This is another horse that was diagnosed as being navicular. The feet have the classic ‘long toes / low heels’ most often associated with testing positive for navicular. You should be able to see that the weight of the foot comes down on the heels, not the center of the foot. This jams the heels into the hairline, forces the heels to grow more and more under-run, creates much greater stresses on the coffin bone, navicular bone, coffin joint, joints of the leg and even causes pain in the shoulder where the DDFT is attached and it certainly causes the sole to become less convexed due to the break over action of the coffin bone and can, in time, cause the coffin bone to remodel with a ski tip.

The pictures below are from the same horse as the one directly above. The pictures are exactly 5 months apart. The sole has become more concave and the sole is getting thicker. It’s harder to detect any softness of the sole by applying thumb pressure. The horse is less sensitive to the gravel driveway, though she still isn’t ready to handle larger single rocks. They still hurt and cause her to gimp for a few steps. Over all, her hoof condition is improving, though it will be several more months before she is able to handle most any surface without flinching. By March of next year, she should be ready to handle virtually any surface, providing the rehabilitation, or transition period, is maintained.

I hope the information and pictures provided in this article will help show that proper trimming and care can return your horse to a useful, happy life without pain.

If you have questions, I would be more than happy to talk with you. You may contact me 770-312-6909 or through my web site at www.keithseeley.com. I look forward to helping you to get your horse happy and healthy again.