Ripley farrier services

12/22/2022

Not a fan of freedom shoes but this horse loved them during his acute stage of laminitis bout.

02/18/2022

02/07/2022

Navicular syndrome
Navicular disease
Pain in the back of the foot

So many names for such a worrying issue in our horses.

In this horse, I found the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) quite damaged with yellow brittle hard tissue where it should glide over the navicular bone. I also found adhesions (strands of tissue) between the DDFT and navicular bone.

The navicular bone was also damaged with yellow colour to the fibrocartilage surface where it meets the DDFT plus pitting and a rough feel.

Bet that hurt.

Horse was lame. I’ll be posting a video of this dissection with more detailed information, to my Patreon page.

http://www.patreon.com/hoof studies

Thank you to my small business supporters :

Melissa LaFlamme
Equine podiatrist and teacher
Quebec

Tiffani Radake
Owner at Hug Your Horse
US Hidalgo, Consultant
Illinois, US

01/31/2022

01/30/2022

DANGER…A HEEL CRACK is a WARNING SIGN. See the following example provided by: Josephine Trott, PhD UC Davis during a clinical trial of No Thrush powder

01/30/2022

What's going on inside your horse's hooves during injury or disease? Our sources reveal what they've learned when dealing with common hoof conditions.

01/30/2022

01/30/2022

01/30/2022

01/30/2022

12/30/2021

Can you still have "navicular" with clear radiographs?
My horses navicular x-rays were clear, he can't have navicular right?

This is something I am asked regularly. But the reality is "Navicular" is an all encompassing term for injury to any of the podotrochlea apparatus.
Changes to the bone itself is "Navicular disease" but the range of pathologies that come under the term "navicular syndrome" is extensive.

This image shows just some of the anatomy of this region. We also have structures like the Suspensory of the navicular, the collateral ligaments, the navicular bursa and the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) itself, the list goes on. All of these structures have something in common, you can't assess them radiographically.

Many studies have expressed that radiographical changes seen in the navicular are associated with increased strain transferred onto the area from the DDFT (Thompson et al 1990, Ruff et al 2016, Uhl et al 2018). In fact the very orientation of the navicular bones trabecular bone suggests primary force on it from the DDFT (Waguaspack 2010).

Therefore we can assume the soft tissue structures in the area have been under pathological strain as well.
Sampson et al. (2009) did MRI readings on 72 horses diagnosed with "navicular syndrome" but clear radiographs. Findings were: bone and medullary cavity abnormality; flexor cortex erosion and even bone chips, all bone changes that weren't detectable on the x-rays!

The soft tissue findings were: abnormalities in the distal sesamoidean impar ligament at its origin from the navicular bone; pathologic change in the collateral sesamoidean ligament; pathologic change of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament; pathologic change within the deep digital flexor tendon to include tendonitis, core lesions and para-saggittal splits; increased synovial fluid in the DIPJ and bursa.

The obvious moral of the story is that MRI is the gold standard for assessing navicular syndrome.
With regard to podiatry intervention, with any "palmar foot pain" associated with poor alignment, even with clear x-rays! we have to consider making pro-active changes toward more ideal alignment to reduce the strain on ALL of the structures in the navicular region. So often I see changes not being made because the diagnosis is inconclusive.

further reading at these links..

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/the-beginning-of-the-n-navicular

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/the-truth-about-hoof-pastern-axis

or watch a free webinar at this link...

https://youtu.be/xggVpfmO9BI