# Navicular horse owners!



## Horsecrazy4ever (Nov 29, 2011)

What supplements do you give your navicular horses?

How many folks on here ride a horse with mild navicular?

I'm debating between glucoasmine 5000 and MSM ( bioavailable? )

HELP PLEASE


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I bought a horse who ended up having severe navicular but was 1/5
Lame. So very slightly off which was a miracle. I had him on isox and previcox plus special shoes which did help. He was still aloud to so flat work dispite the severity of his navicular but being he was hardly lame the vet said he could be lightly ridden w/t/c. 

Total PIA to deal with but it isn't a death sentence. I also had my guy on flax seed which helps the joints and makes their hair and mane quite shiny!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Horsecrazy4ever said:


> What supplements do you give your navicular horses?


At present I don't have any, but... appropriate supplements to provide well balanced nutrition, same as any horse. Extra Mg a big part of that. Has also been shown anecdotally to help heel development.



> How many folks on here ride a horse with mild navicular?


I'm betting a lot. But 'mild navicular' is a very subjective term. 'Navicular syndrome/disease' is a very subjective & misunderstood term of itself...

If you'd like more specific opinions, you could provide more info about specifics, diagnosis, lameness, etc. And hoof pics. We love hoof pics here! See the signature link below for what's needed for them.


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## ncplunabug (Jul 12, 2014)

My mare has navicular syndrome as well. I have her on a joint supplement, but I don't believe it'll do any thing for her navicular. It has helped with her other joints. She's not as stiff as she was when I bought her.

What has helped my mare out the most is a farrier who a) cares, b) know what to do with a navicular horse and c) has the tools to do it with.

My mare is also on previcox. Great stuff


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

No supplements but on average it runs me about 400 a month between vet and farrier. Last year my daughters show horse had a 5500 dollar maintenance bill for the year


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I feed smartsox and farriers formula (I think is the brand, it's a smartpak). I also give isoxsuprine, 2 a day but I think it's a waste (the isoxsuprine). I give bute when I need to and we do a lot of inventive shoeing. Right now he's using heart bars.... Good luck.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

BugZapper89 said:


> No supplements but on average it runs me about 400 a month between vet and farrier.


:shock::shock::shock: For 'navicular'?? Wow, IME, aside from regular hoofcare, 'navicular' only 'costs' me/my clients padded boots. So that'd be about $400 retail. Once.

OP do consider that conventionally this 'disease' is still treated as 'incurable' so therefore palliative management of symptoms until it gets too bad is what they aim for. This also tends to be a lot more expensive than working to correct the problems that are causing the pain.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Research has proven that oral joint supplements do not help the joints. Just what I read.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Saddlebag said:


> Research has proven that oral joint supplements do not help the joints. Just what I read.


I notice a difference. It's not over night, takes about a month, but I see a difference.


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

loosie said:


> :shock::shock::shock: For 'navicular'?? Wow, IME, aside from regular hoofcare, 'navicular' only 'costs' me/my clients padded boots. So that'd be about $400 retail. Once.
> 
> OP do consider that conventionally this 'disease' is still treated as 'incurable' so therefore palliative management of symptoms until it gets too bad is what they aim for. This also tends to be a lot more expensive than working to correct the problems that are causing the pain.



Farrier alone is 250 every 4 weeks, x rays are done every 6 months to monitor and insure the farrier has all he needs to keep the horse sound and we have the feet injected during the heavy season so there is no chance of a problem at a show. We do not use any other pain management. The horse is a youth breed show packer, so all things considered its
Cheap. We have managed to keep the problem from
Getting worse with our program. It was only expected I would get a couple seasons out of him and we are on kid number 3 and season 6


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

$250 for a farrier visit?? But I guess everyone has their prices for different types of farrier work and guessing your horses have shoes. Mine only charges $40 for a trim every 8 weeks I believe.

To the OP: I'd ask your vet and farrier's opinions about it. Your farrier may be able to give advice but your vet should be able to take xrays and such to tell you exactly what your horse needs.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I do not have enough information to make any suggestions. A lot of how you manage a particular case of heel pain depends on what the cause of it is. 

If the pain is from DDF tendon pain that was originally caused by long toes / low heels / poor foot care, it needs to be managed differently from the horses that have very upright contracted heels.

We have had much better results using half round shoes than we have with High-Lifts or square rolled toes or raised heels.

We had a show reiner with contracted 'very high' heels that responded great to Isoxsuprene and navicular bursa injections. This horse was dead lame without them and I won the Kansas City Royal on him (and several other big shoes) with this protocol.

Mild symptoms on saddle horses (not high level performance horses) can often be managed with very frequent trims, rounded toes barefoot or half round shoes reset every 4 to 6 weeks. It also helps to set the shoes back nearly to the white line and leave out toe nails. With these horses it is all about facilitating early 'break-over' to reduce strain on the DDFTs. 

So, managing heel pain is not a 'one size fits all'. One has to know the original cause of the heel pain, the conformation of the horse must be taken into account, and the internal condition of the navicular bone, the navicular bursa and the tendons.


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## aharlov (Apr 2, 2013)

Explore Rockley Farm's website, and purchase Nic Barker's book "Feet First." Her entire life, 24/7, is spent rehabbing navicular horses that are "hopeless cases," where bar shoes and other palliative methods didn't even help. She has had an 85% success rate of horses returning to COMPETITIVE (eventing/jumping!) homes, and the other 15% DID improve, but not to competitive homes/full work. 
Seriously... check out her book, it is very eye opening. 
This is what she devotes her life to and has for the past 7 years (which isn't very long), but has seen a lot of horses over those 7 years.


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

Roman, a good farrier isnt cheap and the really good ones are not taking new clients. I have been with mine for years, his dad did my horses as a youth. This horse was diagnosed with navicular, after a year of one of those barefoot hacks trimmed him in such a way as to cause damage to the bone. The damage is done, now all we can do is manage it,. A couple of wrong trims would like finish him off to the point of no return. I gladly pay the 250 and for the 6 month x rays. The first year we were xraying his feet with every set of shoes ( that was an expensive year ). Now its just every 6 months.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Yes, I believe I've seen a few horses turned 'navicular' from 'barefoot hacks'. :-( And quite a few from conventional farriery too.


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## aharlov (Apr 2, 2013)

I think my old trimmer caused all my guy's lameness issues, and sadly I didn't know enough about feet then to stop them...


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

Loosie this horse was a disaster. In my world leases are rare and expensive. Anyway this horse was a world caliber and congress horse who was leased out to a high dollar show barn client, or so they thought. Apparently the horse was moved from the training barn and the trainer was told they were returning the horse and could afford it. Anyway horse was not returned and was taken to some backyard stable people had no trainer and they thought they could do it on their own. NOT. When show season rolled around the cat was out of the bag and the manure hit the fan. End result lame horse that the people had cancelled the insurance on. 
The horse was tossed my way to do as I wished and my vet made it happen along with my farrier.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

We bought my dad's mare and had her for 8 years with Navicular. 

Being complete beginners, when the vet x-rayed the hoof with the problem (with shoes one -headdesk-) we were told they were fine.

She had other issues too, but spent the best part of three years on box rest/rehab. 

We moved yards, vet and farrier. The Navicular was clear on the purchase x-rays.

Last year she went lame, and had x-rays done. I am trying to translate as best I can from the German I picked up on, but it was almost as though she had bubbles, or swelling by the bone. She was given a course of tildren on a 50/50 chance. Unfortunately, it didn't work for her. She isn't in pain, she just isn't sound in thr trot. 

The bubble/swelling cleared, but she was still wonky.

Oh, and she had special made O shoes too.

She retired to a family in the Netherlands who give her the best of everything (millionaires!) and she seems to be very sound now. The plan is to send her to a top yard in the area, and then have her under saddle for a few weeks by a professional. They are then going to build an menage, if all goes well. If not, they will breed her.

BUT when she was sound and working, she was a fabulous horse. Ask anebel, she loved her when she visited!


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## danny67 (Nov 27, 2012)

My 8 year old 1/4 horse has navicular disease in all 4 feet. He gets 4 scoops Gluquestrian and 2 scoops MSM daily. Maybe it doesn't help, but it makes me feel better. He gets egg bars and wedges all around. Today he got an injection of Osphos and I am keeping fingers crossed it helps.


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## danny67 (Nov 27, 2012)

P.S. We tried an injection of Osphos yesterday. I am super stoked and keeping fingers crossed it helps.


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