Hoof Care Provider/ Farrier Services

Navicular Syndrome & Navicular Disease

Denys Antonenko • Nov 21, 2022

One Minute Discussions #30


Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care 


NAVICULAR SYNDROME & NAVICULAR DISEASE 


Navicular syndrome is a phrase used to describe a situation when the horse has heel pain but no bone changes. Navicular disease is used to describe a horse that has heel pain and bone changes. 


We should dig deeper before saying that the cause of lameness for a majority of navicular horses is navicular bone damage. Dr. James Rooney and Dr. Robert Bowker have scientific proof that bone damage follows soft tissue damage. This means that the soft tissues that surround the navicular bone become weak and unable to bear the weight of the horse, resulting in caudal foot pain and lameness. From the lack of soft tissue strength comes bone damage and deformation. 


I’ve also seen countless cases when the horse was diagnosed with navicular syndrome but actually had aggressive thrush. 


Our goal in trimming and managing these horses is to protect and develop the heel. Many times people think of wedging the heel so it won’t have any ground contact, and it may work for some time since it removes the pain from lack of stimulation BUT at the end of the day all we’re doing is worsening the condition and weakening these soft tissues even more! 


With teamwork from the farrier/trimmer, vet and owner, there’s a huge chance of recovering a navicular horse from lameness. 


Denys A. 



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By Denys Antonenko • 23 Apr, 2024
Click on the button below to download the free PDF step by step guide to building a dry lot or scroll to look at the guide below!

Leave or remove the lamellar wedge?

By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #66 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care LEAVE OR REMOVE THE LAMELLAR WEDGE? The lamellar wedge is the adaptation of the hoof to internal problems. And although it’s a sign of inflammation, it may still serve a purpose during rehab. It’s still responsible for “glueing together” the wall and sole, but that “glue” is not as strong as it’s supposed to be. So how do we address it in the trim. Everything depends on the horses comfort level and the condition of the lamellar wedge. It won’t be a wise decision to totally remove the lamellar wedge if it is soggy, weak and not fully keratinized. But in a lot of cases it is safe to remove most, if not all of it, if the lamellar wedge is keratinized, dry and sturdy (especially if we’re putting the horse in therapy boots). In some cases it is a good idea to trim the bottom, flared growth evenly with the well connected top growth in order to reduce leverage on the lamina as much as we can. Denys Antonenko

What causes lamina separation?

By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #65 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care WHAT CAUSES LAMINA SEPARATION Yesterday on my group I posted a question… what causes lamina separation? And although we’re used to hearing the most common things that separate the lamina, such as poor diet, metabolic problems, excessive toe leverage, etc, we don’t often hear about the less common things that can lead to a path of lamina failure without us noticing it. You’ve heard me say it many times before that lamina failure is not a result of just one thing. There’s always multiple factors contributing to the problem. As an example, bacterial and fungal infections weaken the foot, and that can result in lamina separation. Mental and physical stress can increase hormone levels which may result in poor hoof health. Many different problems happening elsewhere in the horses body (skin issues, allergies, dental problems) can be a factor that leads to a weak lamina. Denys Antonenko
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