Navicular disease (now understood as a spectrum of palmar foot conditions) is a common cause of chronic forelimb lameness in horses, causing progressive welfare suffering that requires a multi-modal management approach.
Navicular syndrome causes chronic lameness and foot pain that progresses without treatment. Affected horses shorten their stride, land toe-first (further stressing the inflamed structures), and become reluctant to work on hard ground. The bilateral nature means that horses may compensate by bearing more weight on hindlimbs, developing secondary back pain. MRI-guided diagnosis allows targeted treatment of the specific pathology rather than empirical management. Regular farriery with appropriate shoeing modification — egg-bar shoes, heel wedges — significantly reduces pain by altering load distribution on the painful structures. The welfare goal is maintaining comfortable, functional ambulation for as long as possible through combined veterinary and farriery management.