would you buy a horse that has had navicular

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dont know anything about it, or its management really, only the basics.

looking at a horse that is well out of my price range by has got it so hance in budget.

Its had its treatment and is now back in work

Thoughts??
 
There are so many different types so its hard to say to be honest but all are degenerative so in short no I wouldnt touch one with a barge pole! :)
 
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It can't have had navicular, it still will have it. Unfortunately it is not fixable and will have it for the rest of its life.

Depends on the price, severity of it, how its currently being managed and what you want the horse for.

One of mine has it, he has eggbar shoes on but apart from that you wouldn't know he has it - he jumps, dressages and competes as any normal horse would, the only thing i don't do is jump on hard ground.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
No :(

Its the road to heartache - it can be managed, but never cured.
 
Personally I wouldn't unless I already maybe knew the horse and knew that it was managed. There are loads of different treatments now and if you have a good farrier, it can be managed quite well, but as already said, it is degenerative.

Having said that, I read a post on here a while ago about a horse which had been diagnosed with navicular - poster said that it was given a year off, just turned out and when returned for x-rays, there were no signs of it....
 
No way. After having my horse PTS in Sept after a nav diagnosis it's a slippery downhill slope with one outcome :( Trust me, it's not worth the heartache.
 
ordinarily I would say no, but if you are talking about something you really want and cannot otherwise remotely afford, and think you can take the risk then maybe.

essentially you can manage these issues up to a point but you will have to accept long term prognosis not brilliant and the horse will have lameness episodes. you should find out if you are talking bone degeneration of a serious nature or minor boney changes and soft tissue problems and what steps have been taken to manage it - the latter are probably a better longer term prognosis.
 
I definatly wouldnt, my pony ended up with it, it was horrible, we managed to sell her but it was the hardest thing ive ever done as she tought me so much, i would certinly never buy a horse knowing they have it as it will only get worse and end in tears most likely
 
No. Its one thing a horse you already own being diagnosed, and you managing it, but why put yourself in that position?
 
No.Navicular is not a curable disease.Manageable in some cases but not curable.Its chronic and progressive so can only lead to heartbreak at some stage.Its can also be hereditary so breeding from a mare with the condition is also out.
I wouldn't even consider it.
 
Aru said:
No.Navicular is not a curable disease.Manageable in some cases but not curable.Its chronic and progressive so can only lead to heartbreak at some stage.Its can also be hereditary so breeding from a mare with the condition is also out.
I wouldn't even consider it.
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Depends what sort of Navicular and it's not always a disease! It's a syndrome too. It's not always progressive and can be reversed. It is not a degenerative disease like arthritis.

It's a condition whereby the bone which acts as a fulcrum is damaged and/or the ligament itself has been impinged, damaged or severed. Vets seem unable to agree what the "disease" consists of.

My horse was diagnosed navicular syndrome but is fine now. No sign it ever existed. I've studied a cadaver on ONE horse foot with the "disease" where the remedial shoeing did more damage and the navicular bone was actually fractured! That isn't a disease - that is bad management and poor farriery and veterinary practice. That foot was flat and underrun and pinched at the bulbs leaving no room for the processes inside to fit in. The pedal bone was at an obtuse angle and the hoof wall touched it's edge. I can only imagine the pain.

The study which says it is hereditary is inconclusive - it could be a conformational fault which eventually leads to navicular tendon/bone problems but if it truly is a syndrome then it can be helped.

I would consider but I would have to see the scans and see what has been done since to help.

If it shows impingement and no extensive damage to bone and the digital cushion was good, no rotation of P3 and the horses gaits were good then I would still buy it if I really wanted it.
 
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tallyho! said:
Depends what sort of Navicular and it's not always a disease! It's a syndrome too. It's not always progressive and can be reversed. It is not a degenerative disease like arthritis.

It's a condition whereby the bone which acts as a fulcrum is damaged and/or the ligament itself has been impinged, damaged or severed. Vets seem unable to agree what the "disease" consists of.

My horse was diagnosed navicular syndrome but is fine now. No sign it ever existed. I've studied a cadaver on ONE horse foot with the "disease" where the remedial shoeing did more damage and the navicular bone was actually fractured! That isn't a disease - that is bad management and poor farriery and veterinary practice. That foot was flat and underrun and pinched at the bulbs leaving no room for the processes inside to fit in. The pedal bone was at an obtuse angle and the hoof wall touched it's edge. I can only imagine the pain.

The study which says it is hereditary is inconclusive - it could be a conformational fault which eventually leads to navicular tendon/bone problems but if it truly is a syndrome then it can be helped.

I would consider but I would have to see the scans and see what has been done since to help.

If it shows impingement and no extensive damage to bone and the digital cushion was good, no rotation of P3 and the horses gaits were good then I would still buy it if I really wanted it.
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Totally agree with above:

We were initially told our mare had 'navicular syndrome' but two years on it now appears to have had 'some soft tissue damage' which is now fine. Whilst our vet was initially very cautious about using navicular we had to go with the diagnosis and have since had problems insuring the horse due to this. A letter from the vet confirming that it is not nor never been navicular was the only way forward.
 
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Yes. I would take it barefoot like the last one I bought (£1) and return it to full work, as the overwhelming majority of "navicular syndrome" horses taken through a proper barefoot rehab do. Then I'd have great fun riding a barefoot horse that was masses cheaper than I could possibly have afforded any other way :) The price must be no more than meat money though, unless the horse is already working sound with no medication.

If the diagnosis was done with xrays you really have no idea what you are dealing with, because the correlation between changes on xrays and lameness is far from perfect. There are plenty of sound horses with "bad" xrays and vice versa. Research has shown that most horses with "navicular syndrome" are actually lame with ddft or collateral ligament damage and not because of the bone changes. If the diagnosis was by MRI then they have probably found soft tissue damage which can normally be cured.

It breaks my heart to read of horses still being put to sleep on vet and farrier recommendation when they have not suggested attemping a barefoot rehab. I know that every time I write this I upset owners who have lost their horses, by implying that they might have been saved. I am truly sorry for that, but there is no point losing more horses unnecessarily for fear of upsetting the owners of ones which have already been lost.
 
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Agree with Cytrapes, the only real way to cure a Navicular horse is going barefoot.

My boy was diagnosed as having navicular, very badly.

Was told to pts as would become crippled.

2yrs on he is sound and in work, no medication, i have loaned him out to a lady who has just affiliated him with British dressage.

Thank god i didnt listen to my vet ;)
 
I personally think it would depend on the history of this 'condition' in the horse? Does is have navicular 'disease'? ie. a degeneration of the navicular bone? If this was the case then no, I wouldn't buy it as this will just get worse over time. Or is the navicular a syndrome or has it had an injury to the navicular? Then it may not cause a problem and the horse could be fine! My horse hairline fractured her navicular and the vet had to class it as 'navicular' but said it wasn't like navicular disease! The foot doesn't cause her any problems now.

Personally I would think very carefully and judge whether the price of the horse is worth what you may have to pay in vet fees!
 
cptrayes said:
It breaks my heart to read of horses still being put to sleep on vet and farrier recommendation when they have not suggested attemping a barefoot rehab. I know that every time I write this I upset owners who have lost their horses, by implying that they might have been saved. I am truly sorry for that, but there is no point losing more horses unnecessarily for fear of upsetting the owners of ones which have already been lost.
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Breaks my heart too for horses and owners - I hate the vets who draw the line at shoeing and if that doesn't work, pts. Aaaaarrrgh!!!! Closed minds!!!!

You CAN reverse navicular.

I did not listen to my vet or farrier who said it's the end, and my horse is still alive and better than he ever was.
 
Sorry no I personally wouldn't as it is degenerative- i.e it will never get better- but- many horses with it can still be ridden and managed and enjoy life with treatment and corrective shoeing i think.

Also Navicular may be commonly misdiagnosed i am led to believe- in fact one of mine was diagnosed with Navicular by a vet when he was 5- I changed vets -got a second opinion, got advice from farriers- my horse didn't have it at all and 2 separate v good vets have confirmed that all is normal!!
 
K27 said:
Sorry no I personally wouldn't as it is degenerative- i.e it will never get better- but- many horses with it can still be ridden and managed and enjoy life with treatment and corrective shoeing i think.
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No, I'm sorry that is untrue. It is not degenerative and it can get better.
 
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