Navicular syndrome causes progressive forelimb lameness and chronic pain in horses, with modern management offering improved welfare outcomes.
Navicular syndrome causes chronic forelimb pain that significantly reduces quality of life and working capacity. Because horses adapt their gait to offload the painful limb, the condition also creates secondary musculoskeletal problems throughout the body. The historical management approach — corrective shoeing and NSAIDs — managed rather than treated the condition. Advances in MRI imaging have allowed more precise diagnosis, enabling targeted treatments for specific pathology. Bisphosphonate injections have shown efficacy for some cases. The welfare priority is accurate diagnosis, adequate analgesia, and appropriate workload modification — which requires honest assessment by both veterinarian and horse owner about realistic expectations.