Is it Navicular ???

Aztec1

Aztec1

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Just wondering if anyone can help?? My horse has tripped and fallen down twice now, once in a sandschool and once on the road .. His leg seems to lock then he trips stumbles and falls down onto his knees. Have spoke to my farrier and ive had a chiropractor to see him she has straightned out anything which was wrong and has told me to only lunge him for 3 weeks until she returns... Whilst lunging he is looking abit stiff on and off on the reign that he has been tripping on and is still stumbling every so often on the lunge.. Have spoken to my vet and he seems to think it sounds like Navicular he has now started to stand with the front leg more forward than the other and the foot which he is stumbling on is alot smaller than the other one.. Having x rays this week but I would just like to know what this is sounding like it could be??

Many Thanks
 
I would say navicular is a possibility as my horse has it and pointing is a sign.
My boy would trip but not fall and would feel gimpy on the turn, he also landed toe first, I gave him 10 months barefoot, would have liked him to stay that way but it wasn,t for him!
So got vet and farrier working together and he is now in eggbar shoes which at the moment are working well, he is landing heel first and is not tripping, does still point sometimes at rest. He has half a danilon a day one after shoeing and a joint supplement, this keeps him happy
 
If it is, chill out. Navicular isn't as scary as it used to be.

Just take the shoes off and rehab him barefoot. I'm confident that will sort the problem out and he can still work that way.

Have a look at the Rockley Farm blog and do a search on there for Ginger - the same situation as you...and see how that worked out;)
 
Not necessarily could be something simple like a foot imbalance, my horse had navicular and he was getting rapidly lame however hardly ever tripped. He had to be put down a few weeks ago as it was so bad. However That is so rare. Navicular these days have lots more options. Sometimes corrective/remedial shoeing does the trick but don't jump to conclusions! May not be Navicular!
 
The fact that you say one foot is smaller than the other makes it sound like a foot balance issue. Does he have long toes? What did your farrier say?
As others have said have a look at rockley farm blog.
 
Get him xrayed and then get yourself a good farrier. Barefoot isnt necessarily always an option either, has he good heels or under run heels? Could well be a foot imbalance. Farrier could roll the toe which may also be of help to him. A combination of good management and remedial shoeing will go a long way to help, all depending of course on what the xrays show.
My 18 year old Showjumper is Navicular, has being for nearly 9 years now. Still going strong as ever, so if your horse has navicular, don't lose hope or panic just yet.
 
The problem with remedial shoeing is you are just putting off and covering up the inevitable because it is shoes that are causing the navicular. Eventually the problem will get worse and then you have nowhere to go except PTS.
At least with barefoot you are healing the damage the shoes have caused and provided you are dedicated to making it work, it will work.
My gelding had all the remedial shoeing for eight years after diagnosis which worked at first but then he was getting more lame until I didn't ride him anymore. Then I decided to try barefoot but by then, eight more years of damage had been done to his feet so it has been a very long transition to undo it.
My advice would be try barefoot first before they get any worse. Follow all the advice and give it 100% for twelve months, if you only give it 50% you will only get half way results. If it doesn't work for you, then you can try remedial shoes.
Good luck.
 
muff747 I think its a little miss leading to say barefoot heals the damage the shoes do and that it will work.
From personal experience it depends on the damage, I think barefoot helps heal any soft tissue damage but bone damage is different. My mare was recently pts due to navic she had a bone spur and 'lollipops' in her navicular bone that after 18 months barefoot she was sound in a straight line but lame when on a circle. As she wasn't a happy hacker I made the decision to pts. I would always try barefoot first but as with all things some work for some horses and others don't.
 
muff747 said:
The problem with remedial shoeing is you are just putting off and covering up the inevitable because it is shoes that are causing the navicular. Eventually the problem will get worse and then you have nowhere to go except PTS.
At least with barefoot you are healing the damage the shoes have caused and provided you are dedicated to making it work, it will work.
My gelding had all the remedial shoeing for eight years after diagnosis which worked at first but then he was getting more lame until I didn't ride him anymore. Then I decided to try barefoot but by then, eight more years of damage had been done to his feet so it has been a very long transition to undo it.
My advice would be try barefoot first before they get any worse. Follow all the advice and give it 100% for twelve months, if you only give it 50% you will only get half way results. If it doesn't work for you, then you can try remedial shoes.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

Maybe in your case - but not in all cases will it work nor will it absolutely undo the damage/reverse the navicular condition either
 
R.I.D said:
Maybe in your case - but not in all cases will it work nor will it absolutely undo the damage/reverse the navicular condition either
Click to expand...

But in most cases it does. Proof is mostly anecdotal I'll admit, until Project Dexter is published but the amount of horses that have gone back to full work following being rehabbed barefoot speaks for themselves.

Whether the damage is still there is (to me) of little importance if the horse is sound and happy, surely?

Remedial shoes such as heartbars are attempting to engage the caudal hoof and re-establish a heel first landing. Barefoot does the same thing with much more accuracy and with a 1/4 of the cost.

There are many horses that are difficult to rehab this way - but I've not met the horse that it's impossible for yet.

My friend's horse is this one - he's been sound and competing ever since the shoes were removed, 2 years ago.
http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/shoko.html
 
Dr Bowker examined 100's of horses legs and feet who had been PTS due to chronic lameness, navicular or had been sound all their life and found some that had been sound had changes to the navicular bone, and some that had had chronic lameness showed no changes to the navicular bone.
I have read that if bony changes happen due to imbalances, when the imbalances are corrected then bone can remodel again.
 
I wouldnt waste your money on xrays would go straight for Mri scan my horse kept tripping two vets said navicular he had collatral ligament damage different treatment needed for this.And the sooner you get the right treatment the better with collatral ligament damage
 
Sorry to hear about your horse tripping.

My TB started tripping. Vet said it was wholly down to his foot inbalance and poor shoeing. He hasn't tripped since I have changed farrier, although at the back of my mind I still worry.


Please let us know what the outcome is.
 
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