Thellwellmini
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Has anyone ever heard of navicular in minis? I have an 18yr old that has come up lame and the only thing she tests positive for is navicular! Any input would be aprecciated! Thanks!
navicular
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runamuk
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HMMMM I would think if it was navicular it would have shown up much sooner......I hear 18 yr old with foot pain and I am thinking founder rotation of coffin bone etc.....I have very little experience with navicular BUT the few horses (full sized quarter horses) had it show up by 3 yrs........what tests did they do? have they taken x rays to look for coffin bone rotation? .....I would be seeking a second opinion if it were me.
Fred
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Navicular is also referred to as coffin joint lameness. It can occur at any time also,
not every horse founders and I don't see why a mini couldn't develop navicular.
Each horse react's differently to pain the same as we humans do so with navicular
what might seem mild , if the horse has low pain tolerance, might be severe for
that animal. Linda B
Kathy2m
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If my memory serves me right, (it's been a VERY long time since I've had to deal with it) it also has to do with the size and angle of the feet, small feet with a large heavy body. Which is why some QH crossed with TB had more problems got the QH body and TB feet.
Kendra
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Navicular is a strange thing to be diagnosed with, even if your horse was a Quarter Horse. Veterinarians don't use the term "Navicular Disease" easily these days, preferring to refer to this variety of lamenesses as "Heel Pain Syndrome". In the past, any lameness associated with heel pain was referred to as Navicular. Now there are so many variables that can cause the lameness, and it is more often a problem with the coffin joint or the navicular bursa or any number of things, rather than the navicular bone itself.
Did your vet do a navicular x-ray? It used to be that if a horse had invaginations in the navicular bone, it was assumed that was the cause of the lameness, however, with all the "routine" x-ray screening for prepurchase exams, etc, it's been found that there can be perfectly sound horses with navicular x-rays that suggest they should be extremely lame.
What about blocking? Navicular disease is bilateral. When a nerve block is administered to the lame foot, the horse will then show lameness on the opposite foot.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear the results of the diagnostics. I've never heard of navicular/heel pain problems in a Miniature Horse before. Regardless, there are many, many options for treatment to maintain soundness for as long as possible.
Did your vet do a navicular x-ray? It used to be that if a horse had invaginations in the navicular bone, it was assumed that was the cause of the lameness, however, with all the "routine" x-ray screening for prepurchase exams, etc, it's been found that there can be perfectly sound horses with navicular x-rays that suggest they should be extremely lame.
What about blocking? Navicular disease is bilateral. When a nerve block is administered to the lame foot, the horse will then show lameness on the opposite foot.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear the results of the diagnostics. I've never heard of navicular/heel pain problems in a Miniature Horse before. Regardless, there are many, many options for treatment to maintain soundness for as long as possible.
(Don't even get me started on how many "modern-day" QH, and the stock horse breeds 'based' on QH, have feet that are 'WAY too small for their body size/mass-not to mention pasterns that are too upright and offer little shock-absorption capacity....an open invitation to the development of navicular, along with other foot/leg soundness problems.)
I have never personally seen a mini that I thought had navicular. Though I have seen(and consider it a conformational drawback)lots of minis that have extremely small(even for their size), narrow feet, that feature seems not to be the problem it would be in larger,heavier, ridden horses. My feeling is that this is due to the lesser degree of concussion that comes with the fact that the vast majority of minis are NOT being ridden/used for vigorous weight-bearing pursuits, like jumping, cutting, reining, eventing, etc.--and the simple fact of the much lighter self-weight of miniatures. Concussion is one of the greatest precipitating factors in navicular. From what I know, xrays would be the only way to "see" if the horse was indeed"navicular",though.
I have never personally seen a mini that I thought had navicular. Though I have seen(and consider it a conformational drawback)lots of minis that have extremely small(even for their size), narrow feet, that feature seems not to be the problem it would be in larger,heavier, ridden horses. My feeling is that this is due to the lesser degree of concussion that comes with the fact that the vast majority of minis are NOT being ridden/used for vigorous weight-bearing pursuits, like jumping, cutting, reining, eventing, etc.--and the simple fact of the much lighter self-weight of miniatures. Concussion is one of the greatest precipitating factors in navicular. From what I know, xrays would be the only way to "see" if the horse was indeed"navicular",though.
Mnmini
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I would concur with Margo, regarding a mini potentially having navicular. While there are many stock breeds believed to be pre-disposed to navicular syndrom, A LOT of problems are man made. Poor shoeing, is the leading cause. Shoeing with long toes (believe me, it isn't that easy to tell as a lay person), and not enough heel support, can cause a tremendous amount of pain the the heel bursa, that can be nearly impossible to eradicate even with correct shoeing.
That said, heel pain in only one front foot, could be a concussive injury, for example where a horse strikes at another through a divider, and the horse hits their heel on a stall door snuggy, or bottom rail of a pipe fence. Really should be radiographed to see if you have a coffin bone fracture, etc.
That said, heel pain in only one front foot, could be a concussive injury, for example where a horse strikes at another through a divider, and the horse hits their heel on a stall door snuggy, or bottom rail of a pipe fence. Really should be radiographed to see if you have a coffin bone fracture, etc.
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