Ashby if I remember correctly?
Previously to his visit to Neil another vet had recommended remedial shoeing. We went to a well known farrier in Melton Mowbray (who halted the traffic on a main road so I could trot my horse up and down, once the shoes had been put on!!!) who made his shoes. The shoes were raised at the back to help the heel grown and support his navicular bone, in theory. £150.00 a set, covered by excellent insurance NFU (thank goodness)
He had this type of shoe fitted every five weeks for approx 6 to 8 months after which time they were removed and my horse was scanned at Chine House by Neil. His words were:
''The shoes have caused more damage to the soft tissue of his feet, than the Navicular itself''!!!! he told me it would take at least a year for the damaged tissue to repair.
At the time I was going to Australia for a couple of years so I found him an excellent gentle hacking only home and he is still very happy there.

My advise would be to try what you can, but IMHO would not go down the path of remedial shoeing. I tried lots of potions in his feeds, etc and the best thing for him is to be plodding around with a life of gentle exercise on soft ground.
Being without shoes (I tried that) made him very foot sore and with the foot being so flat, he suffered quite a lot of abscesses.
He is shod now and happy.
You can only claim on your insurance if you horse is not paddock sound. Your vet has to write a statement declaring to your insurance company that it is inhumane to keep the animal, even in a paddock, although you say you haven't got any, so this doesn't apply to you.

It's not easy to claim off your insurance if you have them put to sleep. In many cases of Navicular the horse can be plodded around on or at least he is sound in a paddock. I found it very easy to find a good home for my horse, had I not been going abroad I would have felt a duty to keep him, although expensive and not being able to compete him I think I owed it to him to keep him around until he decided it was time to go

Good luck with your horse, it's not nice to discover any type of lameness and especially in a young horse. I cried many times when I found out and it causes lots of heart ache.

 

[KatB]

y taking the shoes off, you can encourage more bloodflow to the feet, which can assist in the foot healing itself to some extent. It is VERY important to make sure they are kept in good balance, and if possible walk her out a couple of times a week on uneven surfaces which again will help stimulate bloodflow in the feet. If you've got a equine spa anywhere within a realistic distance, it may be worth getting her there for a few sessions. Again, increased bloodflow will encourage healing

 

[Chermar]

y taking the shoes off, you can encourage more bloodflow to the feet, which can assist in the foot healing itself to some extent. It is VERY important to make sure they are kept in good balance, and if possible walk her out a couple of times a week on uneven surfaces which again will help stimulate bloodflow in the feet. If you've got a equine spa anywhere within a realistic distance, it may be worth getting her there for a few sessions. Again, increased bloodflow will encourage healing

Kat...............I never thought of that!! We have a spa 3 miles from us!! Excellent Idea!!

 

[KatB]

Thats a bonus then Its not Royal County Stud is it?!

 

[Chermar]

Nothing like that a little livery yard called the Grove Equine spa!!

 

[KatB]

Ah ok, I just know James and Ali at Royal County in Meath. It's not that grand really Definitely worth a try though

 

[ArcticFox]

Shoeing recommended

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/Snavicular.html


Also http://www.tildren.com/eng/Navicular-syndrome/Treatment

Shoeing recommended

----
In fact all studies I have come across have recommended correct shoeing, not corrective. but basically getting the toe short, getting the heel longer and balancing the shoe properly.
------


Also info on Tildren:

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/lameness/naviculartherapy_062007/

Tildren is used in the UK as a single dose, not the 10 day daily injection. Same results though

 

[Chermar]

Thanks Caroline....... that's really helpful!!

 

[Farma]

Mine has corrective shoeing with wedge pads on to keep the heel up and has her toes short and although i was told to pts at 7years old she is still going strong (and sound) at 15. She has the odd footy day now and again and I am careful on stoney ground and steep declines but overall if i didnt mention it you would never notice.
My horse was advanced and i was told i had 'more money than sense' to keep her alive but im so glad i was strong enough to say no and persue the remedial shoeing which was a saviour and I keep her shod every 5 weeks on the dot - never a day late thanks to my fab farrier!
I also found reading up on the syndrome helped - the more you understand the easier the decision is.

 

[Chermar]

Mine has corrective shoeing with wedge pads on to keep the heel up and has her toes short and although i was told to pts at 7years old she is still going strong (and sound) at 15. She has the odd footy day now and again and I am careful on stoney ground and steep declines but overall if i didnt mention it you would never notice.
My horse was advanced and i was told i had 'more money than sense' to keep her alive but im so glad i was strong enough to say no and persue the remedial shoeing which was a saviour and I keep her shod every 5 weeks on the dot - never a day late thanks to my fab farrier!
I also found reading up on the syndrome helped - the more you understand the easier the decision is.

Thanks it's nice to hear of the successes rather than the bad stories all the time!!

 

[Nic86]

Hi I can recomend corrective shoeing and Navilox they have helped my boy who is 13 sound as a pound and on nothing but frsh air!! I thought that it was the end for him as you are feeling now but I gave him a couple of months of while he was having his feet corrected and he came back fit and healthy he even di his 1st BE90 this year as I had to withdraw my other horse. I would advise against de nerving as that really is putting off the inevitable the nerves can re attach and most horses tend to stumble a lot after it is also a lot of box rest for them. I know a day will come when my boy will be PTS but it isn't looking like it will be the navicular that stops him!

 

[AandK]

sorry to hear about your OH's horse but i wouldn't write her off yet. have a look in Veterinairy, there are lots of threads in there about navicluar and barefoot, they make very interesting reading!