Re: RC: 'splint' of navicular bone

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

My first endurance horse  (3/4 arab, 1/4 welsh gelding) broke his
navicular - right rear - when he was 7. He was out in pasture and came
in dead lame. We had it x-rayed and the vet advised that the "sensible"
thing to do would be to consider putting him down.  This was not an
emotional option for us, so we got our shoer & vet together and came up
with a plan.  We created a standing stall size pen for him right next to
our kitchen, under a tree, using Powder River panels wired together to
get the right size.  We hung toys from the tree's branches and had a
radio going near him most of the time.  We also put horses in a pen
close by so he wouldn't get lonely.

Froggie had a special wedge pad made and the shoe had long trailers.
The hoof was wrapped to keep it from being banged and to keep weight off
it at first.  I thought he would really object to that foot's being
shod, but he didn't seem to think it was that awful.  All 4 of his legs
were kept wrapped.  He had to stand there with no exercise for weeks.
We had to really cut back on his diet (wanted him on the thin side, plus
wanted to avoid any danger of founder).  He had grass hay only.

His hoof was x-rayed again when the shoe was reset, and since it
appeared to be healing, we kept up the program.  Froggie got to graduate
to a 12x12' pen for the next while.  The next reset, he got to go to a
small paddock, and gradually he was able to have the shoe removed, move
to bigger spaces and eventually to join the herd.

It is now just shy of 20 years later, and although we never felt it
would be a good idea to endurance race him, we have used Frog as a trail
and schooling horse.  He has run barefoot ever since.  He has never been
lame on that foot, although I notice that at rest, it's more likely to
be the one he has cocked and the weight off of.

If the broken bone is in the front, I'm not as sure it would be as easy
to deal with because of the added weight.  The horse must have the
temperament to deal with extreme confinement, boredom and the necessary
cutting back of food.  Froggie really wanted to live.  He took on
responsibility for his own survival - he cooperated completely.  This
was pretty amazing because Froggie has always been the Houdini of
horses, the trickster, and the first one to bang on fence gates with a
front foot to get fed (still does).  When it comes to feeding, there
should be a source of high quality additional nutrition to add to the
hay, but it must not be anything that will add calories or energy, so
you have to be very careful about that (contact me privately if you want
ideas about this).  There is hope in this type of situation if everyone
is willing to cooperate, including the horse, and everyone understands
that the end result may still not be 100% of what one hopes for.  Lif

--
                                     ____________
Lif & Paul Strand   STRAND ENTERPRISES   http://www.fasterhorses.com
           Arabian Horses for Distance Riding
         Internet Research * WebArt * Fine Art
                     Quemado, NM  USA



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