Would you buy a horse with mild navicular changes?

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Kirstd33

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So a good horsey friend I used to work with many years ago has got in touch the past couple of days as she has heard on the grapevine I’m tentatively looking for a new horse. She is selling her daughters 15hh horse as a happy hacker, suitable for low level RC, fun rides etc following a diagnosis of very mild navicular changes, but enough that she just won’t cope with the level of Jumping that very competitive teen daughter wants to compete at (we’re taking 1.20m +) they bred the horse themselves from her own mare, have owned her all her 7 years, love her dearly and want to see her in a low level living home.

They’re asking a very small price for a horse of her quality and breeding, she is currently 100% sound and in regular ridden work.

Would I be an idiot to consider her?
 
Kirstd33 said:
So a good horsey friend I used to work with many years ago has got in touch the past couple of days as she has heard on the grapevine I’m tentatively looking for a new horse. She is selling her daughters 15hh horse as a happy hacker, suitable for low level RC, fun rides etc following a diagnosis of very mild navicular changes, but enough that she just won’t cope with the level of Jumping that very competitive teen daughter wants to compete at (we’re taking 1.20m +) they bred the horse themselves from her own mare, have owned her all her 7 years, love her dearly and want to see her in a low level living home.

They’re asking a very small price for a horse of her quality and breeding, she is currently 100% sound and in regular ridden work.

Would I be an idiot to consider her?
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In the situation you describe, if you try her and like her, I think you'd be an idiot not to 🥰
 
Id be cautious. What prompted investigations, lameness or performance issues? Did they MRI to rule out soft tissue damage/other causes of lameness? What treatment has she had for it? Any bone spurs/cysts?

Ive had my fair share of hoof related issues it’s not something id knowingly walk into again!
 
Zoeypxo said:
Id be cautious. What prompted investigations, lameness or performance issues? Did they MRI to rule out soft tissue damage/other causes of lameness? What treatment has she had for it? Any bone spurs/cysts?

Ive had my fair share of hoof related issues it’s not something id knowingly walk into again!
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She was out competing as a 6 yr old ( not hammered) and as the courses got bigger she started uncharacteristically stopping and they sensed that she wasn’t enjoying the bigger fences. Investigations started which discovered the minor navicular changes, she has never been lame at all but they have made the decision not to push her, but sadly teen daughter wants to be competitive at the bigger comps.
 
My homebred teenagers eventer started stopping as a 7yo and it turned out that she was very, very broken indeed with multiple issues. The more we looked the more was found.

It was me that called time on her being ridden, none of the trainers at the last eventing training camp she was on when I saw she wasn’t happy had noticed any issues 😳.
 
For me it would be a no. I am risk averse and definitely don't need another retired horse / pet if things are worse than they seem atm and I wouldn't pts a horse just because it's not rideable.

A navicular diagnosis can mean a lot of things, mild changes on xray can come along with more severe issues in terms of soft tissue damage if the feet have not been mri'd.
 
I guess it depends on what you want to do with the horse . Will you be content just hacking / low level ?

Someone I know bought a youngster , did a bit too much and he ended up with navicular changes . Said person was going to PTS . A good friend of mine took him on , rehabbed him and got him sound . Many years later my husband’s aunty owns him . Hacks him out all around the Welsh mountains. He’s still sound . He’s living a great life where he is adored . But doesn’t do a great deal .
 
If I wanted a lovely horse at not much £££s, I'd at least go and look.

I've known one horse in particular who retired with navicular, had tried all the treatments, shoes, pads etc, and was not sound. A year or so later, barefoot and not rushed, she was sound and doing showing as well as hacking.

I have known several others who were managed and stayed in work.

I don't always think navicular changes on X rays are a solid indication of what pain the horse is in.

That said, I would not buy this horse to be a show jumper.

I would go and view with eyes open, looking for any lameness. Any sign of lameness would kill it for me, as I'd be nervously looking for it every day.

I would only pay what I would be prepared to lose, and also only buy if I would be prepared to PTS if the horse didn't stay in work as I would not fund a new to me 7yo for a long retirement!
 
My first pony was diagnosed with navicular before I got her. I got her for free with the knowledge I couldn’t jump and had limited time with her.

I rode her for 2 years before she had to be retired.
Once I stopped riding her she became field sound without any painkillers and I had her for 19 years and she was PTS at 32.

I had my own land to retire her and keep her for as long as she was happy.
I personally wouldn’t take on a horse with known issues if I wasn’t able to give them a chance of possibly a long and happy retirement because of livery costs, space etc.
 
I was given my first horse with navicular, the owners had claimed LOU as he was bought as a show jumper, and he was my happy hacker for many years, and I took him cub hunting. I actually had him PTS because of a lung problem, nothing to do with soundness, when he was about twenty. When ridden he was in consistent work, avoiding rough hard ground, he used to have most of the summer off unless we were hacking on roads.
I think it comes down to price, what you want to do and being honest about why and when you would PTS, The horse I had I could never have afforded to buy, he was safe but never boring, he enjoyed work, and never had any treatment, it was the 80's so there wasn't a lot of choice, so it was up to me not to make his problem worse.
 
Take a look at Pete Ramey's Hoof Rehab pages on navicular. Be prepared to take the shoes off, treat thrush aggressively, and allow the mare to grow four new feet. And take it from there. Mild changes in a young horse can resolve, and the changes can be reversed. All depends on the level of damage, and whether poor farriery has been added in the mix. I wouldn't automatically write her off.
 
Kirstd33 said:
So a good horsey friend I used to work with many years ago has got in touch the past couple of days as she has heard on the grapevine I’m tentatively looking for a new horse. She is selling her daughters 15hh horse as a happy hacker, suitable for low level RC, fun rides etc following a diagnosis of very mild navicular changes, but enough that she just won’t cope with the level of Jumping that very competitive teen daughter wants to compete at (we’re taking 1.20m +) they bred the horse themselves from her own mare, have owned her all her 7 years, love her dearly and want to see her in a low level living home.

They’re asking a very small price for a horse of her quality and breeding, she is currently 100% sound and in regular ridden work.

Would I be an idiot to consider her?
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This ^^ is the bit that worries me. Maybe just the way you worded it ? She isn't a bargain because she could have been xyz.
I agree with Clodagh- I'd ask for a loan.
 
Goldie's mum said:
This ^^ is the bit that worries me. Maybe just the way you worded it ? She isn't a bargain because she could have been xyz.
I agree with Clodagh- I'd ask for a loan.
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Maybe I should clarify, they bred her themselves from a very successful SJ'ing mare that my friend competed on at 1.30m + put to a dutch warmblood stallion, so her SJ'ing pedigree is there for sure. They backed her themselves and produced her to be the teen daughters next competive 148 jumping pony, and are devastated she will not be as intended. But I guess your sentiment is correct, now she is a very beautiful well bred pony with navicular changes having been identified in her feet, and her value is as such :(
 
Kirstd33 said:
Maybe I should clarify, they bred her themselves from a very successful SJ'ing mare that my friend competed on at 1.30m + put to a dutch warmblood stallion, so her SJ'ing pedigree is there for sure. They backed her themselves and produced her to be the teen daughters next competive 148 jumping pony, and are devastated she will not be as intended. But I guess your sentiment is correct, now she is a very beautiful well bred pony with navicular changes having been identified in her feet, and her value is as such :(
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I would agree, the breeding is insignificant now. The mare won't compete as they hoped her breeding would allow her to, and she wouldn't be a breeding prospect herself as she has an issue.

I would not pay for the breeding. I might pay for the horse in front of me, if I liked it and thought she would do me a job, and I enjoyed riding her.
 
My first horse- on permanent loan- had navicular. This had developed when she was 15 and she was put on a low level of bute a day. Her owner wanted to compete in dressage so got a youngster and I took on the mare when she was 18. The owner had only used her as a light hack after the diagnosis and I carried on with that level of work. The mare got to 27 before she had to be PTS for a completely unrelated condition. I would say go and see her and try her. You never know what you are buying with horses. There are so many posts on here of people buying supposedly healthy horses and six months later they develop some career ending condition.
 
I love a good hoof rehab, but I'm happy to spend a year doing it and limit riding for that time. Id want a good look at the feet and to be confident there were positive changes to be made once the shoes came off, and that there were no red flags for other issues elsewhere.

But do you want a 14.2hh highly bred warmblood? I'm not totally sure what your original criteria was but didnt you want a low maintenance happy hacker?
 
I wouldn't unless she was free (and I had the funds/space to retire to lawnmowing), on loan or sharing. She's 7, hasn't stood up to work and is unlikely to do so without extensive rehab or remedial shoeing (£££).
 
No.
The only time I would consider it is if it were similar to my old mare. She had navicular changes in 1 foot which was very upright, almost a club foot.

I can’t remember when she was diagnosed, but it was fairly young. Hers stayed stable and didn’t affect her performance. I remember having a comparison scan done several years after and it hadn’t progressed. She stood up fine to the work I was asking of her (eventing at be100). I did accept, however, that she probably wouldn’t have had a ridden career as long as some might.

I lost her at 14 for something unrelated but I may consider it in those circumstances where it was due to a known cause, not progressing and not effecting her work.
 
A lot of horses with “navicular” type issues can do really well and return to a decent level of work for many years following barefoot rehab. (Depending on what other issues the horse has alongside)

Is this something I’d want to gamble a significant amount of time & money on personally? No, especially with my recent track record of trying and failing to fix broken horses (which were not broken when I bought them which rather proves the any horse could break at any time point!)

Might consider loaning if that was an option but that could leave you in an awkward position if horse DOES come right and owner decides to sell (at a higher price than horse was worth at the start)
 
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