Charlie's Story

Charlie is our family horse. He's a 10-year-old POA gelding that our 9-year-old daughter rides. He does some jumping and trails. My husband and I were sensing Charlie had some discomfort and he was bucking periodically. We'd had the vet examine him in the past and he was not lame, but we couldn't put our finger on it. Van's assessment indicated that Charlie had some asymmetrical muscle development, muscle tightness and a gait abnormality which lead Van to suspect there might be something 'unhealthy going on' in the front left foot. We followed his recommendation to have x-rays. Guess what we found?

Van hit the nail on the head Charlie has Navicular disease in that foot and it has been part of the cause of the discomfort. Charlie had been compensating to shift some weight off of the foot and that is why certain parts of his body was sore and stiff at the time of Van's assessment. John's applied the supportive shoeing prescribed by the vet and we implemented the exercises, stretching and a special saddle pad specified by Van. Now, Charlie is doing GREAT! He has stopped the bucking and his athletic performance has advanced. Our vet stated that with this early intervention of the Navicular disease we've greatly reduced the disease progression rate, we'll be able to manage it and can expect to have Charlie comfortable and in service for a longer period of time. We have Van to thank for the prompt intervention.