Navicular Syndrome

No trimming or any food would definately cause tremendous issues.

This horse has been at the current property for over 4 months. He's worked regularly, fed extremely well, and has had his feet trimmed and shod twice. What time frame is a realistic expectation that he will fully rebound? Do horses that have suffered from malnutrition and poor care ever fully recover? I figured that it would take a year in order for me to begin considering him for an endurance prospect, but if that is not realistic, I may need to rethink things. I obviously over-did it on Saturday and will be much more careful with whom I ride with. Whether he has an existing issue or he is just not recovered from his prior home, will probably not be determined for quite a while.

It depends is the only realistic answer.

Diet & good nutrition will get you a long way, but there may be no obvious changes in hoof health from well balanced nutrition for around 9 months. Extra biotin has been shown to help hoof strength & growth, but it is but one of many nutrients which may be lacking/imbalanced & required for hoof health.

I would not be shoeing him and would be trimming more frequently, at least until his feet can become healthier(& I wouldn't shoe a horse before around 6yo at least anyway). Hooves tends to be better in unshod horses generally & shoes can compromise growth & function.

Environment, lifestyle, work & comfort also play important parts in whether/how long it will take to create 'good' feet.

Loosie- My gelding is about 9 and currently has pads. They did the "pinch" test and he showed signs of pain. I have read books about leaving them barefoot, as well as read articles from the Doctor that you mentioned. I believe that leaving him barefoot could be highly beneficial. The only problem is that it is extremely rocky and the ground is very hard here. I ride in mountain desert and the only vegetation is cactus and Joshua trees (which look like cactus to me). I'm worried that the hard ground would damage his feet. I'm thinking that since we aren't able to ride much in the summer anyway (about 110 for all of July!), that this might be a good time to have him go barefoot for a while.
What do you think about leaving a horse unshod on very rough terrain? Do you think that leaving his shoes off for 6 weeks would be beneficial or will it take much longer to see results?

Yes, I think removing his shoes would be one beneficial step, but depending on the state of them, whether he's comfortable enough in his paddock pottering around, it may be too much to leave him bare - he may need boots or pads(look into Vettec) for a start 24/7(IME even those bad enough to need full time protection don't tend to need it for that long on terrain they live on) and will likely need boots or such when worked, by the sound of it.

Time frame? I imagine he'd likely be well enough to go bare in his paddock within 6 weeks, but I haven't even seen pics of his feet & it depends on many factors. Therefore that's only an educated guess, and as for being ridden on rough ground, I'd guess it would take much longer than that & possibly wouldn't ever happen that he was tough enough to go bare on any terrain. However, living on what he's expected to work on helps and even if he can't do everything bare, I think hoof boots these days are generally an effective, economical & healthier alternative.

Navicular problems are very nebulous. They are also constantly changing. You certainly need a vet and a qualified farrier. The real problem (as I see it) is that even with the best practitioners in the world, navicular is a moving target and not easy to deal with.

That doesn't mean that you have a doomsday senario at all, just a nebulous problem that won't likely go away. I recommend to my clients to talk with the vet about nerving the horse. It is somewhat controversial to some, but I try to put myself in the horse's place. I think under the right conditions, that's what I would want for myself. It may get you back to enjoying your equine friend.

When you talk to your vet or search around, here is a guide to navicular in a nutshell
Navicular/ caudal heel pain | Premium farrier services.
Good luck!

Agree 100% with Steel in getting an equine vet (pref specialising in lameness rehab) involved. 'Nebulous' is an interesting description and one I also tend to agree with, because until recently there was very little understanding of the processes that led to 'navicular disease'. Now there is a lot more understanding of what goes wrong/what is needed, although more research is definitely needed, and being recent 'discoveries', much of it as yet anecdotal, many 'experts' have apparently not yet considered a lot of it. It also appears to be a whole foot problem, so only considering the immediate vacinity of the navicular region tends to lead to very 'nebulous' views about it.

Considering the above, it is vital IMO to do your own research into current research & alternative treatments, because it does seem to depend on different 'expert' experiences/attitudes as to what they will even consider, so you may decide that despite what a particular vet says, you feel a different approach(& different vet) would be best for your horse. Eg. Traditionally, until relatively recently, 'navicular disease' has been considered as incureable & so conventional treatments tend to be solely palliative and due to not treating the underlying issues, conditions tend to worsen & palliative treatments also tend to be temporary.

I do not discount the potential value of conventional treatments, as depending on the severity, time frame, age of the horse, etc, providing a little more pain free life may well be the best that can be hoped for in some cases. However, as there seems nothing to lose & everything to gain in attempting actual rehabilitation, I think the palliative approach should be saved as more 'last resort' type practice.

'Nerving' a horse involves severing the digital nerves in order to make the damaged foot insensitive. As it does nothing to treat the problem, removing the feeling without treating or protecting can lead to further injury and the cut nerves can also develop painful tumours & do tend to grow back, requiring further operations, I personally consider nerving to be a very last resort palliative treatment of old & truly incureable cases, to give them a little more painfree time. You can check out this article, for one renowned vet's opinion on the procedure; petArtistWithPeaches horse blog » Dr. Teskey on nerving the navicular horse

Did you have xrays done Or nerve blocking by a lameness specialist? That' s the best way. Navicular is a funny thing
Somedays mine would have it and some times not.
2 years ago I had xrays done just showed alil arthritis.
But he said my quarter horse moved like a paso. Warning 1
He had trouble picking up leads. Warning 2 Then
Always on his tippy toes Big warning 3
He wasused asa lessons horse last summer and he did well.
By November he was bad off . He was beyond thersputic shoeing
And not even a candidate for nerve cutting. Not that I would. Had cortizone shots done too cannon joints too no avail.
Heis 11 years old.
Geta good vet and a good farrier too work together
Find Out Now
The BestOf Luck
It is Heartbreaking
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Why would she wrongly assume what you were going to use the horse for? Think she was trying to tell you something.
Supplements didn't help my horse even the navicular saver
Cortoflex, Hla all it did was give was give him a shiny coat.
Keep him moving circulation is every thing
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