vic_s
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NavicularHi all
I have had my tb mare katy barefoot since april after being told she has 'navicular' from my vet. She was of and on 'not right' from xmas then had xrays and nerve blocks and she had bony changes on her navicular bone. So far she has been sound in walk from about may but still isnt fully right in trot. She is best on the road and iffy in the arena.
Just wondering for those people on here that have rehabbed navic ggs how long was it till they where sound in trot?
Katy has about another inch of hoof to grow then she will have a whole new hoof capsule. So fingers crossed she will just keep getting better 
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Yann
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Not very clued up on this sort of thing but do you use boots and pads for exercise?
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vic_s
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I dont use any boots or pads. I have Sarah B trimming her feet and she didnt feel that Katy needed them. Katies feet have changed so much I would of prob been thru about 3 different pairs by now
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Chris Thompson
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Are the diet and environment all as good as they can be?
It may be worth double checking to see if something that is best kept out has not crept in there
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Yann
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I was thinking along those lines - if she isn't completely comfortable then she won't necessarily be landing heel first, which as I understand it is one of the most important things with these rehabs, and boots (and pads if needs be) almost guarantee that.
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vic_s
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Iam on a DIY livery yard so everything is about as good as I can get it , Katy has her own bit of field fenced off so is on restricted grass. She is in at night with as much hay as she can eat. No molasses or any other naughty ingredients  Having to play about with feed at the moment as she dropped quite a bit of weight.
Most of the time she is landing heel first at the worst she puts her front feet down flat.
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stormybracken
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I assume you've had all the other usual suspects checked - teeth, back, saddle? My boy is finally in a position to have his shoulder/back treated now his feet don't hurt. After months of concentrating on lameness coming from the foot, and years having the "not quite right" back treated, it's now clear he has been suffering from both. 
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vic_s
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Teeth are defo ok, I do think she gets abit sore in her shoulder on her bad leg. Some days she will stand and let you brush her all over then other days she will walk off when you get to her shoulder so Ive just been giving her a massage now and then. Also I do some streaching exercises with her
I have started giving her a joint supplement called Equiflex by Vetvits it has a small amount of alfafa in it but otherwise seems ok. Katy is now at the point were she will trot about 12 strides on a hack and then goes ouch. I try not to trot but when there are scary plastic bags in the hedge I dont have much choice.
Thanks for your replies.
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Moobag
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I am in a similar position to you. I keep my boy at a livery yard where it is very difficult to make the changes i need to make! He has had navicular for about 4 years now, and I have tried everything. To quote my vet...'he's crocked'.
His shoes came off at the beginning of Sept, and he wears a grazing muzzle in the field because our grass is quite rich. I feed him HiFi Lite (poss changing to Fast Fibre soon) and Allen and Page Sugar and Cereal Intolerance Diet. He hated the Copra diet that is recommended and no amount of persuasion worked.
He is a 16.2hh IDx so is a big boy, but he's only 10 so i'm hoping barefoot will prolong his working life. I am still very much a barefoot novice!!
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vic_s
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Hi Moobag
Sorry to hear about your horse, quite a few people said to me to just give mine bute and to just carry on working her. Luckily I have a friend that keeps her horses barefoot and she pointed me this way. Yesterday I took my horse for a walk round one of the fields and she must be feeling better because she thought it was a good idea to sqeal and do a little buck
This forum is a great place to gather info and after many hours researching on the internet I think you never stop learning.
Since her shoes came off I can really see a difference in her hooves after 6 months her frogs have practically doubled in size and they are no longer contracted. The angle has grown much steeper, she has about an inch more to grow then she will have a whole new foot. It takes time and you have to be patient. Good luck
oh and my katy is only 8 and started with typical Tb feet
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Moobag
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Merl was on 2 bute a day before his shoes came off - that was an option given to me by vets when he was first diagnosed!
I agree that this is a great place to learn, i have learnt so much since deciding to give barefoot a go.
I hope Katy does well, I am walking Merl in hand over all sorts of terrain and he is coping with it brilliantly, he had good solid feet.
He is being trimmed on Weds (first time since shoes off!) so am excited about that, may even be able to start hacking in walk after that, we'll see!
How was Katy first diagnosed with navicular? Did you have her xrayed etc?
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vic_s
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Moobag I have sent you a message
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Moobag
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Nothing's come through yet - will give it a bit more time. It'll be my first pm so bear with me!!! Still getting used to the forum and where to find things!!!! 
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SueH
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Hi Vic - I did pm you but missed that there was thread on this too.
Jake's story is on Performance diary so I wont bore you with the details. What I will say is that he did improve in about 7 months after going barefoot to treat navicular......BUT and its a big one, he didnt suddenly become wonderfully sound so dont panic if that doesnt happen.
Jake did get better and better but not without his blips. He passed a lameness test after 7 months but that is not say my horse was suddenly "OK" . Not at all. Jakes feet had grown sufficiently (from stimulus in his comfort zone) to cope with smooth concrete in trot for a short distance BUT they were still crap compared with a truly healthy barefoot hoof.
Even after that Jake still had unlevel steps, phases, days in the first year. He had a period of lameness for a few weeks. If I had an off step I simply backed down the gait. So, if he went unlevel in trot, I backed down to walk for a bit. The school/arena can be challenging as it involves twisting a bit more in a tighter space, so you may see some discomfort reflecting lack of lateral cartileges. I just kept to outside track, enlarged the circle etc. or just stayed out if he was worse in there. The important thing for us has to keep moving. Even when he went lame, after a 'rest' in the field with no improvement, I took him out in hand walking and he came sound in days. I should say that my vet was involved and happy about all this - he is convinced barefoot it best for navicular.
I should also mention that I did tend to mollicoddle Jake and stay in boots too long really. If you feel Katy is struggling perhaps try boots but also try not to get too hooked on them as they can be a bit of a crutch. Jake has improved massively out of boots (now we've addressed sole sensitivity ).
Best of luck and let us know how you got on
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vic_s
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Jake does look very hansome
I can see why you persevered.
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