navicular

Question
just wondered how you determine how the navicular horse should be shod.this is a reining horse,lots of hard work in the past,now will be a beginners lesson horse just basic riding.what do you recomend ?

Answer
HELLO SUE...THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION...

I shoe a navicular horse and I feel it SHOULD be shod according to
his/her conformation.

Most of the time, young veterinarians will(according to books) relay
a pre-scipt or orders to "elevate the heels...wedge shoes and MANY
egg-bars".
What happens if the horse already has a navicular hoof capsule or
God-forbid both are affected and has an angle of 58 or more degrees??
Is the farrier supposed to stand the horse up even MORE?? Overload
the solar margin of the coffin bone and cause solar bruising?? Absolutely NOT!!
Many times farriers with my experience have pulled these shoes off and gave many a horse instant relief. When you raise the heels excessively, you can overload the impar ligament and cause micro-tears
and inflammation.

Since your horse has had an athletic past, the pastern and shoulder angles should be considered. If one hoof is worse than the other,
then maybe a straight bar-shoe alittle past the back of the heels for extra palmar support and DEFINITELY rock the toe of the shoe to increase breakover and take some relief away from the heels and
bursa. You can have the worse hoof with a bar-shoe and the other in a regular shoe similar in weight and width. BUT be sure to rock
the toe of both shoes.
Since the riding will be less intense, many veterinarians will tell
clients to use a very low-dose of Bute (anti-inflammatory)as "needed"
for days of discomfort after certain days of riding.
Your farrier if qualified...will know to fit the hooves "full" for as much support as possible.

I'm also a "stickler" about feeding supplements for the best hooves I can achieve !!

Best to You and let me know if I can be of more help...
Joepaul Meyers,C.J.F.