[Lopinslow]

Bob has navicular in one foot (small adhesion of the tendon) so like most navicular horses, he also has developed contracted and under-run heels. although my previous farriers were doing a decent job (except last one that put one extremely small set on him, which ticked me off to know end) in February after Bob's surgery, i was luck to get in with a FABULOUS farrier that has been working closely with my vet.
About 2 weeks ago, I notice Bob's fetlock swollen after he had been outside pacing the fence to come back in the barn (can we say SPOILED,, he doesn't "like" bugs). in talking with the vet and sending him a photo, he said it was his tendon sheath and he wanted farrier to get much more agressive in trimming and shoeing what is there, to get those heels back under him and provide more support. Now that bob has decided he doesn't want to spend much time outside (he's great at pulling his shoes) farrier followed vet directions of getting agressive ASAP instead of slowly over time. this is what we got, and within a few walking strides, it was clear Bob really liked his new shoes! lol.
so, he was able to cut back the heel as much as possible, then he had to put a 2 degree wedge leather pad and a 3 degree aluminum wedge shoe to get his angle back up.

[Red roan rider1]

Just curious who your new farrier is and where he is located. Thanx

[RickB.]

Bob has navicular in one foot (small adhesion of the tendon)

This is a new definition of 'Navicular' for me. Where is the adhesion and how was it discovered?

What other diagnostics were undertaken to arrive at the diagnosis of 'Navicular'?

I would have chosen to provide more heel support for the horse.

Originally Posted by lopinslow

then he had to put a 2 degree wedge leather pad and a 3 degree aluminum wedge shoe to get his angle back up.

Neither the shoe nor the pad appear to be wedged(the pad looks to be of flat leather).

Take a look at the shoe in my avatar.

That is a wedged heel aluminum egg bar shoe. Though I have modified it into a "banana shoe" configuration, you can still see what a wedged heel shoe looks like. Compare that to the one in the photo you posted.

[Lopinslow]

Originally Posted by RickB.

This is a new definition of 'Navicular' for me. Where is the adhesion and how was it discovered?
first of all, let me say the vet I use is Dr Tracey Turner, so it isn't a back yard ho-dunk vet that diagnosed by horse as navicular without the Xrays and info. ( i hear about a lot of "navicular" diagnosed horses that have never had an Xray). when he was first diagnosed in 2006, there were some changes to the navicular bone. shoeing and a bursa injection worked that summer. March 2007 took a new Xray and saw significant changes just since July of 06, so turner suggested we wait until i was about to start riding to do another bursa injection. mid April, had Bursa injection done, with dye added for a "bursa-gram". It was then that he was able to confirm his belief that there was also an adhesion of the Deep Flexor Tendon. He said in his experience, injections don't work well, or last for a horse with adhesions. a week later, he was better, but still not sound so he went in for a neurectomy

What other diagnostics were undertaken to arrive at the diagnosis of 'Navicular'?
as stated above, he has had several sets of Xrays, a "Bursa-Gram", flex tests, nerve blocks, injections, etc.

I would have chosen to provide more heel support for the horse.



Neither the shoe nor the pad appear to be wedged(the pad looks to be of flat leather).
I did see both the pad and shoe before he put it on the horse, and they did appear to be wedged. i've attached another photo, which was rotated which provides a little better angle. I could be wrong about the wedge amount of each, but i thought that is what he said.


Take a look at the shoe in my avatar.
I like the looks of that shoe and how it is set on the foot. is it possibly a higher degree of a wedge? or maybe because of the rolled toe it appears to be?

That is a wedged heel aluminum egg bar shoe. Though I have modified it into a "banana shoe" configuration, you can still see what a wedged heel shoe looks like. Compare that to the one in the photo you posted.

I looked up several different brands of aluminum wedge shoes, and many look more wedged than others, even all the same degree. I do not know what brand he is wearing, but will probably check when i go over to ride.
I do know he seems much more comfortable and is moving better in these shoes.

even though he was nerved, with the adhesion there is a difference in his stride on that side, which is hardly noticable now since he was re-shod.

[Lopinslow]

Originally Posted by Red roan rider1

Just curious who your new farrier is and where he is located. Thanx

He is located in Princeton MN, but hasn't taken any new clients for several years. I have a friend that has been using him for about 20 years, so she was able to get me in with him. We don't have a lot of options for good farriers up here (he is one of only 6 journeymans in the state), and so far I have been very pleased with him. when i first talked to him, i offered to email him over the Xrays I had, but he said he preferred to go down to the clinic to look at all of his Xrays and talk directly to Dr Turner.

[RickB.]

I like the looks of that shoe and how it is set on the foot. is it possibly a higher degree of a wedge? or maybe because of the rolled toe it appears to be?

It may be a more wedged shoe, but that toe is not realy rolled very much. Rather, the shoe is tapered from the heels to the toe. I just don't see the same thing in the shoe your horse is wearing.

The banana shoe aka full roller motion shoe, is one that I use quite a bit when I am working on navicular horses.