Do most navicular horses respond to steroid injections in the coffin joint?
I’m trying to decide the next step of treatment for my navicular horse, so I was curious if most horses respond to coffin joint steroid injections.
Tagged with: coffin • horses • steroid injections
Filed under: Joint Treatment
Mine did the first time, in fact, it worked for over 5 years. The second time, it had NO effect. Eleven days ago, he had a Tildren treatment. Overall, I have a horse who feels much better, but I still notice him short on the worse leg.
Edit to add: The next step planned for my horse was navicular bursa injections, but his bone is already to effected for them.
My husband said he’s never heard of it, but it’s possible that some vets are doing it. Nerve blocking is usually the last resort, if other forms of management haven’t worked. Has your horse had corrective farrier work done? How about radiographs to determine if it’s truly navicular syndrome?
Much of the time "navicular" ends up being used to describe any heel pain. If you know that’s the problem because of x-rays then follow the vet’s advice. Something tells me that steroids aren’t a good solution, but to be honest I’m not sure. There are nutritional options, as well as mild pain meds like Bute or human Aleve(Naproxen sodium- it’s about 15 pills for an average 1000 pound horse). Good luck!