Navicular horse.

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fluffpuff

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Hi. I'm basically just wanting some advise and seeing if you agree with me. I have a 20year old horse who was diagnosed with navicular in November. I have had his joints injected but it only lasted 6weeks before he went lame again. He is now retired and out in the field.
However he has now got worse and has more bad days than good ones.
Bute doesn't really have much of an effect on him and he's still off at work and hopping lame at trot.
I'm now toying with the idea that pts might be the best option as he's not his usual self and I don't really want him to be on a high dose of Bute just for my sake.
I had always said that if they weren't field sound I would pts but it's all happened so fast.
Do you think this is a sensible thing to do or am I jumping the gun?
 
Thank you . He has lived a good competitive life and I also wonder that retirement wasn't going to suit him. It's so hard to know what to do! I'm a vet nurse but when it comes to my own animals I'm useless!! 😞
 
I don't particularly think you are jumping the gun but wondered a couple of things
1) how was the navicular dx? xray? what was seen?
2) Is he currently shod
3) The only thing I might (and this is only a might) consider at this point if he is currently shod and if he isn't comfortable on just bute (can you expand on hopping?) would be medicating the joints again and taking his shoes off (I did that with mine at 19, at about 3/10 lame on a hard circle and didn't look back).

But that is with the caveat that you also say he isn't his usual self, and what you think is generating it, pain, not doing work etc.
 
Thank you for the reply. Yep he was xrayed- lots of lollipops and another area that was very shadowed - the vet didn't have much hope that the original joint medication would help.
He is currently unshod and has been since diagnosis.
When I say hopping - like some days he can't weight bare and at best he's probabaly 4/10 lame at walk.
 
Thanks for the extra info I think in which case all my previous caveats apply and being totally frank I think I would let him go, sorry it has happened so quick, and no I don't imagine being a vet nurse makes it any easier with your own.

Obviously navicular can be a bit of a catch all and end up being mostly soft tissue issues so that is why I wanted to check with you, hence why barefoot works so well for many. I know that Legend, who is a user on here, did see some reboning (wrong word I know) of the navicular bone on hers after he went to rockley but a much younger horse etc.
 
Thank you. Yep sadly my gut instinct knows it's probably time to let him go but it is nice to have other people's opinions on it.
The whole thing has just been a massive shock as he was so fit and still enjoying his work until about 6months ago.
 
i think everyone knows there own horse. Do you think that the bad days maybe caused by having his shoes removed? i think you are right for doing this however depending on how good his feet are he will have a period of transition. Quite often navi horses have very weak structured hooves due to not using them correctly.

I am totally against keeping a horse that is obviously in pain - however there may be ways to make him more comfortable if he is struggling to transition. depends what you want from him. you coulkd try boots and thick pads to support his structures - give him a month or so and then make a decision.
 
fluffpuff said:
Thank you for the reply. Yep he was xrayed- lots of lollipops and another area that was very shadowed - the vet didn't have much hope that the original joint medication would help.
He is currently unshod and has been since diagnosis.
When I say hopping - like some days he can't weight bare and at best he's probabaly 4/10 lame at walk.
Click to expand...

A good day is 4/10 lame in walk? I would have had him put down a long time ago, I'm afraid.
 
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