Navicular

[JoJo1998]

Hi I have owned horses since I was 5 yrs old and parents previously have done so ! My 18yr TBxConnie is a chunky 16,2 and has hunted for years but looked after well has developed navicular if the bone it has come on suddenly and he has had the steroid injections which have lasted 5weeks Ahe is on 4bute a day and yesterday has had his shies off and I have chucked him out ! I won’t see him stood in the field lame but what else is on offer ? Thank you for your suggestion?

 

[paddi22]

A lot of people use hoof boots to make them more comfortable. You can often pick them up second hand on websites and they are easy to sell on after.

 

[JoJo1998]

A lot of people use hoof boots to make them more comfortable. You can often pick them up second hand on websites and they are easy to sell on after.

Thanks I was thinking of info to help mend him if I can am not sure at 18 yrs there is a lot I can do ?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Thanks I was thinking of info to help mend him if I can am not sure at 18 yrs there is a lot I can do ?

https://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/ You can search for navicular on here for their specific posts about it.

 

[sbloom]

Barefoot rehab, possibly boots, postural work, careful conditionining/fittening/work programme, lots of options. Have a search on here as recommended, Rockley Farm is a great blog, we can answer more specific questions once you've had a bit of a read . And be aware classic navicular is a younger horse issue, you would want to be clear what changes can be seen on xrays, how balanced the feet are on the xrays, and actually how lame the horse is, before making further decisions. Heel pain is very common and is often more about soft tissue, with lameness having little correlation with changes seen on xrays.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi I have owned horses since I was 5 yrs old and parents previously have done so ! My 18yr TBxConnie is a chunky 16,2 and has hunted for years but looked after well has developed navicular if the bone it has come on suddenly and he has had the steroid injections which have lasted 5weeks Ahe is on 4bute a day and yesterday has had his shies off and I have chucked him out ! I won’t see him stood in the field lame but what else is on offer ? Thank you for your suggestion?

I'm sorry but mine developed bad navicular after having coffin joints medicated with Arthamid. We think as she felt more comfortable with the coffin joint she pushed her weight backwards onto the navicular. She had a badly arthritic navicular with a spur on the back which we think was interfering with the DDFT, when I saw the xrays (as the vet had suspected abscess but she was getting no better) I decided to put the shoe back on for a last ditch effort. Sadly it made no difference and after a couple of days I decided to have her pts. She'd played up so much for the vet when she had a nerve block which was so very unlike her as she was a real stoic soul, I knew that she'd had enough then. It made the decision easier somehow.

She was on 2 bute a day to try and keep her comfortable for the last few weeks prior to her being pts and she was still pottery, after the abscess which was drained and no improvement and we got the xray she went on to 3 bute for the last week of her life, the vet really said she couldn't be on more despite being a 17.1hh 700kg horse and he said for no longer than a week.

I always said I would never keep a lame field ornament, she owed me nothing and I loved her so very much and I couldn't see her suffer. We had the best week together and her last morning, an hour before the vet was due we took down the electric fencing in her field and let her stuff her face. She went with grass in her mouth and the sun on her back and with smiles on our faces for her benefit so she didn't think anything was amiss.

I think in your circumstance 4 bute with a 16.2hh and the steroid injections not working make me think you have little choice. I am so sorry.

 

[sbloom]

I think in your circumstance 4 bute with a 16.2hh and the steroid injections not working make me think you have little choice. I am so sorry.

How awful, so sorry that happened for you. Just wanted to say that 4 bute is indeed a lot, and that degree of lameness may contraindicate any sort of barefoot type rehab, but it's worth the OP reading as much as possible.