Navicular bone cyst!!! New to forum. Any info will help??

[HalfPass]

Hi
I am totally new to this forum.
I just brought my horse frm pasture for 5 yrs. He is a TB gelding and is from the track. He never raced because I asked my father (breeder) if I could have him. Unfortunately I have been injured myself and unable to keep him with me. I am now better and have the horse in my possesion.
He came with very long feet and aluminum shoes with pads...
I had them taken off and the feet trimmed.
Once he was in a state that I could manage him without to many issue (I had Knee surgery in march) so I can not move that fast.
Anyway.
He had some X-rays done of the fronts and it showed "Solar Fractures of the coffin bone", which are the lesser of the issues.

The big issue is his right front. He has a cyst in the navicular bone! If looking at the navicular bone from the back ( on x-ray) it is sort of shaped like two wings with a point at the bottom and the cyst is about in the middle of the bone over the point.
I will be having an ultrasound done on this foot to see if we can tell if there are any lesions or tears in the Deep Digital Flexar Tendon.

I know from experience that TB's frm the track have the solar fractures and this is common for a TB foot. My horse is very thinned soled and will now require some corrective shoes.
While he was in pasture ...well mostly a 40 x 40 dirt he was fed and not really handled much. He would go through periods of Shoes on (fronts) and shoes off shoes on shoes off.
I do not believe he has ever had Hot fired shoes.

My father has been raising TB;s for the track for years and My horse is 8 and because of me he never raced. Unfortunately because I have gone through so many injuries myself (non-horse related) I have been unable to have him in my care and always about 3 hours away.

That being said...
He has basically ot done much other than at one time was on a woman whom my father worked with...property where she rode him. This was a long time ago and he is basically "green" in that aspect and in the last few weeks we have had to work hard together to gain respect and manors...Progress has been made but because he arrived with long feet I had the shoes taken off and trimmed.

Then the X-rays yesterday finally.

I am concerned about this cyst causing issues with the DDFT (Deep Digital Flexor Tendon)
I have not heard of this condition and I am of the understanding that it could be quite serious if the tendon is constanly riding over the cyst.

The vet will be doing an ultra sound next thursday! Since we are not near an MRI machine...

I am wondering if anyone has had this issue and or any information about it????
She ( the vet) has told me that depending on the severity of the cyst, that lower levels of Dressage may be Okay. My horse is only 8...(young)

I know there will be lots of time and restoration involved in this journey, but I am hoping that it is not to far gone!

He really does well on soft surfaces like grass and sand but because of his thin soles he has so much difficulty walking over gravel type areas.

Please if anyway has any knowleged or experience with this reply!!!
I also need a bit of moral support as I am sort of sad this is going on with him at this young age. I am also especially sensitive when it comes to seeing him in pain.

He seems to be adjusting to his new surrounds, and his attitude is good. This last few weeks has probably been the most movement and good attention that he has had in a long while.

Not that he was not taken care of well with my parents ranch, but I love to spend time with him so he is now getting settled into a routine of being handled daily.

What do you all think....
Right now we are on a 20 minute hand walking a day and 20 minutes of water on the legs both front and back.
He is kept in a pen smaller then his old 40 x 40 and he has a nice shelter to go into. In the winter he will be in a ince warm Barn with a small paddock. It snows here where I live and where he on the parents old ranch was at sea level. We are not at 4700 ft and get snow in the winters...
Hlep for the newbie!!!
Thanks
Half P

[kellyp]

Well first of all I would like to just say that I am very sorry that you are going through something like this-- especially with such a young horse

That being said-- if I were you, I would listen to your vet

See what can be done to help him not be in pain

Personally i've never personally dealt with cysts on the navic. Bone, but I have been around enough horses with navic. Disease/syndrome to sympathize with your situation.

I've seen shoes work wonders for horses with it-- hopefully in this case, it could be something that simple to help him!

[loosie]

Originally Posted by HalfPass    

I just brought my horse frm pasture for 5 yrs. He is a TB gelding and is from the track. He never raced

Hi, I don't have any experience of nav bone cysts but an a hoof care practitioner. Bit confused with the above. I gather he's been at pasture for the last 5 years? How old is he? He's off the track but never raced - does that mean he's been trained & done track work but never actually been in a race?

He came with very long feet and aluminum shoes with pads...
He had some X-rays done of the fronts and it showed "Solar Fractures of the coffin bone", which are the lesser of the issues.

I'm assuming he must have done some heavy training for this to have occurred, as it's not likely to have happened purely from neglect. Was there evidence of fractures which have since healed, or are they currently fractured? If so I'd be interested to know what he's been doing lately, as if he's been just out to pasture for 5 years they should be well healed. Why was he shod?

I will be having an ultrasound done on this foot to see if we can tell if there are any lesions or tears in the Deep Digital Flexar Tendon.

Like I said, don't know specifically about cysts, but could it have come about through neglected hoofcare and being left in shoes? If so, correcting these issues & managing him correctly 'should' make a difference & whether or not there are lesions in the DFT, if managed properly, they 'shouldn't' pose a problem.

I know from experience that TB's frm the track have the solar fractures and this is common for a TB foot. My horse is very thinned soled and will now require some corrective shoes.

Ain't necessarily so. It is likely that his thin soles are directly related to the neglect and being left in shoes. If his feet were long, they were(are?) also likely flared(separated), soles 'dropped'. Unfortunately this is common for domestic horses, not just ex-racers. Also if he's been left on soft pasture & not exercised, there may have been no need for his soles to grow thicker & stronger. There seems to be a 'use it or lose it' clause in effect where hooves are concerned. The more exercise the more they grow.

He really does well on soft surfaces like grass and sand but because of his thin soles he has so much difficulty walking over gravel type areas.

May not be just his thin soles, but tender heels/under developed digital cushions. This is very common, especially if he's lived on soft footting with little exercise. Good management/hoofcare and lots of exercise will help him develop both digital cushions and thicker soles. He will need protection to begin with tho, and hoof boots IME are by far the best for this, if possible. Boots are also far preferrrable to shoes generally, for a number of reasons.

Among other great sites to learn about hoof function & correct management & trimming, you can check out hoofrehab.com From my experience, when they have time to do so, they're also happy to answer email questions, so you could ask them about nav. Cysts.

[HalfPass]

Hello there...

Loosie and Kelly thanks for your support. Yes it is sad about the horse being so young...

Let me see if I can answer some of these questions...

Yes My horse was trained at the track to race. He was weeks away from racing when he almost bowed....I screamed and cried about it and my Dad took him from the track and brought him home. My Dad had given and signed the papers over to me back in 2006 but I never knew about it. Not until a few months ago.
I have had a bunch of my own health probs and injuries which kept me from having my Horse here with me...

He was in his small pasture and sometime he had shoes with pads and sometimes not. As for the solar fractures the vet said that she thinks that they could have been from the track. Now...I would think well...Why did they not heal??? Well my guess is that the type of shoes (just aluminum with pads) was not really a corrective shoe so how could they have really helped him?
I am sure he he just plodded around and did his own silliness at times....
He did go to a womans house for about 3 months where she rode and schooled him but to be hones I have NO idea what she did with him.
This is why I consider him Green! He does not know anything right now except that he is in a strange place, he hurts...and he has his head on a bit backwards....
We are working on that...lol

As for the DDFT...I was told by the vet that if this cyst has not affected that tendon that he will probably have some ongoing issues but with the correct shoing and management will be able to compete in lower level dressage...
You all...
I just want him to get better.....
I think when he was at my parents place he was not neglegted, but a regular corrective shoeing was not done. Just the basic trim and a pad...that does not help things only probably gave him a bit of comfort...

Now that he is in my hands I just pray that tendon is not involved and he can be rehabilitated with TLC and corrective shoes...

I totally do agree that now that he has been out and moving every day (hand walking) that his feet have grown. The right one which is the worse of the two grows faster then the left foot.

I know my dad would put him into a small round pen and let him run around in there....sand surface but if you think about a horse running in a small circle....the way the hoofs land in there and shoes on and shoes off and on and off this could be cause for the continual fractures and mismanaged feet.
I am not saying he neglegted the horses feet...he just does not pamper every horse...He has too many and does not operate in that fashion.

I like to see my horse every day .... I love to brush him pick hi feet....walk around and try to restore his health...
At this time I still have a bit of seperation anxiety.....lol he is about 13 miles away at a great facility with all the horsey ammenities....lol,
But now that he is here I think we will start to grow on one another....
The worst case I guess is that he would retire and have to have constant foot care and management but he is way to young....to just give up on! I can not even go there....
Okay..enough....
I will come on back later and look and read on the forums...
It is time to get moving and go out to see how he is today....get his 20 of walking and 20 of watering his legs..
It is difficult to keep his mind stimulated when we walk at this point so he can still get a little hyper...lol...
Okay I am off for a few hours...thanks for all the support and I hope I answered the questions...Next Thursday I will know more and then get shoes on him ASAP per whatever the vet says.....
HalfPass

[loosie]

Hi again,

Just wanted to say I really admire your attitude to this boy. He's very lucky to have you. But don't discount keeping him bare and trimmed in an anatomically correct way... at least until you study the principles of hoof function, etc. Unfortunately many vets still haven't learned much about it, so your vet may not consider it, but that's not to say it's not valid & effective... more so than 'corrective' shoeing actually.

[HalfPass]

Hey Loosie...
I was actually going to try and keep the shoes off and had a lady trimmer come and take the shoes off right after his arrival. SHe is a natural trimmer. She left me some boots to put over the two fronts and he does travel well with them on. The problem was they are a little large and a bit worn out so the velcro does not work that great.
For now since I know a bit more about what is going on in there I would like to discuss with the vet about "nails" and the sript she wrote and wheter it requires nails...
There are wild horses all over ths region and I teel you what...they come right off the range land and they have perfect feet. Now one must also take into considereration that Mustangs have had this in there geens for many a year...
Other breeds I think also have good foot geens and so we will just have to see what happens...
I am not sure of the complete deal yet...More unfo is needed after the ultrsound and also I will have some questions for her.
I do know that in the past he has had no shoes on and developed issues when the shoes ere off. No one ever took the time/money to X-ray and see what the horses feet looked like.
At this time I am leaning towards having the shoes put on per the vets orders and see what we get until the mext time we are ready for trimming...
My horse is so special to me! I only wish I could have afforded to have him here wooner, but due to injury and finances it ws just not possible.
I am bound and determined to stand by my guy and do my best to restore him to the best health I can....One thing that I will have to do is learn to be patient....
Thanks so much for your support.....
HP

[loosie]

Originally Posted by HalfPass    

take into considereration that Mustangs have had this in there geens for many a year...
Other breeds I think also have good foot geens and so we will just

Ain't necessarily so. There is no evidence that domestic horses have different genes to ferals in this regard. There is also a lot of evidence for it being 'nurture over nature' - that is, nutrition, environment, lifestyle. There have been horses with 'incurable' foot problems who have been left to run wild, only to find them years later sound as a 'real' wild horse. It is also unfortunately common for wild horses with terrific feet to be domesticated & then develop very poor feet.

I'm not trying to push you into anything.... except to educate yourself. I think it's important that you do whatever you think is best. Just try to make it a fully informed decision, rather than just blindly trusting some 'expert'.

[HalfPass]

Loosie,
You make a great point. I would not mind at all to have no shos on! But to some degree I am a bit undecided about what direction I would like to take.
I think when I see the Ultra Sound and its results I will sak some question about what not shoeing him and just keeping him on a reular trim schedular,
If you look at the wild mustangs in my area they have pretty good feet.
The woman I had come out when my horse arrived here is naturak trimmer. I had her take the shoes off, but it seems as though he is just not doing real well with that. At least not at this time.
It will be very interesting to me to see the Ultra sound results and akis to see how he will respond to the type of shoeing the vet is suggesting.
So I am planning to see how it goes for a while with them on....If the situation improves then I may deciddre ti keep it that way. If it seems to stay the same or make things worse I will revisit the whole "bare-foot" thing again, and have my lady Natural trimmer come out and check his feet and discuss things with me.
I am trying my best to really read a lot from the internet, and books and magazines...
So it is a process and my job right now is to just stay on top of things and keep his feet nicely cleaned and do the hand walking etc ...
When he was at my parents he did not have all this attenton like he does with me. Again, not that he was neglected in anyway at all, but I am the type of person who loves to go to the horse and do the grooming and hoof picking and all the other things that come a long with a horse. Now my Dads farm was a much larger scale place and he did not do this on a regular basis (grooming, hoof picking etc)
So my horse has just come to me and is now on a differnt schedule, and has a differnt level of care etc.
Thanks agan for your support
HP