Information On Navicular Syndrome In Horses

By Olivia Cross


This disease mostly affects the front feet and is associated with the congestion of the blood vessels usually in the navicular bone and tissues in the surrounding area. Constant subjection of the bone to compression causes the cartilage to wear out slowly hence becoming less springy and less resistant to shock. Navicular syndrome in horses therefore brings pain to the heel region and eventually leads to lameness in track horses.

To avoid putting pressure to the flamed bone, the affected horse places weight on its toe while walking. When the horse is at standing position, it tends to shift its weight from time to time and an unusually longer time is taken to stop a stride. This is done to relieve pressure and pain from the inflamed bone.

The diagnosis of their condition is based on both clinical signs and radiographic. A veterinarian bases her treatment on what she observes from the x-rays and physical examinations of the hoof region. Normally, an infected horse shows clear signs that provide the practitioner with some or all the information.

When foot testers are used on a sick animal, the most anticipated response is pain during an examination session. The response is in correspondence of application of pressure to the navicular bone. The hoof of the affected foot has been seen to be smaller than that of the opposite leg due to the shifting of animals weight to their unaffected leg.

The level of performance and the normalcy of animals activities can get back to expected levels if proper care and treatment is given to this animal as the disease is not terminal. When human track athlete has bad feet, that does not mean that they will never run again. It only means that they have to be well aware of this condition and take good care of their feet. This situation can be comparable to this condition in horses.

During the first observations, the horse tends to be limping on one foot which is an indication that it is actually lame on both frontal feet. The nerve blockage in the affected foot makes the animal limp on the other leg for support. This should be the ultimate indication of a navicular disease in the animal as it clearly shows that there is something wrong with their movement and posture..

Correct shoeing as opposed to corrective shoeing should form the basis treatment of this disease as most animals get affected due to long shoes an under run heels. It is therefore important for the owner to practice the essential theory of balancing the hooves front to back and side to side. In other words, the front hoof and the back of the shoe should be made to be collimated to its pastern.

The lsoxsuprine is the most effective drug that has ever been used for drug therapy treatment. The drug works by having to dilate the blood vessels thus alleviating blood circulation to the navicular bone. Exercising is another method of increasing blood circulation; hence, the drug gets to work more effectively, speeding up on the recovery process.




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