Horse with Navicular Syndrome :(

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Maclinda

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Really wanting to hear people's success stories, and what treatment was given. My beautiful warmblood mare came in from field lame about five weeks ago and after nerve blocks, x-rays and MRI has been diagnosed with Navicular Syndrome. Has never been lame, and presented none of the classic Navicular symptoms but the MRI showed significant tears in the deep digital flexor in both feet, deterioration of the navicular bone and ligament damage. Although vet has given treatment advise she pretty much told me that she is unlikely to ever come back into work.

To say I was devastated would be a major understatement. Luckily I have an amazing farrier who is ALOT more positive, is helping me through it all and making sure I don't give up hope.

At the moment she has graduated heart bars, she's on box rest for 12 wks and he's advised Tildren injections.

If it hadn't been for him I think I would still be crying like a baby!

Would love to hear other people's experiences of this disease, preferably those who have came out the other side with a horse who is relatively sound!!!!!
 
Well, I don't know the details but there is a horse on my yard with navicular syndrome, he is in work and living a normal life, he no longer competes but this is due to other issues
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Faracat I have read ALOT about rockley farm!!!!!! Lol it's became an obsession! Andalucian, I am giving it a try at present but my farrier and I have already agreed that if there is no improvement then I am definitely going down the route of barefoot!
 
My girl was diagnosed with navicular just over 3 years ago, I decided to work with my farrier and she was fine. I made the decision to retire her in March this year but nothing to do with the navicular and sadly I had to make the heart breaking decision to have her PTS two weeks ago. Again, nothing to do with the navicular.
I did look at Rockley considered it but wanted my girl with me rather than miles away and I wasn't on a yard where I could do some of the things required for barefoot.
I'm sure you'll make the right decision for your horse, stay positive and good luck.
 
I would have the shoes off as long as I was able to carry out the required procedures, in my experience most vets have no ideas beyond shoes. It is not an easy option of course, you have to be educated and determined.
If horse is going to be lame for life, or if it will have a good chance of becoming sound, to me it is worth making the investment to become sound.
 
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Maclinda said:
... but the MRI showed significant tears in the deep digital flexor in both feet, deterioration of the navicular bone and ligament damage.
Be aware that it is more likely that the DDFT lesion has damaged the navicular bone and bursa rather than the other way round.

This means that if your horse is put into a position where it can repair those tissues, the bone damage can be resorbed naturally.

Look at the biomechanics and balance of the hoof and the leg action.

(To fix this your horse must be bf)
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My mare was diagnosed with similar 2 and a half years ago - shoes came off and although it's been a long road (she did have 18 months off to have a foal in that time too) she is back in work. I didn't even consider remedial shoeing, the 'success' rate is abysmal and the horses who get it never seem to be the same again. My mare is ready to start jumping again and there are no restrictions on what we can and cant do. She moves better than she ever did when shod.

My mares issues were caused by poor farriery and that seems to be a common cause of foot issues. My 2 other horses who had been shod by the same farrier also had awful feet and my vet felt if we xrayed them we'd have found issues too so I never did, I pulled shoes from all of them and have never gone back. All are Tb and all are in work.

It's been tough at times but I'm happy I went barefoot - they all have good feet that have changed massively since those first days. It's also made me look at my management and their overall health which has been really interesting and rewarding.

Good luck.
 
Bonkers2 said:
When I tear a ligament I have to limp, its not the limping that causes the injury, its the other way round.
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Toe first landing is not a lameness. It has been shown in a lab to cause navicular bone erosion, caused by the ddft working wrongly and also damaging the ddft.


A toe first landing is now widely recognised as the root cause of a lot of lameness which used to be described as progressive, incurable navicular disease, none of which are true.

Most other diagnoses of navicular turn out on MRI turn out to be collateral ligament and/or impair ligament strain, which seem to be caused by weak heels and lateral imbalances.


Very, very little lameness is ever caused by the condition of the navicular bone.
Toe first landing is caused by heel pain.
 
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If I had a horse with navicular syndrome the only thing I would consider would be a shoeless way forward .
But I can see the sense in treatment with Tildren .
 
Goldenstar said:
If I had a horse with navicular syndrome the only thing I would consider would be a shoeless way forward .
But I can see the sense in treatment with Tildren .
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My vet told me there's no evidence it does any good GS, but that was a few years back and might be different now. Totally with you, of course, on the shoeless.

Anyone else know if Tildren has now been proven to do anything for tendon/ligament issues inside the foot?
 
Goldenstar said:
I can see the point of trying Tilden if there are bony changes to the navicular bone .
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But there is no evidence whatsoever of any correlation between the bony changes to the navicular and the lameness of the horse, unless it is very extreme.

And Tildren costs a fortune, or it did last time I knew.
 
All I would have to say if I was in the situation of dealing with this and I my vert whom I trust advised Tildren I would use .
 
cptrayes said:
Yes, but for treatment of what? If it treats bone erosion and bone erosion is not causing the lameness, then it's useless. Almost all navicular disease diagnoses are actually soft tissue damage.
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I know that's the case in almost 100& of cases but my girl didn't have any soft tissue damage and we didn't go down the Tildren route.

I'm sure if MRI scans were compared with each other there would be a variety of issues
 
Did read the study ref Tildrena and there was no evidence it was effective, in that the same percentage of horses came sound as would have done without it. Have had a horse with DDF tendon and ligament tear with adhesions to the navicular bone. Did get the horse 100% sound and used him normally but it took hundreds of miles of walking in hand for several months and a course of Cortavet which they donated free as a trial, that released the adhesions within three days ( he was up on his toe and the tendon had spasmed so was about to be put down) I was able to start the in hand walking the following day and put him on valerian so he could be turned out and walk all the time. He showjumped, hunted and hacked for miles, including fast work once sound. He started shoeless and the blacksmith shod him to the pattern his feet wore and he stayed sound for five years before he died of organ failure caused , I think , by sycamore although we had no idea what it was at the time. My vet advised against box rest as it was too easy for him to lift his heel when standing in, but that was about ten years ago so thinking may have changed.
 
My vet told me Tildren had been subject of a double blind trial with placebos ( think I have that right ) for hock spavins and navicular.
 
My eight year old was diagnosed with navicular, and treated with Tilden. He did come sound, but only for a very short period of time.
 
Goldenstar said:
My vet told me Tildren had been subject of a double blind trial with placebos ( think I have that right ) for hock spavins and navicular.
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Yes GS, but hock spavin is a bone disease and navicular syndrome is almost always a soft tissue disease.

Tilden has some dreadful risks, and is very expensive if you are not insured.

Can you point us to the study, because I currently believe there is no evidence that Tilden will be effective for soft tissue injury in the foot. Which does not, of course, mean vets won't prescribe it and charge the earth for it with a drip feed in hospital, because administering it too quickly can kill the horse!
 
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I would trust my vet on these things.
If we have a horse where Tildren is appropriate I just pay for it that's what I do pay for what my horses need .
If there are bony change so Tildren may well be appropriate navicular syndrome is a whole spectrum of things causing pain .
I know you think that bony pain is not part of it , others think differently .
 
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