DaArrow - 2015-11-06 4:09 PM It depends on how severe it is and what your treatment options are. My boyfriends head horse had one fracture disintegrate the bone completely and the other was intact but fractured all the way through. His only option was to nerve the horse. They were able to do a partial nerve and only nerve the heel so he had toe feeling. He was off for about 3 months after the surgery, probably a month before, and he's completely sound again. He's definitely just an arena horse, still limps on hard ground, and lives in a grassy pasture. So he seems to thrive with that. He even gained like +250 pounds after the surgery because he was finally out of pain, (seems like a lot, he just never really looked fit or developed). He also get's the shoes with really tall heels so he has no pressure on the heel. Some horses can be maintained just fine with injections and corrective shoeing. But he is competitive again as a head horse with the nerving. Honestly, I used to show cutting horses and a lot of them were nerved as well. I would be worried about a nerved barrel horse, just because of the speed and if the ground was quite right and tripping and stuff. Just because ground is so important, I don't know if a nerved horse would be able to barrel race. Lot's of fractures result in nerving. I guess just consult with your vet and see what your treatment options are for long term affects.