Hi George, Thank you for the advice. Here is the story, please forgive me for any not-so-good expression or grammar. English is my second language.

I have a wonderful mare, she is 12 years old. We used to jump, but three years ago she showed lameness in her right front. On and off. She was seen by four vets, and a vet hospital staff. She went through a two day long nerve block examination, ultrasounds, where they determined she has a small inflammation on her lateral suspensory branch. Stall rest was recommended for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of strict stall rest she was even worse. Stiff, painful, grouchy. Pasture puff for 6 months with a very quiet herd. We did ultrasounds, shock wave therapy, ultrasounds again in a year on that ligament. The inflammation was gone, the horse was supposedly 100% sound. She was not. Lame, 2 out of 5. Heartbreaking to see a beautiful, athletic animal limp around.

Another vet was called, more nerve blocks and X-rays. This vet suggested the problem with the foot. Horse is barefoot, balanced trims every 4-5 weeks. Vet’s opinion is everyone’s nightmare: navicular disease. Cyst-like lesion in the navicular bone. Isoxsuprine recommended. I had doubts about the effectiveness of that drug after reading many stories about navicular disease.

Finally I found a very interesting site with Gallium Nitrate, and a promising story about Don Dee’s fight with the navicular disease. The Gallium Nitrate was ordered. A week later the mare was started on the substance. Three days later the mare improved from 2 to 1 out of 5 on the lameness scale. She was kept on Gallium Nitrate for 4 weeks. Three months later she has a very slight lameness, I would describe it like 0.5-0.8 out of 5. Hardly noticeable. I am hoping this will resolve within a few months too – after another month of gallium nitrate.

The Gallium Nitrate was diluted to 1%, and did not cause any side effect. The 0.5 liter liquid was given with the grain, I used pelleted feed and pelleted straw to soak up the Gallium Nitrate-water solution. It had a metal-like taste, but the horse did not have any problem with consuming it.

Thank you George Eby for publishing your work and results, you made one more horse comfortable.

With regards,