navicular disease a - liberated...
TRANSCRIPT
1CAROLE HERDER
LHA
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N A V I C U L A R D I S E A S E
L I B E R A T E D
H O R S E M A N S H I PTM
H E L P I N G P E O P L E & H O R S E S
W O R L D W I D E
LiberatedHorsemanship.com
Your source for multi-disciplinary, science-based information about the care and use of horses.
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N A V I C U L A R D I S E A S EAnd the barefoot Horse
Copyright © 2010 Carole Herder, President, Cavallo Horse & Rider Inc.
Published in the United States by
Liberated Horsemanship PressP.O. Box 546
Warrenton, MO 63383
Contributribution #18 from Liberated Horsemanship.
Cover Design and Page Layout by:
Dr. Bruce Nock, Liberated Horsemanship
This publication may be reproduced and distributed only in its entirity and with appropriate acknowledgement to the author, Cavallo Horse & Rider Inc., and Liberated Horsemanship.
This article is intended for educational purposes. Neither the author nor the publisher has liability or responsibility for any actions arising from the information shared in this publication.
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arole Herder has been involved with horse health since 1994. She speaks
publicly on the benefits of keeping horses barefoot and as close to their
natural state as possible. Her company, Cavallo Horse & Rider Inc.,
develops, manufactures and distributes horse products in 24 countries
worldwide. Carole and her partner Greg Giles designed and patented both the Cavallo Simple
and Sport Hoof Boots. They work rigorously to develop and create products that provide comfort
and protection for both horse and rider.
For information:
www.cavallo-inc.com
Phone +1 604 740-0037
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A B O U T
T H E
A U T H O R
C
he idea that working horses can be barefoot is not new. Horses have a long
history of barefoot performance and have carried fully armoured men into
battle. They have been used for fieldwork, war and performance in their
natural barefoot state.
The hoof is a miraculous structure designed with innate intelligence to function as
support for the weight of a horse in movement. In its natural state, when a horse's full weight
descends, the hoof is sandwiched between that load and the ground. The hoof spreads apart,
allowing the coffin bone to drop, like a trampoline. This is the natural shock-absorbing feature of
the hoof. The walls spread (up to 6mm from side to side) and the sole draws flat.
The question is: When metal is nailed in all around, how can the hoof function properly?
Where is the shock absorbed? Perhaps it's absorbed in the sensitive tissue of the hoof or further
up the structure of the leg. The proliferation and growing use of products containing
glucosamines, MSM and anti-inflammatories is a result of our inadequate understanding of the
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N a v i c u l a r D i s e a s e
shock-absorbing features of the hoof. Allowing our horses hoofs to function more naturally will
show a decrease in their symptoms of pain and discomfort.
The metal shoe is nailed on with the idea of protecting the hoof, or with no real goal but
just because it has always been so. The shoe is nailed on when the hoof is in the air, at its
smallest, most contracted shape. The hoof is not expanded with weight-bearing or movement,
and it is then held firm in this in-the-air state by nailed-on metal; there is no spreading out and no
room for the coffin bone to properly descend. So as the coffin bone pushes down under the
horse's weight, it bruises the solar corium because the sole cannot draw flat to get out of the way.
The pain caused as a result of bruised solar corium is often sadly diagnosed as Navicular
Syndrome. We must ask, “Is it the pressure from the descending coffin bone or is it the damaged
bone that is painful?” Under X-rays the bone is shown to be deteriorating. Enlarged holes and
passageways through the bone are a result of congested blood. Lack of circulation causes the
arteries to swell which pushes against the bone, causing deterioration to bone spongiosa. It is
often the lack of blood circulation that is the real cause of bone corrosion. Pain results
additionally, through irritation of connective tissue, stress on ligaments and tendons, and bruising
when bone tissue meets corium.
We call the Vet because our horse is lame, and too often the horse is diagnosed as
“Navicular.” However, instead of treating the cause by re-establishing natural hoof function, we
treat the symptom: we have bar shoes applied and the horse walks off, supposedly sound. We
think the bar shoes are an extraordinary cure, when what is really happening may be just the
opposite. Even less circulation! In a normal horseshoe shape the frog still makes some contact
with the ground and the blood pumps there. With a bar across the heel circulation is fully limited.
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The horse can walk because he cannot feel his feet. His hoof is numb and the internal damage
continues.
Pain medication can mask the condition. Surgery is questionably risky. Both have
negative side effects. Either way, pulling off the metal shoes and rehabilitating the hoof to
perform its natural function is the only way to correct the condition. The choice is yours.
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L I B E R A T E D
H O R S E M A N S H I PTM
H E L P I N G P E O P L E & H O R S E S
W O R L D W I D E
LiberatedHorsemanship.com
Your source for multi-disciplinary, science-based information about the care and use of horses.
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