Please any advice however small

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jacksmum

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Not been a great 24hrs. Horse hasn't felt right for a while so took him into hospital.
He was found to have a sesamoid fracture in his fetlock and is due to have an op today to remove the chip and was also found to have navicular in both front feet and is having an mri today as well to pinpoint this better.
Now this horse means the world to me so really want to do whats best for him and if he can't compete again so be it but need advice on what best to do for him.
So are horses best to live out with navicular?
Anybody tried anything which has helped in anyway?
Do they need box rest after a chip removal op?
Reason i ask this is he is a stress head so would i get away with a shelter with a small grazing area?
Sorry for all the questions but have never dealt with these before and any advice however small would be lovely thankyou
 
I haven't had to deal with any of these conditions but would say don't wind yourself up into a panic until you have had an update from the vet on how the surgery has progressed.

If box rest is required (I imagine it might be) most horses will learn to cope, even if it means you changing yards to somewhere else where more horses are in for company as a temporary move.
 
oh no, how awful for you!

I don't have any major advice but just to say that my horse is also really stressy and lives out 24/7 because of this. However when he's absolutely had to have boxrest he has been very good and very calm, probably due to the fact that he has not been feeling well and therefore is happy to have lots more 'in' time.

Hope you get some good news
 
M/H spot on, yes i am sat here winding up! But finding it very dificult not to.
Wheels, thanks for that, perhaps he would adapt to box rest.
 
Sorry to hear about your boy!

I only have experience of navicular, which I have seen successfully corrected with remedial shoeing and both times the horses went back to their normal workloads which in one case included hunting. Both were turned out as normal, so think positive!!!

I imagine the op will require box rest but have a long chat with your vet. If you think your horse will mess about in the box he might be better off in a very small paddock. You can set this up with electric tape and you can make it effectively as small as a large stable so it may be worth exploring this alternative.

Good luck!
 
My boy had a nasty accident a few years back, and the prognosis was not good - it was questionable whether he would come field sound, let alone be ridden. Although not the conditions you are faced with, it was a similar scenario - a horse who thrived on work and needed about 5 months box rest!

He became quite miserable and depressed, he got nippy and would lay his ears back when you went in to see him - again not like him. I found that Reiki and Massage therepy helped him. Now I'm not a believer of all that natural healing malarky, but I do feel that it helped him to relax and stop him stressing. I wouldn't say it healed anything, just relaxed him the same way a massage relaxes us. He also enjoyed listening to the radio! I hung his haynet in the middle of his stable from a rafter which made it harder for him to eat as he had nothing to push it against to get a grip on the hay. I also bought lots of likits and treat balls to keep him amused. We kept his mind active by teaching him some "tricks" in the stable, eg touching the floor with his nose to ask for a carrot. There was a book had loads of these in - I'll see if I can dig it out and let you know what it was called!

I can't help with the medical side of things I'm afraid, as I haven't experienced either of these conditions, but I'm sure he will adapt to box rest - its just a matter of finding what is right for him. Good luck and don't get too stressd. Always thinks positive - I was told my lad would never be field sound, and he is 100% fit, hunting, jumping and competing again so it's not always as bad as you think.
 
Thankyou it is very interesting reading peoples stories, you realise you are not alone
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QR- My horse has navicular- hes in bar shoes with silicone/ pads. Was told to cut down the amount of road work, and watch what kind of surface i ride on eg- not much trotting on roads to reduce concussion. I also find that making sure hes been out for at least 2 hours a day ( regardless of weather) helps. The sad part is my horse won't be able to jump again. But i hope your horse returns to full work. Sorry if this is no use, just thought i'd share my experience.

ETS- When he first got his bar shoes and pads on he was sore for the first week so was on nobute, which he now no longer needs. There is also a product called Navilam 'o', which has devils claw and other herbal ingredents which are supposed to maintain condition of the lower leg/ hoof, again i've never tried this but i would give it a shot if i was in that situation. I think there is also a barefoot option, but i've never tried it.
 
If your MRI scan reveals deep digital flexor tendon problems in the foot the cure rate from a barefoot rehabilitation is very, very high. "Cure", being return to competing, jumping and hunting.

You may be advised to shoe in wedge shoes. If so, I strongly recommend that you read the November 25th posting on rockleyfarm.blogspot.com and show it to your vet and farrier before you proceed with that approach.

Barefoot is not an easy option and often (depending on the horse) does not produce a rock crunching foot with horses turned out 24/7 on grass. Do make sure that you consult people who know how to make it work if you decide to go down that route.

Your horse is far from being a write-off yet, keep your pecker up
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i know your horse means the world to you but dont bog yourself down and make yourself feel bad about it.
theres plenty that can be done to help your boy.

I thought the bottom of my world had fell out when my mare had been diagnosed with ringbone in the coffin joints of her front feet and then the fetlocks. Vets nor 2 farriers couldnt get her to come sound with numerous choices of drugs. The final treatment came just before arranging her to be PTS.
My trainer asked if she could try natural barefoot with her as a last resort (it had been something id looked into before) said yes and within 4weeks she was sound and able to be ridden. that was 2 1/2yrs ago and she hasnt been lame since. She doesnt get any supplements either.
My trainer also acquired a navicular sufferer that was in the same position as me, chronicly lame. She took him on, sorted his feet out and he has since been rehomed in a riding home and is able to compete again.

Definitely something for you to look into.
All my horsesd live out 24/7 (on grass with little hard standing) and they have very solid feet that cope with every type of ground.
 
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