My horse was diagnosed with Navicular Disease; doesn it need long heels and wedges or pads under its shoes?
“Navicular” is a very nebulous term; you’ll normally get a different answer from anyone you ask. However, new research by Dr. Robert Bowker, D.V.M. at the University of Michigan has shown that the most contributing factor to this problem is a fatty, atrophied digital cushion which causes a toe-first landing and prevents re-development of the digital cushion…it’s a vicious circle. The horse must regain the ability to land flat-footed, putting passive pressure on the frog and redeveloping fibro-cartilage in the digital cushion. This can be done with natural trimming, reading the landmarks that the foot will provide as its shape and mass change. It’s a gradual process that can take time, but is vastly superior to masking the symptoms with shoes and pads only to get another couple of years of productivity out of your horse.
