RodeoGirlJodi - 2014-04-28 1:10 PM  I'm in the same boat as you are.  I had just purchased my WPRA permit and planned to run my gelding at his first pro rodeo, then he came up lame a week before.  He was my mount I planned to make rookie of the year on.  Got my navicular diagnosis a week ago today.  Same as you with the spur on the bone and a few cycsts (but they had been there since he was young).  Went to the most reputable vet here in Tennessee.  He already had Tildren at a younger age.  So, she decided to inject his coffin joint to begin with.  Thinks we will get about 4-5 years out of doing that evry 6 months if he stays the same.  Then we can move to injecting the bursa, since it is hard on the ligament/ tendon you have to inject through (can't remember which she said).  Then, if he is a goood candidate after an MRI we will nerve him if needed.  She thinks I can still follow my dreams on him, and I pray every day that I can.  I won't be able to afford a horse of his caliber again for a LONG time.  



I will tell you what she told me to do. 

• Wedge shoes (2-3 degree) and a pour in pad half way (just from the tip of the frog back) to absorb shock.


• Inject every 6 months.


• Keep up my IM injections of Acetyl D Glucosamine Chondroitin


• A good fed through supplement like Cosequin ASU.

What I plan to do.

• Equi-Bone (ordered my first bag and I'm waiting on it to get here. She told me it may or may not work.  If I could afford it, try it.  I really can't afford it, but if it may help, I find a way.)


• Soft Ride boots with the special orthotics for navicular.


• Aculife patches on his foot.

Hope this helps and I will be praying for you and your horse.  It IS POSSIBLE for him to still be your ONE!!! Have hope!  Ignore the hateful people that don't understand how much riding and competing on this horse means to you.  If you need anything feel free to message me (:

Rope-N-Run - 2014-04-29 1:09 AM IMO you need to find a really experienced lameness vet. One that specializes in lameness in equine athletes. Have you looked into Tildren, Stem Cell, or PRP? Did you a MRI? Many times navicular horses also have tendon issues going on in the foot, you could be dealing with a bone and tendon issue. Sorry for the questions just trying to get a better understanding of the situation. It sounds to me like she needs shoes, maybe a low degree wedge. Has anything else changed besides work load such has her feet being in a damper/wetter area, deeper or harder ground either in her pen or where you are working her. Just going off what you said I would do coffin injections and shoeing, if that doesn't work I would then try pour in pads, then go to a wedge if needed. I would also do a yearly shoeing apt with X-rays to keep track of any changes and to make sure the angles are correct.

Just Bring It - 2014-04-29 10:02 AM


Go ahead and ask all the questions you want! I want some advice so if you need to know more ask away! I have looked into Tildren but I do not believe she is a good candidate since she does not have holes in her navicular bone but has spurs. What I read about Tildren is that it works at filling holes (very simply put...lol). My vet did talk to me about Stem Cell but it was pretty expensive to do but it definitely is an option I have been considering. I talked to my vet about an MRI and she said it would be a waste of money (yeah I did not like that response either but when she told me the cost I took that option off the table because I just couldn't afford that at the time). If it was a tendon issue what exactly could be done for it in that area? How do you treat a tendon issue in the hoof? She has had time off so what else can be done? I was wanting to get x-rays taken again when I take her in because it has been a little over a year since our last x-rays.

Thank you for all the advice! 

RodeoGirlJodi - 2014-04-28 1:10 PM

 I'm in the same boat as you are.  I had just purchased my WPRA permit and planned to run my gelding at his first pro rodeo, then he came up lame a week before.  He was my mount I planned to make rookie of the year on.  Got my navicular diagnosis a week ago today.  Same as you with the spur on the bone and a few cycsts (but they had been there since he was young).  Went to the most reputable vet here in Tennessee.  He already had Tildren at a younger age.  So, she decided to inject his coffin joint to begin with.  Thinks we will get about 4-5 years out of doing that evry 6 months if he stays the same.  Then we can move to injecting the bursa, since it is hard on the ligament/ tendon you have to inject through (can't remember which she said).  Then, if he is a goood candidate after an MRI we will nerve him if needed.  She thinks I can still follow my dreams on him, and I pray every day that I can.  I won't be able to afford a horse of his caliber again for a LONG time.  

I will tell you what she told me to do. 

• Wedge shoes (2-3 degree) and a pour in pad half way (just from the tip of the frog back) to absorb shock.
• Inject every 6 months.
• Keep up my IM injections of Acetyl D Glucosamine Chondroitin
• A good fed through supplement like Cosequin ASU.

What I plan to do.

• Equi-Bone (ordered my first bag and I'm waiting on it to get here. She told me it may or may not work.  If I could afford it, try it.  I really can't afford it, but if it may help, I find a way.)
• Soft Ride boots with the special orthotics for navicular.
• Aculife patches on his foot.

Hope this helps and I will be praying for you and your horse.  It IS POSSIBLE for him to still be your ONE!!! Have hope!  Ignore the hateful people that don't understand how much riding and competing on this horse means to you.  If you need anything feel free to message me (:

luvrdeo - 2014-04-29 11:44 AM Mine wasn't a candidate for Tildren either because the damage was too far gone - he had tendon damage on top of everything else going on in the bone. We tried different shoeing, injections, you name it - he'd stay sound for a month then it would all fall apart again. End of his 6 yr old summer, he was so lame I had to quit riding altogether. My vet talked me into the stem cell and PRP, and he hasn't taken a lame step since. It was a gamble, he really didn't think it would work due to the extent of the damage. I went in a few weeks ago (it's been a year and a half now) and my vet said if he hasn't come up lame since the stem cell, most likely everything has been repaired and he should be sound for the rest of his life. So, we are going to hit the road hard this summer! I wouldn't think twice about the stem cell with the success I've had.

Just Bring It - 2014-04-29 12:14 PM


I have an apt on Thursday so I will talk to her more about it then. Thanks! It is so hard seeing the costs of everything and knowing nothing is a certainty.  How lond did it take for you to notice a difference? 

Give me the lowdown on what the procedure was and what the time frame for everything was. :)

luvrdeo - 2014-04-29 12:29 PM


They did the procedure in August - it was a half-day deal, they pulled the stem cells out of his rump, and injected them along with the PRP into his bursa. He was more sore in his butt than anything, because they had to dig around pretty good to get what they needed poor guy! Since we were headed into winter, my vet wanted me to leave him off until the following spring to give it as much time as possible - he said the longer the better in order to heal/rebuild. He was sound right off the bat from the PRP, but that faded, and he kind of went back to being off ever so slightly. I left him alone after that, and in January I started watching him (he was turned out on pasture all winter to allow for plenty of movement). He trotted around sound, so I got on him one day, and had a friend watch to see if he was off. Took him back to the vet, did an exam, took some video, and I was sent home with instructions on bringing him back slowly! When I first brought him back, he went right to running in the 1D, and was consistent for once. He's doing good enough now that I finally bit the bullet and bought my permit - when I told my vet he gave me a big hug! Quite the success story!

I 100% understand the cost and uncertainty, I thought I was a fool for going forward with the stem cell...but we had no other options at that point. And with mine being a gelding, I was stuck. What do you do with a 6 yr old gelding who knows nothing but barrels and isn't calm enough to be a kids horse?! LOL. My vet and I are both sad this wasn't around a few years prior, when I had to practically give away my superstar at the time who had a hole in her pastern joint along with a tendon issue - he just knows we could have saved her too :) It's pretty good stuff!

Just Bring It - 2014-04-29 12:38 PM


Thank you so much for your positive story!!! I will definitely continue to look into it and talk more seriously to my vet about it. Oh and I better talk to the hubby as well. Maybe he will be help me decide. He really likes this mare and believes in her so I think if I knew I had his support I would feel better about all this. It is just so hard sometimes to spend so much on vet bills constantly. We have so much other stuff that we plan on wanting to do around our place and we can't because of all this money getting spent on darn vet bills (and equipment repairs, etc, etc....but that is life).

luvrdeo - 2014-04-29 12:54 PM I've yet to make it through a year without at least a $2k vet bill, it's awful!!! Never-ending battle at my house ;)

Just Bring It - 2014-04-30 8:02 AM


Go ahead and ask all the questions you want! I want some advice so if you need to know more ask away! I have looked into Tildren but I do not believe she is a good candidate since she does not have holes in her navicular bone but has spurs. What I read about Tildren is that it works at filling holes (very simply put...lol). My vet did talk to me about Stem Cell but it was pretty expensive to do but it definitely is an option I have been considering. I talked to my vet about an MRI and she said it would be a waste of money (yeah I did not like that response either but when she told me the cost I took that option off the table because I just couldn't afford that at the time). If it was a tendon issue what exactly could be done for it in that area? How do you treat a tendon issue in the hoof? She has had time off so what else can be done? I was wanting to get x-rays taken again when I take her in because it has been a little over a year since our last x-rays.

Thank you for all the advice! 

Rope-N-Run - 2014-04-29 3:14 PM For tendons I really like PRP injections. Another good supplement you might want to consider is Smart Tendon. It is for tendons but has Silca in it, Silca is what is in Osteon (plantinum's bone supplement). IMO I am sure I will get flamed but before I put my horse on Equi-bone I would first make sure they are on a balanced diet containing all the vit/min they need in the correct ratios, since if you look at equi-bone, and talk to them that is essentially what it is. First and foremost I would put shoes on your horse with your vet (shoeing apt.) and take x-rays to make sure that the horse is level and is not broke forward for back. Get a GOOD shoer (not saying that yours isn't) that is willing to work with a knowledgeable vet, and possibly do injections (just to get the inflamation out). Again, IMO, shoeing, balanced diet, and fitness are the 3 most important things when it comes to keeping your horse sound. Before doing Stem Cell, PRP, or Tildren make sure you are consulting with a vet that has done the treatments before and has good understanding of the type of horses each treatment works best on, most places offer financing, its usually the type of financing that has no interest as long as it is paid of before a certain date. I used Care Credit the first time I did tildren, my horse won enough in the first 3 months I was able to cover expenses and pay it off. Also what kind of hay are you feeding? I would take a strong look at your calcium:phosphorus ratio. Here is the program I have my horse on: Feed: LMF Show Time (3-4 lbs depending on work load) Supplements: Smart Tendon, Acetyl-d-Glucosamine, Previcox (1/4 daily up to 1/2 pill when traveling & running), FORCO, Lung aid, DMG & Ulser Shield (when traveling) Other Care: Shod every 3-4 weeks in the summer, Soft Rides, PHT bell boots, Magic Cushion when hauling longs ways or if I have ran on hard ground. Of all my other care the most important is the shoeing, if you are on a tight budget that is the best place to spend money, next would be soft rides if you are going to be hauling a lot.