Posted by Danvers on April 19, 2003 at 12:02:56:
In Reply to: Navicular horse and dressage training posted by Michael on April 16, 2003 at 11:25:57:
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: Our ten year old gelding has just been diagnosed with navicular disease. We are taking him to a vet-farrier to improve the balance in his shoes and will consider other therapies as needed. He has been sound until very recently and my wife has been learning dressage with him. Our question is: are there any restrictions for a navicular horse in dressage? We are both first time horse owners and are just learning about the disease. Any helpful advise would be most appreciated.
Hi Michael,
As your reading has told you, there are no constants or specific fixes that you can turn to when dealing with this problem. It used to be called "navicular disease." Then, it got broadened to "navicular syndrome," and then it went to "caudal heel syndrome."
While the progressive (or digressive) change in terminology can be confusing and frustrating, I see it as a good thing. Basically, it reflects a recognition that this condition is more complex and varied than our old thinking reflected. The old thinking--the navicular disease mindset--was pretty simplistic; it said the problem was in the navicular bone, that it was broke and that it couldn't be fixed.
The new thinking, while being less specific, simply recognizes that the problem is not cut and dried, that there can be more than 30 explanations/causes for the problem, and that our diagnostics aren't always adequate to identify the specific nature of the problem.
Subsequently, many folks go on a search for the "magic bullet" that will cure the problem--rock'n'roll or banana shoes, Tennessee navicular shoes, gallium nitrate, Strasser trims, pads, wedge pads, reverse wedge pads, eggbar shoes and wedge pads, raising the hoof angle, lowering the hoof angle, reversed shoes or open-toed eggbars, accupuncture, chiropractic, Natural Balance shoes, Isoxoprine, MSM, etc., etc.
The amazing thing about all of these therapies, treatments, and appliances is that we've seen all of them "work." More often than not, two or three of these will be tried before the magic bullet is found and the horse is fixed, so we hear conflicting stories about X working and Y not working. But 99 percent of this is anecdotal, trial and error type therapy and treatment, with no control or monitoring of variables.
Some of the more important variables that don't get much press are time, increased attention, and decreased exercise. I don't want to get reductive here and say that "time heals all," but put all this together and figure that you're decreasing the work load and being more attentive, and it might just be that the horse is getting better over time and may well be getting better in spite of whatever therapies and appliances are used.
For the most part, I think we see improvement in these horses when we focus on basic concerns (A/P balance, M/L balance, support, breakover, and regular maintenance) which should have been attended to all along.
Oh... your question!! Dressage training... While asking the horse to engage and drive appropriately and to get off the forehand would seem to be in his best interests, I think real and serious dressage training might be asking a bit much while you're seeing acute symptoms associated with navicular type pain. Working on circles and promoting a heel-first landing will result in compression and concussion issues that might prove detrimental.
~~Danvers