Loaning a sound horse with Navicular.

Daisychain

Daisychain

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I have a gorgeous 13yo belgian warmblood chesnut gelding, 16.2hh.

Up until last year i showjumped and evented him, until he went initially wrong after an event with hard ground.

I have been reabilitating him barefoot with much success, and he is currently in work hacking out and back to competing again.

I do have to be realistic about my horse though, and he would not be up to eventing again, or i certainly wouldnt want to risk him.

He is absolutely fabulous on the flat, established lateral work, changes and is very easy to train. So im sort of thinking perhaps i should look for a home for him where he can pursue his dressage, and ultimatley he will always have a nice surface to work on etc. He is great to hack too, perfect in traffic etc but he can be very strong in company in open fields.

This is a horse of a lifetime for me, and i just want to make the right descision. It would have to be a knowledgeable home. No novices. So do think i am asking the impossible? Or do you think people would back off. I have 4 horses and i am seriously struggling time/money!!
 
No, I don't think it's impossible at all. I bought my Lui three years ago, knowing he had mild navicular.

We hack and do some RC-level stuff, including SJing and XCing, and he's fab at all that. I'm not ambitious on the competitive front, I know he'll never do more than about 2'9, but that's absolutely fine with me!
 
I know of two people that have taken on loan horses with navicular - but in both cases they wanted schoolmasters as they were fairly novice riders. The only downside is that in both cases, the horse's loan period was fairly short (two years) as the riders got more bold and needed to move onto more active horses. I think that in both cases the owner paid insurance costs, and for ongoing veterinary care related to the navicular (loanees paid for vaccinations, teeth and any other vet bills from injury and non navicular related problems) and for special shoes etc if required.
 
Ahh thats interesting, he isnt on any medication and he is barefoot so no ongoing costs. He just has a few herbs and nic nacs in his tea.
 
Yeah, Lui's not on medication. He's barefoot too (I'm a barefoot trimmer so I can trim him as often as he needs it). I work hard to keep his feet well balanced and that's really the only consideration he gets for his 'condition'.
 
i share a pony with navicular, a proper schoolmistress and a superstar :)
the only difference really is i have to be more careful- no jumping, no fast work on hard ground, and i check her legs and feet before and after everyride.
but she is perfect for me, i want to do showing and dressage, and she knows her stuff, and have non jumping fun, and we have plenty of that :)
 
If I had room I'd have him! I think you get plenty of people who are happy not jumping - you could try asking on the barefoot forums as I'd expect it would be easier to loan to someone who already understands the whole barefoot/navicular concept.
 
I own a barefoot navicular rehab who is absolutely adored by the people I have lent him to. He will be with them for life. I tried the barefoot forums and got nowhere. I found them through Horsemart and had plenty of choice. Put the dodgy dealers off by telling them that he is freeze branded for loss of use and that you require references from the livery yard and the rider's trainer. Even if he isn't and you don't, the charlatans won't apply. Do a REALLY tight contract. PM me if you want a copy of my six pager!
 
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