Posted by Phil Armitage on December 11, 2003 at 00:03:19:
In Reply to: navicular horses posted by mary on November 20, 2003 at 12:28:03:
: Do you think a horse with navicular ( syndrom/ disease) can be helped by going barefoot, as many owners testify, after exhusting all conventional shoeing methods without success.
Hi Mary, For starters you should be asking your farrier what he/she thinks. There is alot to learn about horses feet and our understanding of there feet is getting better and better everyday.
I do not think most horse owners have exuasted all shoeing methods for navicular syndrome or the new buzz word caudle heel pain. I see many horses with signes of caudle heel pain do much better with proper shoeing. The statement that shoeing is bad if a horse is sound with shoes and sore without them is nonsense. Does this make sense to you? If I had a horse that was lame and someone made him sound by shoeing, I would hug that person.
I owne a horse that was diagnosed with Navicular Syndrome, I bought him that way and have now owned him for 11 years. I shoe him every six weeks with regular shoes, he is sound, we use to trail ride 2-3 time a week for many years, my daughter currently takes riding lessons every week. He is now 22 years old and still going strong. I have found that as long as I keep him on a reqular shoeing schedule and not allow him to get a long foot he stays sound. I have tried barefoot but his heels are low and eventualy gets sore in the heel and bulb area, he has always had low heels I think the shoes give him the protection he needs and lifts his feet away from the ground just enough to protect the bulb area and he is comfortable. Navicular Syndrome is the scientific way of saying the horse is sore in the heel area and nobody knows why, navicular desease is a definate diagnoses and means the navicular bone is the cause of the paine. A properly trimmed and shod foot brings the hoof back under the horse's leg where it belongs, if the foot gets long the foot gets ahead of the leg and this places alot of stress on back of the leg and tendons causing pain. Even a barefoot horse will grow a long foot and have the same problems and reguire regular trimming, the problem with going barefoot and still working your horse is there is no protection and support for the added weight of the rider and friction of the ground, the horse may do fine on his owne but remember he was not designed to carry a rider and compensate for a rider shifting there body weight on there backs. Shoeing helps protect the hoof from over wearing and also provides support. The real key is proper riding, good hands and legs and balance. The rider can do more harm to a horses back, legs and feet from improper riding than anything else. Anyways I hope this helps, be carefull about things that are not tried and tested over time. Most of the farriers on these boards have alot of experience and knowledge and give excellent advice.
Phil