QH with narvicular

I am looking at a 8 year old QH with narvicular in her right front. I am looking for a trail horse. The lady said she is 100% sound with a wedge shoe. Would this ever make her un ride able?

Navicular can be very serious, I would first have a vet that you trust take x-rays and watch her move, and look at her history.
I would *always* do a pre purchase exam, ride her and watch her move.
It can be manageable though, talk to your vet :)
Good luck!

PPE xrays can reveal a navicular bone shot full of holes & the horse never take a lame step, ever, never. I had a mare with navicular, she was kept in eggbars & pads and a very tight farrier schedule. I had her for years, showed her, trail rode her etc, odd days she would be a bit off, but no major lameness. I do believe without the farrier I had, she would have been lame. Without the shoes, (I sold her to an acquaintance), she went dead lame and another farrier tried working with her, no improvement, so she was put down. Before I would take a navicular horse, I would need to have a farrier proficient in treating navicular, a commitment to never let the horse go without a proper ortho package and of course a PPE to see if other things happening within the horse.

This, in the long run, could be a very expensive horse, even if given to you. Plus the heartache should the lameness return even with special shoes.

I would be very cautious about buying a horse with 'navicular' if you aren't very knowledgeable about it &/or if you're going to manage it conventionally. IME yes, treating this sort of thing with wedges, etc, means you're very likely to have lameness problems & further damage down the road. That sort of thing is an often effective palliative measure but not a 'fix' or a longterm or permanent palliative.

If she's shod now, is it possible to have her shoes pulled so you can watch her move on different surfaces? Sometimes "navicular" is tossed out there when it isn't in fact the issue. If you're still interested in her, I would say it's worthwhile to find out more. And go from there. ?

Truthfully, I would never pay a purchase price for a horse with navicular, even if he was a multi-time world champion show horse. I would be really iffy about taking one in for free. There is just too much care that goes into it with too questionable a prognosis. Sure, there are some horses that can live good, long lives with navicular and still be useful...then there are others that go downhill very quickly and end up beyond help...and even a sound one can go downhill very quickly.

Now, I know that may sound a bit petty of me because "navicular horses need good homes too", but if I'm looking for a horse that will be a useful riding partner for the years to come, then one with an already present lameness isn't where I would look. If I was looking for an expensive pasture puff that might have to plod around at a walk for pony rides for the kids once a year, then I might look at a Navicular horse.

Underlying causes of "navicular" can in many cases be rehabilitated, I would love to see every horse have that opportunity. Here is one of many excellent websites discussing "navicular disease" if you're interested in reading:

Navicular Cases - Sandy JudyEquine Art & Hoofcare

ETA, here's one more: http://barefoothoofcare.wordpress.co...pain-syndrome/