Are there any other sugestions I can do th help my navicular horse be more comfortable?

Question

I have a 14 year old 16h. quarter horse who was just diagnosed with navicular disease. I have put corrective shoes and got the cortizone shot. I am feeding him supplements which include glucosamine, H A, and biotin, and MSM. He is also getting light work a few times a week so he dose'nt get stiff. I was also told by someone to use DMSO once a day to help with pain. It would help me to hear other horse lovers opinions. I have done research to no end and have done as many things as i can aford. His case is barely noticable on xrays but he limps like a western lope but when he is on the bit no limp at all and he is not sore on the heel with the testers and no arthiritis. Thaks for helping!!!

Answer 1

Pull the shoes.  Get a good barefoot trim and give him time to heal.  There is no such thing as corrective shoeing.  If your horse is lame/injured, artificial mechanics and drugs can mask what is going on but IT IS STILL THERE.  I would like to see those "barely there" films.  You said you had done "research" so let me give you some good things to read.  Take a look at www.hoofrehab.com and read these articles.  The findings represented here are from the latest and most correct and most prominent researchers in the U.S.  I'm so sorry about your horse.  Try to help him as best as you can.  I know there is a lot of conflicting information out there, but I promise you, those shoes are NOT the answer.  Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

I suggest have your vet nerve block him.

Answer 3

Umm...it sounds like you are doing all that you can :) I wish you luck with him.

Be careful with DMSO it causes birth defects so make sure you wear gloves...and be extra percautious with it ^^

Answer 4

The only other thing you can do is ride him only on resiliant surfaces and provide him the same if he is stalled at all...It sounds like you and your vet have the rest covered.

Answer 5

I just thumbed Sovereign7, EXCELLENT answer, especially about the nerve blocking and navicular being a catchall for anything regarding a problem in the bones in the hoof.

Not sure what you're planning on doing with your gelding, but here's what I did for my 16.2 hand sized 4 shod in the front, AQHA gelding and WHY your horse moves better when he's on the bit.

You may have to change his center of balance.  With that heavy backend, that makes it easier for him to support his weight and get off the front end.  Ever ridden a gaited horse?

When riding a gaited horse at a canter/lope, I was taught that the smoother my hands were, the smoother my horse got and to do that was to "pick him up and set him down" which means allowing the horse to "lean" a bit on the bit.

By the time he went navicular (1980), I'd already been doing some dressage with Maxine Clark and could basically move him or his body whereever I'd wanted it to be, either English or Western.  So, I just found a bit he could lean a bit on (Shank Snaffle) and changed his center of balance so he would work off his haunches more.  Of course this was after I had him nerved (That lasted 11 mos) and just prior to Isoxophrine (I love that stuff).  By 1984, I was at my wits end, when I finally put him on the Isoxophrine, 20 tabs in the AM and 20 tabs in the PM.  The change in the old horse was amazing!  Especially after I changed his center of balance.  He was serviceable for another decade.

The one thing they have now that they didn't have back then are Epona shoes!

http://www.eponashoe.com/

My current lesson horse has navicular and has since before I bought him.  With those shoes on and no isoxophrine or butte, this horse can do old reining patterns again he feels that good!

Navicular is NOT the end of the world.

Answer 6

Sounds like you are on the right track and doing a good job with pallative care.....skip the DMSO...you might use it a couple of times but then that's it....really hard on equine skin....dries out their skin and really stings them after a couple of applications.

You might also try "isoxsiprine" which is available from your vet...improves blood flow to the navicular area.

I have to say, when I hear of a new case of Navicular, I often wonder if it's really true or if a vet is using the term "navicular" when they cannot figure out what the exact cause of the lameness is.....Navicular is sometimes a catchall term  for a lameness that cannot be pinpointed in diagnostic testing.  There are other problems to consider  Pedal Osteitis or deep flexor tendon inflamation or an inflamed burse which can mimic a navicular problem.

Some horses will show no changes in the navicular bone and be profoundly lame and other horses will have holes in their navicular bone and show no lameness at all.   So, the question is, "What's really going on with your horse".......

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index....

Some people jump in and treat their "navicular" horses with a neurectomy (severing the nerves) hoping for a cure...this fix is usually temporary as the nerve endings regenerate and you'll find yourself in a worse fix than you were initially.   This fix is NOT to be taken lightly.  

http://www.equinextion.com/id36.html

http://www.recoveryeq.com/navicular_pro....

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/Snavicular....

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx...

Am providing links with additional information for you on "navicular syndrome".....

Good luck with this....navicular "syndrome" can try your patience, and improve your knowledge base on hoof care.  It can be dealt with successfully with the help of a really great farrier and knowlegeable vet....good luck....