Help!

[Michaels]

I have a 5 Yr old QH.

He has been irritable on and off for the past year and a half. Our trainer suggested having the vet look at him as my daughter has been more focused on training him for shows, jumping.

The x-ray results reveild eight 'lollipops' across each navicular bone... reaching as high as mid level of the bone.

The vet rated the extent of the damage a 4 on a 1-4 scale.... :(

What are my options?

[WashingtonBay]

Hello. Not a farrier, but an owner of a 25 year old horse who has had Navicular symptoms in the past. In some cases heel pain can be managed and the horse can go on to work well and feel good.

Without knowing if there might be acute and solvable causes, to have symptoms this young, I might guess jumping might not be the right use for that horse, but I guess my first question is ~what options did the vet give you?~

[Tom Stovall, CJF]

Michaels in gray

I have a 5 Yr old QH.

He has been irritable on and off for the past year and a half. Our trainer suggested having the vet look at him as my daughter has been more focused on training him for shows, jumping.

The x-ray results reveild eight 'lollipops' across each navicular bone... reaching as high as mid level of the bone.

The vet rated the extent of the damage a 4 on a 1-4 scale.... :(

What are my options?

Get a second opinion. Other than for fractures and new bone growth, radiographs, even digital radiographs, are not definitive diagnostic tools and many a horse with navicular bones that looked as if they were more holes than calcium have died of old age without ever taking a lame step.

Most vets rely on nerve blocks, in concert with other tests, for the clinical diagnosis of the various forms heel lameness. Please see <http://www.equipodiatry.com/footpain.htm> for Dr. Tracy Turner's excellent article on the diagnosis of palmer foot pain.