Hank with Navicular Disease and Coffin Joint

[Patricia]

I have a 17 or 18 yr old quarter horse, Hank, with moderate navicular and he has EDSS shoes with 5% (i think) angle and doing very well with them. after having these new shoes for approx 1 year, he developed problems with his coffin joint. would the change of angle put more stress on the coffin joint and would it keep effecting the coffin joint? He's having some sensitivity a year later. not sure if it's due to the change to cold weather (Northern California) or possible arthritis, but just wanted to find out from hoof experts what suggestions they may have for me. I probably should get my horse xrayed to see exactly what's going on, but, wanted to check here first, what might be expected for my horse in the future and what I could do to help him. Thank you, Patti and Hank

[Donnie Walker]

Patti - Hopefully, there are radiographs available prior to his induction into EDSS. If it were my horse I would obtain current radiographs for comparison, in order to determine if changes have occured on the navicular bone and/or in the coffin joint within the last year. If that is not a viable option then speculation and experimentation is all that remains. Good luck.