Fantastic (but lengthy) article on Navicular

I'll summarise for people who don't want to read it.

If your horse is landing toe first, it's almost certain that it will at some point in the future go lame.

Navicular is a soft tissue problem. The condition of the navicular bone has very little to do with any lameness.

The best cure is to take off the shoes and get the back half of the foot working.

That's about it, though the article is a great explanation of why.

For pictures of that in practice, in this country, visit rockleyfarm.blogspot.com
 
It is a good article .
However he is an evanalist singing from one side of the debate and you need to be open minded to both sides of the current thinking in dealing with this nasty condition
 
Thanks for the link, I enjoyed reading that.

One of mine has navicular, typical TB type feet, navicular very advanced in both front feet, but 90% of the time he shows no lameness.

Our first sign that something was not quite right was tightness though his back when first working, which then loosened off. Vets were as shocked as we were by how advanced the navicular was, as he was sound.
 
scats said:
Thanks for the link, I enjoyed reading that.

One of mine has navicular, typical TB type feet, navicular very advanced in both front feet, but 90% of the time he shows no lameness.

Our first sign that something was not quite right was tightness though his back when first working, which then loosened off. Vets were as shocked as we were by how advanced the navicular was, as he was sound.
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That's because the damage to the bone is not what's causing the lameness.

Navicular syndrome lameness is almost always caused by tendon or ligament damage.

If the veterinary progression as a whole was more up to date on this, they could have told you that the very first sign something was going wrong with your horse would probably have been a toe first foot landing.
 
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ycbm Thank you for mentioning Rockley Farm. Their video on 'barefoot in slow motion' is extraordinary and their results are amazing.

I can only imagine how much happier and pain-free horses would be if all farriers were trained by Rockley Farm!!
 
npage123 said:
ycbm Thank you for mentioning Rockley Farm. Their video on 'barefoot in slow motion' is extraordinary and their results are amazing.

I can only imagine how much happier and pain-free horses would be if all farriers were trained by Rockley Farm!!
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Yes, the results of barefoot rehabs are building and building over the years now. While I take Goldenstar's point about being open minded, I can't find any evidence that any conventional shoe and/or medication based treatment comes anywhere near the success rate of a barefoot rehab.
 
A lecturing farrier at a well-known UK farrier training college told me last year that they now routinely teach new farriers to take the shoes off in navicular cases!
 
FFAQ said:
A lecturing farrier at a well-known UK farrier training college told me last year that they now routinely teach new farriers to take the shoes off in navicular cases!
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I am absolutely shocked.

This is a complete reversal of previous teaching, and they haven't publicised it at all as far as I know. I hope qualified farrier are also being updated.

I so hope this is true, and if it is, then a HUGE amount of credit for it has to be given to Nic Barker at Rockley Farm, who has been pushing her results into the veterinary and farriery professions against accusations of 'implausibility' (you made it up) and too small numbers (it was just a fluke) for years.
 
First signs of possible navicular - horse at rest points the toe relaxing the tendon.

Second sign of possible navicular is that the shoe has worn thin ner in the front - horse is landing toe first - surly this is the horse 'saving' itself the pain.

From experience many years back - horse on Warfarin following Navicular diagnosis went sound as blood flow improved.
 
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/rehab-results-and-research-2015-update.html For those who'd like some facts and figures...

The whole point of any profession is surely that advice and preferred methods of going about things change as new evidence comes to light and ways of thinking are revised.

I work as a vet nurse and even though I've only been qualified a few years there's things that I was taught as part of my training that are now out of date / have changed and new medications and treatments that weren't available when I was learning (that's what CPD is for!) I do definitely think that barefoot as a treatment option for navicular is becoming more widely known about and accepted.
 
Interesting to hear if there is a change in the vet view of barefoot for navicular. I think it's the right way to go although it's not easy. My vet was fairly ambivalent towards it but didn't disagree, but it was me who put it forward as an option.

my horses has hallelujah come sound after a year off in a field with no shoes, and she's being brought back into work barefoot, fingers crossed as I'm very very guarded about it but it would be lovely if she does come right!
 
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