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Skip Navigation LinksAll Horse Topics > Lameness (Hoof) and Shoeing > Navicular Problems


Articles ( * = TheHorse.com members only )Date Posted
Firocoxib Dose for Navicular Pain and Osteoarthritis Established  *
When it comes to pain management in horses, the words "osteoarthritis" and "phenylbutazone" seem to work in tandem. But not all veterinarians are sold on the routine use of this drug in horses. Phenylbutazone is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-pyretic properties. Unfortunately, it also has known ... Read full story
 7/8/2009
Research Needed to Better Understand Navicular Disease   *
Navicular disease was first described 250 years ago, when it was called "coffin joint lameness" because the lameness came from inside the horse's hoof. Nearly a century later, the term "navicular joint disease" began to be used to describe the degenerative disease. Navicular affects the horse's navicular bone, the small bone in the back of the foot, ... Read full story
 4/29/2009
AAEP 2008: How to Take Foot Radiographs   *
Taking radiographs (X rays) of horses' feet is "arguably the most common form of imaging performed by veterinarians--for lameness, prepurchase, laminitis, and podiatry examinations," notes Keith Merritt, DVM, owner of Merritt & Associates Equine Hospital in Wauconda, Ill. He presented a discussion of how to properly take foot radiographs at the ... Read full story
 4/6/2009
AAEP 2008: Navicular Bursa Injections   *
When a horse has pain in the rear half of the foot, injection of the navicular bursa (sac cushioning the navicular bone from the deep digital flexor tendon) is often considered as a treatment option. Corticosteroids (to control inflammation) and possibly hyaluronate (HA, to improve the bursa's lubrication and decrease synovial inflammation, or inflammation ... Read full story
 3/30/2009
AAEP 2008: Tendon Angle and Lameness   *
Why might one horse suffer from injury to the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) in the navicular area while another doesn't? A recent study suggests that the angle of the DDFT as it passes over the navicular bone might have a lot to do with it. Justin McCormick, MS, a senior veterinary student and assistant at the University of California, Davis, completed ... Read full story
 3/15/2009
MRI Diagnostics: Uses and Limitations   *
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to create various types of cross-sectional and three-dimensional images. While commonly used by physicians, MRI has only been used in equine clinical cases for the past decade and has come into widespread use just within the past five years. This modality provides superior ... Read full story
 1/5/2009
Investigating Palmar Foot Pain  *
“We have two papers that will be published this year comparing horses without radiographic changes that were diagnosed by MRI with damage in the heel region,” says Sarah Sampson, DVM, of Washington State University. “We looked at 72 horses with clinical signs (of palmar foot pain) that have become lame within the last six months. In the second paper ... Read full story
 9/1/2008
Cases that Mimic Navicular Disease  *
"With MRI we've found horses with coffin bone fractures that weren't visible on X rays, but were treated like navicular horses because they blocked to the heel," says Sarah Sampson, DVM, of Washington State University. "If these are managed like navicular horses, they don't heal because they don't get the rest they need and are not put into a shoe ... Read full story
 9/1/2008
Hope for Navicular Horses  *
Know the injury to your horse's foot before calling it "navicular." In earlier years, a diagnosis of navicular disease was often considered career-ending for a horse. Chronic lameness was typical, in spite of therapeutic shoeing, medication, etc., and sometimes the only option to help the horse travel sound was a neurectomy (the cutting of nerves ... Read full story
 9/1/2008
Managing Navicular Pain
Q: My horse was diagnosed with navicular syndrome about five years ago. He was put on isoxsuprine and half a gram of Bute twice a day, and we changed his shoeing regimen. He has been sound since, and he remains sound, as long as he gets the Bute and is trimmed on a regular basis. He is now 19 years old. He occasionally becomes lame when the ground ... Read full story
 7/1/2008
Washington State Vets Studying Navicular Treatments  *
Navicular disease, or inflammation of the heel, is one of the most common causes of performance-limiting lameness in the front legs of many different types of horses. Although it is common and veterinarians have long recognized and treated it, the cause of navicular disease is poorly understood. "A wide variety of treatments have been used on horses ... Read full story
 2/11/2008
Navicular Horses Needed for Washington Vet School Study   *
Navicular disease or syndrome is one of the most common causes of performance-limiting lameness in the front legs of many different types of horses. Despite the frequency with which the disease occurs and how long it has been recognized and treated by veterinarians, the cause of the problem remains poorly understood. As a result, a wide variety of ... Read full story
 10/11/2007
Function of the Palmar Foot   *
Several lameness problems can exist in the rear (palmar) half of a horse's foot; most bear the very general title of "heel pain." The real problem is that without very careful diagnosis, lameness in this general area might be attributed to the wrong structures within the foot, and treating the wrong structure is ineffective at best. Additionally, understanding ... Read full story
 3/24/2007
MRI Provides New View of Navicular Disease   *
Based on more than a thousand MRI exams at Washington State University (WSU), Robert Schneider, DVM, MS, an equine orthopedic surgeon at WSU, reports that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will locate the pathology of navicular disease 90% percent of the time. Schneider spoke about equine foot lameness at the Western Performance Horse Forum held ... Read full story
 3/16/2007
Readers Vote: Top Hoof Issues  *
A poll of readers showed laminitis, navicular disease, and barefoot vs. shod were their top issues involving horse feet. When horse owners were asked in a poll on TheHorse.com, “What do you think are the top problems relating to the health of a horse’s foot,” we received answers that might surprise you. Of nearly 1,500 respondents, more than ... Read full story
 1/28/2007
Veterinarians Use MRI to Diagnose Navicular Injury  *
Clinicians at Washington State University recently published a case report about a mare that was referred to the university's veterinary hospital with chronic left front lameness. The mare's X rays showed her lame leg was clean, so veterinarians turned to MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which told a different story--blunt force trauma. The mare's ... Read full story
 10/18/2006
New Diagnostics Help Decipher Navicular Pain  *
One of the most exciting aspects of Sport Horse Medicine recently is the work being done with diagnosing lameness that involves the back half of the foot in equine athletes. This means deciphering all the anatomical structures in the region that may be potentially injured, identifying the injury to the structure and then applying an appropriate treatment ... Read full story
 8/9/2006
Shock Wave Therapy for Pain Relief and Healing  *
Take a lame horse, inject him with stem cells or cells from a pig's bladder lining, zap him with extracorporeal shock waves, and what do you get? That's just one of several research projects involving extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) that are underway or have been recently completed. Following are reports of some recent research using ESWT ... Read full story
 11/1/2005
AAEP Convention 2004 Wrap-Up: Lameness  *
Lameness Diagnosis via Head and Pelvis Movement "I used to think I knew how to evaluate a horse's movement for lameness, until I started to look more carefully. Two highly experienced practitioners can evaluate a lame horse and come up with different (lame) legs," said Kevin Keegan, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of veterinary medicine ... Read full story
 3/3/2005
AAEP 2004: Shock Wave to Treat Navicular  *
Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, recently evaluated extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in treating 32 horses with navicular syndrome diagnoses. He presented the results of his research study during the 2004 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, ... Read full story
 1/24/2005
MRI Reveals Heel Problems   *
Equine foot problems come in a variety of forms, but they have one thing in common: They all pose a concern for the horse owner because without healthy feet, a horse's ability to do much of anything is severely compromised. The old expression "no foot, no horse" was appropriate when coined, and it remains so today. Technological advances have greatly ... Read full story
 9/1/2004
Treating Navicular Disease From Inside the Bone   *
Healthy bone undergoes constant metabolic change to prevent bone loss or abnormal remodeling (cell turnover) that can occur with loading. Horses with navicular disease can have abnormal remodeling and formation of osteolytic lesions (areas of broken-down bone) within the navicular bone. This might be due to an imbalance in bone metabolism, with increased ... Read full story
 7/1/2004
AAEP Wrap-Up: Lameness  *
P3 Alignment In Laminitic Horses "Chronic laminitis is a frustrating and, at times, disheartening condition to manage," said Stephen O'Grady, BVSc, MRCVS. "Treating chronic laminitis is always a challenge; here we move a bit away from veterinary medicine into the mechanics of farriery." With chronic laminitis, O'Grady said that toe-downward ... Read full story
 3/1/2004
AAEP 2003: Kester News Hour  *
With researchers worldwide working on solutions to various horse health problems, there is a veritable mountain of information being published continuously. Much of this information is included in AAEP convention presentations, but some of this valuable research was either too new or brief to be included in the program. Thus, the Kester News Hour has ... Read full story
 2/18/2004
Shock Wave Therapy for Horses  *
What is shock wave therapy? Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) focuses a highly concentrated, powerful acoustical (sound) energy source to a focal area. The shock waves induce increased activity of bone-producing cells and might also lead to increased circulation in the focal region. As a result, the focal area undergoes a more rapid healing ... Read full story
 9/1/2003
Heel Pain in Horses   *
Your previously normal horse has developed lameness, which you notice as a stiff, short-strided gait that is worse on the turns and worse on hard ground. Giving your horse phenylbutazone (Bute) dramatically improves the signs of lameness for a period of time, but the lameness persists and gets slightly worse. With these clinical signs, the fear of ... Read full story
 4/1/2003
Navicular Syndrome/Heel Pain   *
There is probably no truer adage, "No hoof, no horse." Without this solid foundation, a horse cannot perform to his potential no matter how well trained, how fit, or how athletic he might be. A steady clip-clop rhythm at the trot gives you a sense of well-being as each hoof beat chimes aloud that your horse is sound. But when that cadence becomes even ... Read full story
 4/1/2003
AAEP Convention: Kester News Hour   *
Probably the best-attended session of the AAEP annual convention, the Kester News Hour provides brief reports of studies that were too new or too brief to be included in the longer scientific sessions. Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the president-elect of the AAEP and a surgeon at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.; and John Madigan, ... Read full story
 3/1/2003
AAEP 2002: Kester News Hour  *
Probably the best-attended session of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) annual convention, the Kester News Hour provides brief reports of studies that were too new or too brief to be included in the longer scientific sessions. Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the president-elect of the AAEP and a surgeon at the Rood and Riddle ... Read full story
 2/3/2003
Hoofcare Education at Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium  *
One of the most common comments at the 15th annual Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium in Louisville, Ky., Jan. 21-23, 2002, was that if farriers or veterinarians don't have a passion for working on laminitic horses, they shouldn't take the cases. Horse owners know that a laminitic horse is a high-maintenance case in terms of treatment and convalescent care, ... Read full story
 4/1/2002
Wanted: Colorado Horses With Navicular  *
Researchers at Colorado State University's (CSU) Equine Orthopaedic Laboratory are once again recruiting horses suffering from navicular disease to participate in the second phase of a horseshoe study. The first study, which began last August, exhibited success using different types of shoes to diminish lameness caused by imbalances in hoof conformation. ... Read full story
 4/1/2002
CSU’s Equine Orthopaedic Laboratory Seeks More Horses with Navicular Disease   *
Researchers at Colorado State University's (CSU) Equine Orthopaedic Laboratory are once again seeking to recruit horses suffering with navicular disease to participate in the next phase of a new shoe study. The first study, which began last August, exhibited solid success in diminishing the lameness caused by imbalances in hoof conformation. The research ... Read full story
 2/19/2002
Navicular Syndrome Diagnosis  *
"Navicular disease is very difficult to study, because you can't reproduce it in a normal horse," said Earl Gaughan, DVM, of Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "You can't then work backward from the disease to find a cure. The pathogenesis for navicular syndrome remains unproven, but there are some common trends." He discussed ... Read full story
 1/25/2002
Navicular Disease: Genetic or Acquired?   *
Navicular disease can derail a performance horse's career. Arthritis-like changes in the navicular bone, including cysts, channels, chip fragments, and bony spurs, become visible on radiographs, but there is controversy about the connection between such changes and clinical lameness. Does intense work physically alter the shape of the navicular bone ... Read full story
 1/1/2002
Study Shows Cosequin Helps Navicular Horses   *
A recently published clinical study conducted at Auburn University Equine Hospital supports the use of the nutraceutical product Cosequin in navicular syndrome cases. Cosequin is manufactured by Nutramax Laboratories. Navicular syndrome (also known as podotrochleosis) is a significant cause of forelimb lameness in horses. This is a complex condition ... Read full story
 1/1/2002
AAEP 1996 Convention Wrapup  *
A variety of topics, ranging from the sophisticated to the mundane, were discussed by presenters who offered their findings under the umbrella subject--The Foot. Opening the session was Tracy A. Turner, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS, of the University of Minnesota. He discussed the "Predictive Value of Diagnostic Tests for Navicular Pain." A study at ... Read full story
 10/18/2001
Navicular Syndrome  *
Are America's horses getting lamer? Are we asking too much of them? Are they just not building (or breeding) them the way they used to? Call it what you like, but an epidemic of navicular-type lameness problems is sidelining an alarming percentage of our performance horses, causing early retirements, drops in performance levels, hard-to-measure pain ... Read full story
 10/10/2001
The Brave New World: Navicular Syndrome Treatment  *
In spite of the best care given to horses in the history of their domesticated lives, record numbers of carefully bred, reared, and trained saddle horses are prevented from fully athletic lives by the crippling disease known as "navicular syndrome." More a condition than a disease, navicular syndrome mystifies the veterinary profession by existing ... Read full story
 10/9/2001
WEVA: On the Move  *
They met in Italy to exchange information about reproduction, sports medicine, infectious diseases, transportation, and surgery. The more than 300 delegates from 29 different countries, including Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States, heard topics addressed in Italian and English. With so many ... Read full story
 10/8/2001
Stepping Ahead: Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium 2001  *
Laminitis is one of the most serious and difficult-to-treat diseases horses can get, and only by learning everything about this problem can we prevent and treat it successfully. Enter the 14th annual Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium held Jan. 25-27 in Louisville, Ky. This symposium has long been a mecca for farriers, researchers, and hoof-specialty veterinarians, ... Read full story
 6/1/2001
Navicular Problems: Symptoms and Treatment  *
So many times, a horse gets labeled as suffering from "navicular," and people shy away from him as if he were Typhoid Mary, not knowing how to treat or even visualize the problem. In recent decades, however, much has been learned about the area where the navicular bone lies. And many "set in stone" diagnostics (such as "lollipops" in the bone seen ... Read full story
 6/1/2001
Bar Shoes  *
Once regarded as pretty radical, bar shoes now are experiencing something of a renaissance. In particular, egg bar shoes are being fitted to more feet now more than ever before-even those belonging to horses in high-intensity athletic careers, such as racing or showjumping. The reason? Simple--they work! The term "bar shoe" encompasses any type of ... Read full story
 7/1/2000
Egg Bar Shoes  *
She was holding the lead line so tightly her knuckles were white. Her eyes were glued to the farrier's fingers as they felt the horse's coronary band. Then she looked into the eyes of the veterinarian and wailed, "You've got to do something! I have to show this horse this weekend, and he can't go to a horse show wearing a bar shoe. No one will ever ... Read full story
 8/1/1998
Navicular Bursography  *
Navicular disease once was called ‘the last resort of the diagnostically destitute (practitioner)’ based on the syndrome's ambiguous symptoms and the practitioner's inability to isolate definitely the source of the horse's pain. In the 1980s, navicular disease was believed to be the most over-diagnosed lameness in American horses. The reason? You could ... Read full story
 3/1/1998
The Art of Therapeutic Shoeing  *
Michael J. Wildenstein, resident farrier at Cornell University's large animal clinic, has approximately 400 different types of therapeutic shoes hanging on the wall of his clinic. Each one, he says, was made for a particular lameness or disease problem to fit an individual horse: aluminum shoes for a fatiguing jumper, plastic shoes for an endurance ... Read full story
 11/1/1997
Neurectomy  *
Many people have heard of "nerving" a horse for navicular disease, as was mentioned in the Step-by-Step column in the August issue of The Horse. But did you know that the nerves in that heel area can grow and eventually allow the horse again to feel pain? This innervation or regrowing of the nerves is the norm rather than the exception with a neurectomy. ... Read full story
 10/1/1997




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