Supplements to support navicular?

[PolarSkye]

I know, I know, I know . . . it's next to impossible to recommend a supplement without analyzing grass/forage . . . but assuming I had those analyzed, what vits and mins would I want to ensure were plentiful to support a horse with navicular?

P

 

[cptrayes]

You would need an MRI scan before you could tell. Resaerch has shown that most lameness due to "navicular" is actually injury to the ddft, the collateral ligaments or other soft tissues in the foot. A supplement to support a bone will be irrelevant in those cases.

IMO.
The best supplement is a good blood supply. The best way to get that is to remove the shoes and get the horse moving, however it can move in reasonable comfort. Any supplement (MgO, yeast) that supports working without shoes will support "navicular" that way.

 

[paulineh]

Hilton Herbs do one..

Not ever horse will cope with going barefoot. She is in egg bar shoes

One of my Arab mares has just had a MRI and has just been diagnosed with navicular. Along with treatment from the vet I will be using the HH one.

 

[PolarSkye]

You would need an MRI scan before you could tell. Resaerch has shown that most lameness due to "navicular" is actually injury to the ddft, the collateral ligaments or other soft tissues in the foot. A supplement to support a bone will be irrelevant in those cases.

IMO.
The best supplement is a good blood supply. The best way to get that is to remove the shoes and get the horse moving, however it can move in reasonable comfort. Any supplement (MgO, yeast) that supports working without shoes will support "navicular" that way.

This is actually my worry (DDFT) . . . we're giving him six weeks with eggbar shoes and bute to see if that helps (x-ray showed definitive changes in the navicular bone in both fronts) and if not we'll go for an MRI. He has no shoes on at present and is footy . . . vet has recommended the eggbars and back out in the field to promote blood supply. I know that nothing will reverse the bony changes . . . I was just wondering what I could give him to support blood supply . . . medical, herbal or both.

Thanks so much for your input.

P

 

[paulineh]

http://www.hiltonherbs.com/products/nav-x-gold/201

 

[cptrayes]

This is actually my worry (DDFT) . . . we're giving him six weeks with eggbar shoes and bute to see if that helps (x-ray showed definitive changes in the navicular bone in both fronts) and if not we'll go for an MRI. He has no shoes on at present and is footy . . . vet has recommended the eggbars and back out in the field to promote blood supply. I know that nothing will reverse the bony changes . . . I was just wondering what I could give him to support blood supply . . . medical, herbal or both.

Thanks so much for your input.

P

It is the current view of the Vets that the bony changes cannot be reversed. I am aware of two horses which were xrayed after barefoot rehabs where the changes have been reversed. Unfortunately it is not normal to re-xray unless the horse is getting worse, so there don't seem to be many. It's my opinion that there are probably plenty more.

Ask your vet what the correlation is between changes to the navicular bone and lameness. It is very low. If a yard of 100 horses was xrayed then I have heard it estimated from many sources that around half will have changes to the navicular bone but very few of them will be lame. Horses can be badly lame with minor changes and not lame at all with much greater changes.

A friend of mine was given a 20% chance that their horse would ever work again by a leading hospital nine months ago. The horse had a barefoot rehab and was in full work in 8 weeks and has been sound ever since.

If the shoes don't work, don't give up it's not the end of the road by any means. Good luck.

 

[PolarSkye]

It is the current view of the Vets that the bony changes cannot be reversed. I am aware of two horses which were xrayed after barefoot rehabs where the changes have been reversed. Unfortunately it is not normal to re-xray unless the horse is getting worse, so there don't seem to be many. It's my opinion that there are probably plenty more.

Ask your vet what the correlation is between changes to the navicular bone and lameness. It is very low. If a yard of 100 horses was xrayed then I have heard it estimated from many sources that around half will have changes to the navicular bone but very few of them will be lame. Horses can be badly lame with minor changes and not lame at all with much greater changes.

A friend of mine was given a 20% chance that their horse would ever work again by a leading hospital nine months ago. The horse had a barefoot rehab and was in full work in 8 weeks and has been sound ever since.

If the shoes don't work, don't give up it's not the end of the road by any means. Good luck.

This is very interesting . . . so what causes the anomalies? Other injuries like DDFT?

I most certainly will not give up if the shoes don't work . . . I remain fully optimistic that we can get The GreyDonk sound somehow . . . AND that he can continue to have a ridden career for another few years yet. I am prepared to be proved wrong and to accept, at some point, that he should be retired, but I am refusing to see this diagnosis as anything less than a setback at this point.

However . . . if he continues to be lame to the point where he can't go out in the field and enjoy being a horse then we're having a very different conversation. I won't keep him going for the sake of keeping him. I love him too much to do that to him.

OK . . . soppiness over . . . normal service resumed.

P

 

[cptrayes]

This is very interesting . . . so what causes the anomalies? Other injuries like DDFT?

I most certainly will not give up if the shoes don't work . . . I remain fully optimistic that we can get The GreyDonk sound somehow . . . AND that he can continue to have a ridden career for another few years yet. I am prepared to be proved wrong and to accept, at some point, that he should be retired, but I am refusing to see this diagnosis as anything less than a setback at this point.

However . . . if he continues to be lame to the point where he can't go out in the field and enjoy being a horse then we're having a very different conversation. I won't keep him going for the sake of keeping him. I love him too much to do that to him.

OK . . . soppiness over . . . normal service resumed.

P

This will interest you

http://easycarenews.com/08-31-2009/articles/physiology-of-navicular/


I've done one rehab who was about to be put to sleep and he how hunts and won his National Breed Show last year.

 

[PolarSkye]

This will interest you

http://easycarenews.com/08-31-2009/articles/physiology-of-navicular/


I've done one rehab who was about to be put to sleep and he how hunts and won his National Breed Show last year.

Wow . . . this is so interesting that I'm printing to show my farrier . . . thank you!

P

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

I took a horse on with nav . Came in bar shoes no Improvement and had had a neurectomy.Took them off and barefoot rehabed him. Only had a few days of lameness in 1 yr and this was due to abcess in hind foot. Now schooling and jumping. Also taking shoes.off improves blood supply to foot. Which in turn helps it to heel. Shoes will restrict movement of foot particularly heels. The expansion and contraction of heels allows the foot to act a bit like a pulse and push blood around. They cannot do this shoes!

Bones can change. What happens when u break a bone ? It heals. There r osteoblasts and osteoclasts ones makes bone the other kind of removes bone.

My dissertation was in racing grey hounds damaging their legs as they only race anti clockwise and if they rehab after. Also can b applied horses.

Sorry .not trying to tell u wot to do only u can make that decision, just tryng to give u as much info a pos to help the decision b informed.
Xxx

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

Ps my nav horse actually had an diagnosed back issue b4 I got him which caused the foot prob. Every was so concerned about his feed they missed his back. Treating back would have gone along way to solving or improving.foot probs!! Instead we did things back to front. Sorted feet and back prob became apparent. Treated back now jumps and schools and hacks no danilon in sight! X

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

Sorry bad typing on phone!

Ps my nav horse actually had an undiagnosed back issue b4 I got him which caused the foot prob. Everyone was so concerned about his feet they missed his back. Treating back would have gone a long way to solving or improving foot probs!! Instead we did things back to front. Sorted feet and back prob became apparent. Treated back now jumps and schools and hacks no danilon in sight! X

 

[Milanesa]

Cptrayes that is an interesting article. I have a horse I look after diagnosed with navicular, currently reading up what I can on barefoot and I would like to give it a go to try and help her. Thx