Hi all,

My 7 yr old mare is showing signs of navicular in her left hoof. She is also clubbed footed on this hoof, I have spent hundreds of dollars on her and now I am going to have to make a diffcult decision. I have had joint injections done which gave her some releif, but now the pain is back. My vet made a suggestion of performing another injection into her hoof that may give some relief to the nevicular. Can anyone provide any suggestions, I really don't want to get rid of her but I can't keep spending more money$$$$$$.

Boy, do I know how you are feeling......

X-rays are a must.  If it is true navicular  it will show up in the x-rays.  I spent several thousand dollars on my qtr hrs mare with the same issue (no club foot though).  X-rays showed up normal.  Did she have navicular?  Sure acted like it, but the x-ray's said no.  I did all of the other things that the vet suggested to no avail. Finally the vet says that de-nerving was the last resort. ( wish he would have said that before I spent the massive amount of money over a one year period and still ending up with the same problem.) The de-nerving cost only $650 bucks back then. (and I say "only" because it was a drop in the bucket compared to what I had previously spent)The operation was performed at the Marion Dupont Equine Facility in VA. Top dollar equine hospital, so I'm sure the operation could be done cheaper in other parts of the country. The lameness went away.  (and yes, you gotta keep a keen eye on your horses hoofs)  My mare is fine...........and she had the operation done 4 years ago.  She is about 22 y/o now and has bad arthritis in her knees. (she was a ranch horse prior to me owning her). I have since retired her for she gave me many great rides over the years and has earned her title as "Queen Pasture Ornament".  Prior to her de-nerving, she would lay down at least 20 times a day to get off of that foot. That stopped after the operation. Trust me, I have been there and spent plenty.   The decision I made to have her de-nerved was the best thing I did for my horse and for my wallet.

Also, be sure that the lameness is coming from the foot and not higher up.

Hope this helps, but of course this is what I did for my horse.  I'm sure others have there opinions.

good luck

Oh I forgot to say, that my farrier did his damnest for my mare too, but the end result was still the same.

Sorry, I forgot the most important part, the xrays. This is how the navicular was found, my vet noticed that she did have some rotation in the navicular bone. Also, he suggested egg bar shoes which my farrier has put on her. She is not lying down alot, but she is lame on hard surfaces and walks normal on soft surfaces (sand). Oh, did I mention the epic easy boots that I purchased this also gave some relief. As you can see I just want to make her comfortable and maintain my bank account. 

How long did it take your mare to get back to normal after the surgery.

One overnight stay in the hospital and that was it.  Stiches were taken out by my vet in 10 days.  Can't remember exactly.  The incision was just about  1 &1/2 inches long, maybe not even that long. They  de-nerved both feet, by the way. It truly is not an invasive surgery.  Recover time wasn't a big deal at all.

For me it was a no fuss, no muss situation.  I'd do it again in a heart beat under the same circumstances.  My farrier has a navicular gelding and he's considering the same thing. 

Of course this isn't a cure, but it truly gave relief from pain.  That's all I really wanted for my friend of many years.