Tildren/navicular

Out of interest, whilst natural balance shoes are still made out of the same material as ordinary shoes (I believe?), and therefore I agree they have the same shock absorption, I am also under the impression that they are secured with more strategically placed nails, which allow for a bit more expansion and contraction of the heel than traditional shoes. Is that also your understanding of them?

My impression is that a good farrier will fit any shoe with the nails well forward to try to allow for heel expansion. I'm not sure if NB are any different than any good farrier, perhaps someone else will know more? The big difference is that NB shoes bring the breakover point back a long way from the outer edge of the toe, back to where the horse would produce a natural breakover.
 
My horse was diagnosed with navicular last September at the time he was sound in a straight line 2/10 lame when lunged on the soft and 4/10 lame lunged on the hard. The vet firstly recommended tildren and IRAP. Following the 10 weeks box rest he was then 6/10 lame in a straight line, so the vet recommend bar shoes. 10 months of him being sound he’s now lame again. The vets have said there’s nothing else they can do so after much consideration I decided to have his shoes taken of yesterday by a barefoot trimmer so fingers crossed.
 
Hey dont know if you have thought any further on this annabel but if your still reading this thread...give Yvonne a ring let her go through barefoot rehab with you, explain what will be involved and have a think from there. She's fantastic at what she does and has some lovely case studies she can show you :D She's not expensive either and far less than those egg bars and pulled shoes are costing you at the minute. Has to be worth a phonecall if nothing else and if it fails (i'm sure its not going to) go down the tildren route then. We have the facilities to rehab him at home, she will give you a detailed plan and be there whenever you need her. xx
 
NB shoes worked despite the lack of shock absorption provided by the steel. Simple They are an improvement on a bar shoe for most navicular horses but I agree with the figures on the proportion of horses that show genuine significant improvement in both shod and barefoot regimes. And it has been proven again and again that the vast majority of horses that would "Never cope barefoot" do, and thrive.

Good for those of you taking the plunge - if you get it right, you'll never look back.

The only horses I've read about that have not coped barefoot despite the 100% correct protocol are those that are severely metabolically challenged - and this can take a LONG time to get to a diagnosis, so may explain pretty much all horses who cannot cope barefoot.
 
My tb has recently been diagnosed with navicular and also impar ligament damage in his right fore. My primary vet is reluctant to advise any treatment for the ligament damage, though other vets have advised that shock wave treatment could work. However the majority of his lameness seems to be due to the navicular, the vet has recommended the injections, and also considering a tildren drip (if insurance will cover it), though I know people have mixed views on this. I wondered if any on here has had any success with a combination of medication and barefoot? I am reluctant to try any more remedial farriery, as he has not coped well with bar shoes or wedges. I am struggling to find someone with an impartial opinion, as the vets and barefoot trimmers are so unwilling to communicate!
 
My current TB has Navicular. My previous TB also had it, i went down the tildren/egg bar shoes/raised heal shoes etc etc with him but he never came 100% sound and i lost him.
My current boy i have taken down the barefoot, change of diet route and he is sound and back in work.
He had really flat feet with collapsed heals but they are changing themselves and he is totally comfortable now.
My vet did not approve of this route but luckily my farrier did :)
 
Thanks for that jacksmum, sorry to hear things didn't work out for your first horse. Have you tried any medication or vet treatment with your current one or did you go straight to barefoot? Unfortunately my vet and farrier are less keen on the barefoot route, they are both running out of other ideas though, after reading about so many people who have had success with it I think it will be our next option.
 
My horse had impar ligament strain found on MRI, the Tildren which he had before the diagnosis was reached did nothing and the leahurst vet said it is not really useful in these sorts of cases, mine is being medicated and having shockwave next week, he has just had egg bars on which *touches all available surfaces* has made a huge difference, can let you know about the other treatments at a later date but that will prob be a bit late for you if you are looking at options now :)
 
Thanks for that jacksmum, sorry to hear things didn't work out for your first horse. Have you tried any medication or vet treatment with your current one or did you go straight to barefoot? Unfortunately my vet and farrier are less keen on the barefoot route, they are both running out of other ideas though, after reading about so many people who have had success with it I think it will be our next option.

As soon as i realised i had another horse with navicular i knew i wanted to try something different so i googled for every bit of info i could. I immediately changed his diet and got my farrier out. My farrier does racehorses so barefoot is not something he does but he was brilliant.
My vet was all for tildren and even denerving so i'm prob not on his christmas card list any more!
I tried something i was happy with and its worked. If you want to try it and your vet/farrier wont help change them, its your horses well being thats most important.
Good luck
 
Hi,

My boy has a bony spur above the navicular bursa. He had Tildren towards the end of his treatment and I'm sorry to say it made no difference whatsoever. His last resort was a barefoot rehab through Rockley. It's not been easy, in fact its been bl00dy hard work but my goodness has it been worth it!!
I can honestly tell you, hand on heart, if I had that time again & knowing what I know now, then his first treatment option would have been barefoot.
It honestly isn't the easy magic option but it does work. It can be really hard but it is worth every ounce of effort required :))

On the flip side, if you do decide to go with Tildren, my fella had no issues with it (other than it not working!) He was VERY wet for a day afterwards but that was the only real side effect we saw.

Good luck whatever you decide :)
 
Thanks for all the comments, wellybaggins I would be interested to hear what other treatments you try and how much success you have, hope it goes well. For those who did go down the barefoot route for navicular, will you stay barefoot? Or do you intend to eventually put them back in shoes? What sort of dietary changes are advised for navicular horses? I will discuss all this with the trimmer but its good to have an idea before hand! And finally those who've used rockley farm; what do they provide there other than the different surfaces? I'm reluctant to send him away so wondered if its possible to create a similar environment at home.
 
Thanks for all the comments, wellybaggins I would be interested to hear what other treatments you try and how much success you have, hope it goes well. For those who did go down the barefoot route for navicular, will you stay barefoot? Or do you intend to eventually put them back in shoes? What sort of dietary changes are advised for navicular horses? I will discuss all this with the trimmer but its good to have an idea before hand! And finally those who've used rockley farm; what do they provide there other than the different surfaces? I'm reluctant to send him away so wondered if its possible to create a similar environment at home.

I have PM'd you :) x
 
My horse was diagnosed with navicular last September at the time he was sound in a straight line 2/10 lame when lunged on the soft and 4/10 lame lunged on the hard. The vet firstly recommended tildren and IRAP. Following the 10 weeks box rest he was then 6/10 lame in a straight line, so the vet recommend bar shoes. 10 months of him being sound he’s now lame again. The vets have said there’s nothing else they can do so after much consideration I decided to have his shoes taken of yesterday by a barefoot trimmer so fingers crossed.

:) ...well done! I went barefoot 6 months ago and we're now 100% sound and looking sooo good (it took around 4 months though) I know its early days for us but my mare feels and looks so different now. Please, please get the diet right as it really works..happy to tell you our 'story' if you like
A xx
 
I too took the plunge today after much thought, and have had his shoes taken off. Fingers crossed its the right thing to do for him!
 
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