Navicular prognosis

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emeventing

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Navicular advice please. We found my young event horse had small-medium changes to her navicular bones in her front feet in august after she started having a short choppy stride, she then had 4 months or so off/ walking as the vets thought she had concussion but finally concluded that she was lame due to the navicular. She has had tildren (at much expense!) in December and has come back into work sound and is feeling & looking fab.
However, the tildren could stop working at any point and then ... well...
Has anyone had any experience with this? What is her likely prognosis? Will she be able to continue eventing or should I be thinking about investing in another horse to continue alongside her if she ends up just being a dressage horse instead?
(we are yet to try jumping her as not got jump saddle yet.. coming 20th feb!)
TIA

She's 8 but not done much and has had remedial shoeing from top farrier at vets since august
 
There's a growing list of horses who have been diagnosed with Navicular and have come back into work after a barefoot rehab. Navicular is not a disease, it happens because the back of the hoof becomes weakened, usually due to shoeing, and the only way to fix that is through removing the shoes and strengthening the foot. There's even xrays out there that show the navicular bone repairing itself.

Remedial shoeing often makes things look better but it's merely masking the problems, not fixing them.

My own mare was diagnosed nearly 3 years ago, I immediately pulled shoes and she has grown new, much stronger feet and has been back in work the last year after having a foal. I haven't rushed it due to other circumstances but we started seeing positive changes just a couple of months after pulling shoes.

I pulled shoes off all of mine and they all went through big changes. All are tb, all are in work hacking, jumping etc and hopefully my mare will be back out competing this year with my other lad.

Read the Rockley blog and Google Buddy's Barefoot Adventure as that will give you a positive story of a horse coming back to eventing barefoot after navicular diagnosis
 
Scarlett said:
... diagnosed with Navicular and have come back into work after a barefoot rehab. Navicular is not a disease, it happens because the back of the hoof becomes weakened, usually due to shoeing, and the only way to fix that is through removing the shoes and strengthening the foot. There's even xrays out there that show the navicular bone repairing itself.

Remedial shoeing often makes things look better but it's merely masking the problems, not fixing them.
Click to expand...

Spot on; best to put her in a position to fix herself.

She cannot do this at the mo as the presence of the shoe will prevent the caudal hoof smart tissues from strengthening their internal structures.

Remove the shoes, balance the hoof and engage the heel.
 
I'm in the same boat as you OP. Diagnosed in September. I have taken my mares shoes off. My farrier can not believe the difference in her feet. She is still sore over stones going to her field, but feels amazing in the school, she is free moving and floats (some thing she has not done since backing & having shoes on!)

It is worth the effort and there will be set backs along the way, but no shoes for me has proven the changes in her feet as amazing. She is 7 by the way this year.
 
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