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Have a horse witch suffers with Navicular? Know of one? Or just want to find out a bit more about this degenerative disease? I have picked out some key points which I think every horse owner should know.

As mentioned Navicular Syndrome in a degenerative disease and is thought to be responsible for 33% of all forelimb lameness. The cause is still debatable and the syndrome is still in parts not fully understood so treatment varies and tends to be a mixture of expert advice along with what you feel will suit your horse.

Clinical Signs – Signs may not be so obvious to start with, especially to the less experienced equine owner.
A sluggishness when exercised may be noticed along with a restricted gait.
The horse eventually becomes more obviously lame, expecially when turned on circles.
Quite often the lameness becomes apparent when the horse is returning into work after having time off, however in some cases a sound horse can be diagnosed with Navicular.

There is a theory that a horse will have a period of lameness and then become sound then 18-24 months after the orginal period of lameness Navicular Syndrome develops.

Causes – There are many theories as to why a horse develops Navicular and nothing is set in stone.
One of the most common trains of thought is that poor conformation leads to lameness and then onto the syndrome.

Long sloping pasterns, disproportionate body weight to bone and foot size along with shoulder legnths and angles which don’t match with pastern angles, are the some conformational faults linked to Navicular.
Some more, which are typical of thoroughbreds are, long toes and low heels , this foot type promotes pain in the heel region due to extra stresses.

Another theory is concussion. Horses with very upright conformation and small feet are thought to be at a higher risk as they take most of the concussion through the Navicualr region, which is at the back half of the foot.
A lot of concussion takes in toll very quickly as when ridden or excerised the Navicular bone takes most of the weight between the pastern and the coffin bone.

Bad shoeing may possibly be a cause, but many other lameness problems come with poor farriery.

Prognosis – Once the syndrome has fully developed it can never be cured. BUT with strict management it is possible to control and maintain the problem.

There is now a wider range of products on the market which make life with Navicular more comfortable. Some of these are Tildren, Aquaden and the controversial Nurectomy.

However it is important to discuss any changes with your vet and don’t compromise your horses quality of life.

Share below your experiences of Navicular!