# Supplements to help with navicualar



## enc0410 (Jul 16, 2014)

This past March I took my Saddlebred mare to a lameness specialist that diagnosed her with a slight navicular condition. Since then my farrier has been working with her angles and I have been riding her. She is almost completely sound now! I am wondering if there are any supplements that could further help her. I read some online that suggested black pepper or tumeric. Does any one have any experience with any remedies? The lameness specialist prescribed bute, which I feel is too strong for what she needs. I know there is no cure, so please no rude comments. That gets really annoying.


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## budley95 (Aug 15, 2014)

Turmeric seems to be a "wonder drug" at the moment! I work in human suplements, and everyone wants turmeric...It's an anti inflammatory so couldn't comment on how successful it would be with navicular? Devils claw might be worth trying or danilion but if you're vets suggesting bute I'd probably go with it!


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## enc0410 (Jul 16, 2014)

Bute is a perscription pain killer I'm trying to avoid using. An anti inflammatory would help relieve pain/pressure in the foot. I might try tumeric.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

It would take a LOT of tumeric to have any effect on the horse.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi,

As for palliative treatment, bute is an effective anti inflammatory, but I would caution long term use, and caution against riding a horse on bute - it may well make the horse less sensitive, but not prevent further injury to weak feet, especially since the horse may do more than is good for it due to feeling better.

Agree with squirrel, that you'd need a LOT of turmeric generally, to make much effect on a horse. Many herbal type things are like that, and also are not generally 'quick fixes' but a cumulative thing. I have heard good reports about Devil's Claw for horses, for pain/inflammation though. Same cautions about it being palliative only, as for bute, and I have no idea how this may effect digestion etc when used chronically.

As 'navicular syndrome' is basically due to weak heels & ill functioning feet, the best 'supplements' to actually help develop them are more about aiding properr hoof function, environment, management. But diet & nutrition is a vital ingredient, and there is much anecdotal evidence that certain nutrients can assist development of the hoof, including the caudal structures. Check out Gravelproofhoof for more on that. You can also look up Dr Robert Bowker's site & work, as he has a lot of good info on 'navicular' & other hoof related stuff - heavy reading but worth it!


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## danny67 (Nov 27, 2012)

I feed my guy Gluquestrian (4 scoops) and MSM (2 scoops) and go easy on the sweet treats, but I can't resist one tiny little apple a day. Maintain a healthy weight on the lean side, and eggbar shoes with wedges and a strict 6-7 week trim with a qualified journeyman farrier, and lots of xrays on file with a good vet practice.


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## haywalker (Aug 30, 2014)

*Riva's Remedies*

Go to the website and contact them. This is an equine homeopath of decades who does clinics and has wonderful products to help horses with a multitude of issues. We have used her for years and she has been able to solve problems in our horses the vets could not. We currently have an elderly rescue gelding that may be showing signs of navicular. We have already put a call in to her as veterinary options for navicular are few.

There are certainly anti-inflams and pain killers that you can use, such as Bute, but they only take the pain away temporarily. They do nothing to get to the root of the problem and help heal the horse. Many diagnoses of navicular are often other subclinical issues which the homeopaths at Riva's can help you determine. 

I definitely would urge you to contact Riva's.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I use smartsox and it seems to help. I also gave mine the Tildren shot. It's not FDA approved but if you have a vet that is certified to give it, they can get the drug from the UK and administer it. It's pretty magical. I feel strongly that it was worth the 1200 that it cost.


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

farmpony84 said:


> I use smartsox and it seems to help. I also gave mine the Tildren shot. It's not FDA approved but if you have a vet that is certified to give it, they can get the drug from the UK and administer it. It's pretty magical. I feel strongly that it was worth the 1200 that it cost.


What is tildren? I haven't heard of that one.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I think it may have actually be approved now.
Will Tildren Help Your Horse? | Horse Talk Magazine

I copied and pasted a couple things from the above article:

Tildren was first used in human medicine for treating diseases that cause bone loss such as osteoporosis and Paget’s disease.

A recent research study showed that 100 percent of horses suffering from acute navicular disease (affected by the disease for six months or less) responded to Tildren treatment, whereas only 60 percent of horses that had chronic disease (affected by the disease for greater than six months) responded, and that of the horses with more acute navicular disease, 75 percent returned to normal work within six months.


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## aharlov (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm surprised about the comments that a lot of turmeric would be needed to help a horse.. there is a group on Facebook called "Turmeric User Group," with 33,000 members, most of whom use turmeric for their horses. 2 teaspoons-1cup a day, depending on the horse (NOT depending on the size of the horse!!!!). This remedy has NOTHING to do with weight, or size, actually... I've followed the group for a while and seen dead lame horses go sound (through video of course) on turmeric.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Yes Ahrlov, I should have considered that point before I opened my... typing fingers! ;-) I do realise that there are many things like that, which don't go by weight & bigger animals/people don't necessarily need more. Something else I should look into it further.


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

loosie said:


> Hi,
> 
> As for palliative treatment, bute is an effective anti inflammatory, but I would caution long term use, and caution against riding a horse on bute - it may well make the horse less sensitive, but not prevent further injury to weak feet, especially since the horse may do more than is good for it due to feeling better.
> 
> ...


Thank you for this link on the gravelproofhoof. It's very informative. I'm going to try the magnesium chloride for my boy. I'm going to have to get creative though I think...my boy does well on forage alone with his weight/conditioning with salt/mineral block so there's no feed to dress it on.


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## aharlov (Apr 2, 2013)

I would go with MagRestore- they sell it pelleted and might not need to put it on a feed. I just give my guy Tractor Supply Timothy Grass pellets which has NO additives besides sun cured Timothy grass. That's how he gets his supplements.


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## Avishay (Jun 14, 2014)

Around here a lot of vets prescribe a drug called Isoxsuprine for navicular, but I've also had multiple people tell me that the over-the-counter Adeptus product HMB Robust has been a lifesaver for the condition. 

Tildren is definitely a popular choice for a lot of bone conditions in horses right now. I recently attended a seminar taught by the US Olympic Jumping team veterinarian Richard Brian Markel, DVM, MRCVS wherein he had both some good things to say about Tildren and some serious concerns over how it's being used. He personally does use it, but said that he and most of his colleagues are quite wary of it as well. I don't know enough to be an expert on the drug, but I do know that another prominent vet in the seminar also expressed concerns about how "liberally" it's being used, and cautioned that while there are definite short-term positives with it's use, vets don't have enough history on the long-term implications of it's use to feel really comfortable with it yet.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Yep, drugs certainly have their uses, but I'd tend towards rehabbing the horse, to try to fix the problems if possible, before resorting to palliative only measures. ;-)


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## aharlov (Apr 2, 2013)

Gave my horse 2 dosages of turmeric and tonight he was sound... I wish he would be sound without the use of turmeric. 
I gave him 2 teaspoons of turmeric, 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, and 10 "grinds" of the pepper grinder.


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