Posted by Danvers on April 12, 2003 at 11:18:34:
In Reply to: Navicular Syndrome with erosion posted by Suzanne on April 11, 2003 at 11:01:06:
: Hi
: I have a 12 year old Palomino gelding that I have owned for 5 years. He was a Western Roper before and now I am riding him English. He has a right front club foot and has been diagnosed with Navicular in both front feet. He has always had problems with the right front lameness but after proper shoeing that is not usually a problem. I had xrays done about 8 months ago and the vet found that the navicular bone was barely visible and she was concerned that it could fracture. We started corrective shoeing at that time and she suggested that I could ride 4 times a week for about 30 minutes which I have done consistently since then at a walk, trot, canter. I ride English but he is still very much on the forehand.
: I have also continued the proper shoeing every 5 weeks and the vet is very happy with his feet and how they look. He is much sounder in the front than ever before. I just had another set of xrays done and she found that the bone has not moved but that the bone is eroding the flexor tendon. Over time if this continues it could worsen to a point where the tendon would break and he would have to be put down. We also found that he has active degenerative arthritis in both hocks and have given him 2 rounds of legends which he has responded to already. I have ridden him twice since and he is better in the hocks already after a week. He does not show any lameness at all right now and is very happy. The vet recommends that I retire him. I am a worrier but am not really convinced of what to do right now. I am concerned that I am worsening the situation with this erosion and wondering if I should just accept retirement now. I fear that if I continue to ride and erode that tendon so that he has to be put down I will never forgive myself. Again, I would assume that if it does start to erode he will feel pain?? and I will notice lamenss on the right front. At that point I could stop riding and get xrays. I would like to know if anyone else has had experience with this and what other would recommend in this situation.
:
: Thanks !
: Suzanne
Hi Suzanne,
Most of your questions will be best answered by Dr. Myers, but you might post a few more things that will help him out with a response. Specifically, how were the radiographs done? The quality of a radiograph is extremely important, especially when looking at rarification of boney structures. I've seen lots of poor radiographs where you had to struggle to see the navicular bone--not because of problems with the bone, but because of problems with the radiograph. Were these radiographs done with a portable machine? And were there multiple shots taken?
Likewise, since soft tissue structures don't show up radiographically, other diagnostics must have been done to determine the damage to the flexor tendon. Was this assessed with ultrasound? If not, what procedure was used?
Finally, since you're talking about a club condition existing on the RF, and since you refer to the bone having "not moved," it sounds as if the bone of concern might be the coffin bone rather than the navicular bone. Was there any mention of this?
~~Danvers