Possibly the longest OP in the world - my navicular woes

[ester]

I think I do need to speak to her. Thanks for your advice. I'm just terrified. Little old me going against vets and farriers. I just don't want to waste years trying to get her feet right when I might not have that long left. Or am I making excuses? It so hard to know what's best!

I just want to say if it is taking years it isn't working and you would call time on trying way before that. And not long left, she's 10! Frank's came off at 19 and the 6 months I spent 'rehabbing him' was the best time spent ever for the last 5 years we've had.

Speak to Nic and see how you feel, from what you say if she is going to be particularly sore to start she would benefit from rockley's set up and also it takes the pressure off of you a bit.

 

[Flicker]

Are they glued on permanently Flicker? She isn't on the same yard anymore where they restricted turnout. She is in overnight during winter but out everyday no matter the weather and although there is not much grass at the moment she has ad lib hay in stable and field. I do have to be very careful with her weight though as she is overweight (not massively but too much for this time of year) she lives on fresh air and the advice that has been given to me is to keep her on the leaner side in order to reduce weight going through her feet.

Yes they are permanently glued on. They do occasionally come off when it's very muddy but generally seem to stay on quite well.
Ah yes it can be tricky keeping weight off while still trying to get the forage in!

 

[catembi]

My TB had his shoes off because he was due to be shod 2 weeks after KS surgery & I wasn't sure if it would be too much for him. I.e. holding feet up for ages, plus he was never good to shoe & I was worried he might hurt himself. Farrier said that as he will be on box rest followed by field rest, we might as well leave his shoes off. He was crippled for 2 weeks but by the time we got onto walking out in-hand, he was just pottery, then he just improved from there. 2 years on, he goes exactly the same b/f as he did in shoes, exactly the same stride length etc. Feet look *amazing* & all the shoe-related atrophy has reversed.

I will admit to having had 50 fits during the initial hobbling phase, & another 50 once the nail holes started growing out & his feet simply crumbled up to where they'd been. His feet also looked so fragile & vulnerable. I've got into the whole sole cleanse/field paste thing, and switched to Thunderbrooks, and now they look far healthier than they ever did in shoes!

Good luck with yours!

T x

 

[Antw23uk]

I read your post and my first reaction was my hackles went up .. bloody farriers sometimes, honestly they drive me so mad! Then I read a few of the comments on the first page which made me feel like I was right in my way of thinking. BF would be the direction I would be taking her and I would accept vets and farriers advice with big pinch of salt and NOT as gospel!!!

 

[Scarlett]

Another barefoot success story here. 10yo mare, shoes off (vet was supportive - he says the only way to fix feet is to remove shoes), in my case she had time off to go have foal as I had planned that anyway, grew lovely new feet, ended up with more time off due to unrelated issues, now back in work and I'm even thinking she might get out to a few events this year. I have 4 barefoot TB's now, all in work, I really think shoes are over rated

 

[scats]

I'm going to come at it differently, purely from my own experience. I have an ISH who was diagnosed with advanced navicular when he was 10. Like you, I knew there was something not quite right but he was always sound for vet checks and back and everything else always came back ok. His issue was a slight reluctance to move forwards for the first 10 minutes of work.

We tried barefoot, we have tried several times over the last 3 years. Granted, he hasn't been to Rockley because he is not really safe enough for other people to handle and I would worry he would hurt someone badly, as he did at Leahurst.

My farrier was very open to barefoot and was the first to suggest it and we tried everything we could between us but the horse was crippled. We shoe him on lightweight shoes with no overhang as he is a nightmare about getting them off in the field and then ends up crippled again. Basically we shoe him to be as barefoot as possible if that makes sense, so the shoe just lifts his sole off the floor but doesn't not make any other changes regards weight placement, support, balance. The vets would have, and have had, a nervous breakdown when they see we have shod him with lack of heel support. But they can see the results we have achieved by doing it our way. My farrier is absolutely amazing and has put so much into this horse.

He is now nearly 13, shod in front on these lightweight thin shoes and in light work- hacking and schooling. If he's had a mad field day or has thrown a shoe, he has a sachet of bute for a few days to counteract any major flare ups, but has remained consistently sound now for 18 months. 2 years ago I moved him to another yard to save his life. Previous yard was herd turnout in badly damaged fields and his lunacy in a large group meant he was constantly coming in lame, having aggravated his navicular. Then he'd be in for a few days because he couldn't walk, then he'd go back out and explode coz he'd been in. It was a viscious circle and the situation got desperate. So we moved him to a small yard where he is turned out with only my mare, I can fence the field as need be and he gets all year turnout so his lunacy moments are less frequent.

I do not jump him, although told that he can as he is perfectly sound, I have future preservation in mind and he is being produced for dressage career.

Just to put a shoe success story in there!
Good luck x