If you know for sure your horse has navicular syndrome, or as it is more appropriately called today, caudal heel syndrome, there are several things that you might try to help the horse feel more comfortable. If the horse has not been appropriately worked up by a veterinarian accomplished in lameness diagnosis, then that is certainly recommended as a first step. Such a workup will almost certainly entail radiographs which will be of benefit to the farrier charged with working with the horse's feet. It will help the veterinarian make a recommendation to the farrier as well as determining what medical intervention is necessary. After determining the appropriate medical treatment, the next step is to determine the appropriate trimming-shoeing regime. All of this will of course be based on the desires and expectations of the horse by the owner and the ability of that person to manage the animal properly. We cannot give you a prescription for shoeing this particular horse other than to say that typically we would want the toes to be short and the heel more upright (increased hoof angle) than might be expected for the average horse. There are many types of shoes and relatively new products that can be used to increase the comfort level of the horse or even keep the horse in work.

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