Navicular syndrome causes chronic forelimb lameness in horses through pain in the palmar heel region, with multimodal management required to maintain welfare for affected horses across often long disease trajectories.
Navicular syndrome welfare involves chronic lameness from persistent pain that affects horses across working and retirement years. The bilateral nature of the pain creates a distinctive functional compromise - horses shift weight forward, show stumbling and irregular gait, and may refuse collection or transitions that load the heels. Pain management through corrective shoeing addresses the mechanical contributions; pharmacological treatment with anti-inflammatories and bisphosphonates addresses the inflammatory and bony pathology. Long-term welfare monitoring using validated lameness scoring ensures that treatment maintains adequate pain control. Neurectomy provides pain relief but masks disease progression - welfare monitoring post-neurectomy is essential to detect deterioration before welfare becomes unacceptable.