would you buy a horse with navicular disease

Y

Yorkshire dumpling

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 December 2010
Messages
359
Location
infront of the laptop
Visit site
i have done my research on the condition and spoken to my vet. but my question is would you buy a horse with it or would you run a mile?
a very good friend of mine is selling her 11yrs old 15.2 who was diagnosed with it about a year ago, he has had pain killers and corrective shoes along with rolled hooves ect ect he is also on bute.
he is getting a little better on his feet and although very cheap (as she is loosing her land) and only to be used as companion, is it wise to buy something which has this condition. he is very lovely and well mannered a perfect horse apart from navicular. i would like to offer him a home but am i going to set my self up for a fall? have you got or had a horse with it? and please could you tell me your experiences please xxx thank you for reading :)
 
Short answer? No
Admittedly I've never had one with the disease but I figure there are enough horses out there without buying one you KNOW has a problem.
 
if it was just as a companion i wouldnt worry to much, navicular horses cope well without shoes (better if im honest) so that makes it cheaper. i was paying £100+ for a set of shoes with no improvement, taking them off and letting his feet go the way that is natural and comfortable for him has made a big difference, and its only £20 every 6 weeks. The bit that would start to get expensive is the danilon/bute and the long term affects. Mine is on high strength buteless for his navicular which is about £19,99 a month. Depending on the degree they sometimes come sound in their own time enough for very light work.
 
i think that depends on you? you can not just rule out a horse because it has a problem. are you prepared and able to pay for his treatment and anything else he may need? would you be ok with possibly having to pts because he is suffering?
i would say you really need to have a very long hard think about it. try get a vet report to see just how bad the condition is and go from there.
again until you know EVERYTHING dont rule it out, alot of people would given the condition, but it is up to you at the end of the day. good luck with it.
 
No, I wouldn't....sorry. Horses can throw enough at you without buying problems in the first place. There are lots of lovely cheap sound horses around at the moment, don't buy something that you know will cause you worry from the off :o
 
china said:
if it was just as a companion i wouldnt worry to much, navicular horses cope well without shoes (better if im honest) so that makes it cheaper. i was paying £100+ for a set of shoes with no improvement, taking them off and letting his feet go the way that is natural and comfortable for him has made a big difference, and its only £20 every 6 weeks. The bit that would start to get expensive is the danilon/bute and the long term affects. Mine is on high strength buteless for his navicular which is about £19,99 a month. Depending on the degree they sometimes come sound in their own time enough for very light work.
Click to expand...

thanks i dont mind paying in the money really. what are the long term effects ? arthritis i no they get. but how common is it for them to self cure so to speak? and how long has yours had it for if you dont mind me asking? xx
 
Not knowingly no. :( Just watched a friend struggle getting her TB sound and sadly he was PTS just before Xmas despite alot of time and money invested. So it's an absolute no for me.
 
santaboooogypie said:
i think that depends on you? you can not just rule out a horse because it has a problem. are you prepared and able to pay for his treatment and anything else he may need? would you be ok with possibly having to pts because he is suffering?
i would say you really need to have a very long hard think about it. try get a vet report to see just how bad the condition is and go from there.
again until you know EVERYTHING dont rule it out, alot of people would given the condition, but it is up to you at the end of the day. good luck with it.
Click to expand...

thank you i will ask her for a vets report or give them a call later on.
i wouldnt let him suffer and if he was in pain that is not treatable i wouldnt hesitate to pts as that would be best for him.
i can afford to pay for everything he needs but i am still in 2 minds about it. she has offered me him on loan in spring for a few months to see if i would like him. would it be a good idea to loan to see how well he actually is (or how bad he is?)
 
I did. Admitedly didn't know until after the purchase.:rolleyes: The dealer offered to take her back and do a swop, but silly me, thought her future was better with me than with him. With the aid of a good farrier and vet, she's sound and with care,(& moving livery yards for facilities that suited her better,) is able to be a great riding horse.
Had I known before I bought her, I would have walked away, but, as things have turned out, she is probably one of the most wonderful horses I have ever had. I unreservedly, love this sweet, honest mare and I'm so glad she's with me.
OK, so we can't do all the stuff she's capable of (BSJA) but we hack for miles and hopefully we can do a bit of RC in the coming year.
I suppose it depends what you want, I have other horses to ride if she were unridable.I do know several other horses with navicular syndrome who have remained in work for many years after diagnosis with good management, while others are retired.
Having access to the vet who diagnosed and xrayed the horse would probably give you a fuller picture of how bad the problem is.
 
Yorkshire dumpling said:
she only wants 100 for him as a sort of promise he is going to stay with me. mainly the money is for his rugs as he has alot of brand new ones.
Click to expand...

Sorry no i wouldnt. My old pony had it and wouldnt knowingly buy another even as a companion.
I wouldnt pay any money either. If she wanted a good home, knowing the horse is going to cost you money for its illness she should be willing to give it you for free, including rugs. £100 does not guarentee you wont sell it on anyway!! ( not saying you would be seems a silly reason to charge £100 )
 
horserider said:
I did. Admitedly didn't know until after the purchase.:rolleyes: The dealer offered to take her back and do a swop, but silly me, thought her future was better with me than with him. With the aid of a good farrier and vet, she's sound and with care,(& moving livery yards for facilities that suited her better,) is able to be a great riding horse.
Had I known before I bought her, I would have walked away, but, as things have turned out, she is probably one of the most wonderful horses I have ever had. I unreservedly, love this sweet, honest mare and I'm so glad she's with me.
OK, so we can't do all the stuff she's capable of (BSJA) but we hack for miles and hopefully we can do a bit of RC in the coming year.
I suppose it depends what you want, I have other horses to ride if she were unridable.I do know several other horses with navicular syndrome who have remained in work for many years after diagnosis with good management, while others are retired.
Having access to the vet who diagnosed and xrayed the horse would probably give you a fuller picture of how bad the problem is.
Click to expand...

thank you it is nice to hear a happy ending on this forum for once :) i will get an xray done defo. im not bothered about riding him at all just a companion for my filly and maybe something for my niece to have a sit on once and a while (no riding involved) but i am going to have a serious think over the next few weeks and see what mr vet man has to say.xx thanks again and good luck with your RC next year i really hope it works out xx
 
I would if he was field sound on 1/2 bute daily or none at all, unshod, as by doing so he'd get a better home than the other options, but I would do so with a firm promise to myself and my family that once he got beyond a certain number of bute per day to keep him happy, I'd have him PTS. I would need to know I had the money for that, and the upkeep of a horse as a companion (rather than a small pony who eats nothing).
 
Yorkshire dumpling said:
thanks i dont mind paying in the money really. what are the long term effects ? arthritis i no they get. but how common is it for them to self cure so to speak? and how long has yours had it for if you dont mind me asking? xx
Click to expand...

i meant the long term affects of bute, it causes liver problems. Iv known a few come back into full work again, one of them competing at elementry dressage. Mine was officially diagnosed in august but symptoms started end of last year. He only 13 and im under no illusion that he will come sound and stay sound. if he is intemitantly lame then he will be retired and a decision will be made as he also has kissing spines and bone spavins, but aslong as he is sound and comfortable he will still do something to keep that pea brain of his occupied!
 
No. I would never buy a horse with any known problem. There are too many others out there.

Mine has a whole list of problems (currently not navicular) and I wouldn't be without her now, but I'd also never buy her!
 
My horse had navicular. It was diagnosed in October and I had to have him pts the following March. He'd gone steadily down hill, despite trying corrective shoeing / bute etc etc.

Even when it was still relatively mild and he was able to be hacked lightly (on flat roads - I used to have to get off down hill) it was hard work. We used to have to give him bute to be shod, and my lovely farrier used to take a couple of hours so he could rest his legs inbetwen each shoe.

He was in his early 20's and due to the pain in his front feet, it started to have a knock on effect on other things. His back legs took more strain and he started to suffer with arthiritis etc in all legs. Eventually he started to struggle getting up once he'd laid down and I was unable to pick his back legs up as his front legs were too weak to take the extra strain. He became very unhappy which is why we called it a day.

Its a horrid disease and one I wouldn;t want to have to cope with again. He might be ok now, but navicular is degenerative and they can deteriorate very quickly. Also - you won't be able to insure him for this as it is a known condition so could be faced with costly vet bills.
 
No, sorry, I would'nt have one given to me. Years ago I bought a horse with (unknown to me at the time) problems and it caused nothing but heartache and needless to say it didn't end well :(

Having said that I guess it depends on your circumstances. I wanted a horse to ride and could only afford to keep one as I don't have my own land. I wouldn't get rid of a horse because it had problems but I wouldn't knowingly take one on either.

If I had acres of my own land and the horse was paddock sound barefoot and on little/no painkillers I would maybe consider it if I only wanted a companion.

Also it sounds as though by taking the horse on you are doing your friend a favor so why is she charging you? If she is losing her land why can't she keep the horse and move it? I know its none of my business but it doesn't make sense :confused:
 
The short answer would be no, but, have you looked at some of the threads by Lucy Priory and Nic Barker.

If it was me I would probably go down this road, having said that we've been barefoot for years now.
 
I have a horse diagnosed with Navicular. He is sound and drug free, but then I have gone down the shoeless route and it has taken a couple of years. Not only would I not buy a horse with any known unsoundness, I would not dream of selling nor indeed passing him on to anyone else. What ever the reason stated the vendor is passing the buck! :mad:
 
I would initially say no aswell, unless as stated was for companion only - but then you have to work out treatment costs - is it worth it (not in a nasty way but is the horse just going to suffer whether on meds or not)?. Again, the heartache it causes in the long run would be a problem for me.
 
I have a navicular horse was diagnosed 3 montjs after i bought him was still under warranty vet suggested returnig him but i just couldn,t do it.
I have gone the barefoot route and in 6 months he has become much sounder,my EP thinks he will be right by spring, trouble is when you buy them you don,t know what they might get down the line its always a gamble with horses
 
from someone who has had a horse with navicular - no

if only as companion then possible but you need to aware even without shoes the foot needs to be balanced well, hard ground and unlevel ground can make them unsound.
navicular can then go onto coffin joint arthrits, etc.

I wouldnt but its because i have been through having a horse with it.
She could just hack and was sound in specialist shoes. My friend bought her for hacking (well i didnt ask alot of money) and she is in a good home - i have first refusal should they ever have to sell her.
 
We have just had a 6yro diagnosed with it last september and the only way she's be leaving us is if we PTS. We can affford to keep her and she's fine at the moment we're hoping for some light work in the spring but we would never pass her on I'd be afraid of her having a worse life if she left us being passed on and eventally ending up god knows where. I've previously owned a TB with Navicular and the result is always the same. Although you could argue the fact that many things might get them before that but it's a risk attached to heartache!!
 
Yorkshire dumpling said:
i have done my research on the condition and spoken to my vet. but my question is would you buy a horse with it or would you run a mile?
a very good friend of mine is selling her 11yrs old 15.2 who was diagnosed with it about a year ago, he has had pain killers and corrective shoes along with rolled hooves ect ect he is also on bute.
he is getting a little better on his feet and although very cheap (as she is loosing her land) and only to be used as companion, is it wise to buy something which has this condition. he is very lovely and well mannered a perfect horse apart from navicular. i would like to offer him a home but am i going to set my self up for a fall? have you got or had a horse with it? and please could you tell me your experiences please xxx thank you for reading :)
Click to expand...

I would never buy such a horse. I would hate to buy further expense/heartbreak and trouble. The healthy ones seem to give enough of these problems without going looking for them. Sorry. NO.
 
My previous chap was pts through navicular and within about 12mths another 2 at my yard were also put down with the same thing. I spent £3,000 on my horse (as he wasnt insured), but he became so sore despite being on bute and having corrective shoeing that I didnt think it was fair to keep him going. I definately would not purchase a horse knowing it had navicular, I wouldnt want to go through the heart ache again. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top