Managing Horses With 'Navicular syndrome'

[deicinmerlyn]

I'd get yourself over to the Phoenix forum, there are lots of people over there with plenty of experience in bare feet. Successful rehab is down to diet and exercise as it seems those horses with compromised feet can't cope with a more commercial diet which is high in sugar. Movement is key but you should only increase the work when the horse is landing better - do you know if your horse is landing toe/heel first or flat? The horse will only land heel first when they are strong enough to so this is a good marker of when to gradually reintroduce work - as you would in any rehab programme.

Hi Leg_end, I am alerady on the Phoenix forum, thanks. They and H&H and Rockley have given me some fab advise and information. I May have to look at his diet again.

 

[njyr]

I went done the remedial shoeing route and my boy was sound for 2 years...now having some issues behind, lame on the left hind but also not putting right hind down in canter transition on the right rein and very very stiff throughout his back. I don't think that it is related but can't rule it out at the mo.

 

[UptodateK]

Hi Deicinmerlyn - my horse had almost exactly the same injury as yours - small adhesion of DDFT by nav bursa, alongside a couple of very tiny tears further up. Diagnosed by MRI last summer, operated on and given all clear at end of OCtober. We had already been doing A LOT of in hand walking work, but once he was sound the vet told me to school him and get him fit. So since then i've been having 1 x 45 min lesson per week (started at 30 mins) just mainly walk and trot and trying to gently build up the amount of bending work we do - he found it difficult to cope with tighter turns and i didn't want, like you, to risk further injury. we also ride out in walk and trot at weekends and i ride in the arena after work twice a week.

We've been building up veeerry slowly, and at first he was fairly stiff and sore the day after working, but now he's absolutely fine and seems much more balanced and supple. Just take it slow and steady and be prepared to back off if your horse is telling you he's struggling.

Incidentally, mine is also barefoot - was in heartbars but took those off in December and he's making big improvements. He's also on a barefoot friendly diet of low sugar/starch, high fibre, linseed and minerals.

i echo advice given by others to make sure he's doing plenty of walking work in hand if he can't handle ridden just yet, as I'm sure you know, excercise and diet is the key to recovery from navicular problems.

Good luck!

 

[deicinmerlyn]

When I originally started re-habbing i did a lot of walk in hand on tarmac, I think the couple of days lameness was possibly a culmination of less work, wet soggy ground a hardish lesson/Trimmer/worming etc. this is when I decided to MRI before the inusrance ran out. He is already on a barefoot diet but I may need to adjust still. H
He is being ridden and is sound at the moment, building the work up again.

UptodateK what operation did your horse have?

 

[UptodateK]

He had an arthroscopy to 'debride' the adhesion to nav bursa - other lesions were too small to do anything with.

I definitely notice increase of footiness when i've not ridden as much as I could have, and mine is on limited turnout too so very challenging to keep him moving. I've been trying to stick to the 'little and often' approach to work rather than expecting him to do 1 or 2 fairly intense sessions a week which he would then be a bit sore after. This soreness after excerise is related to his injury, irrespective of his barefoot-ness, so i make sure he has a really good warm up and cool down and try and avoid him stiffening up. This has certainly got better over the weeks, but my vet gave me a box of bute when he discharged us and said to expect some soreness whilst he recovered and just to give bute as and when needed to ease him a bit.