Every horse has an area known as the navicular region around their hooves in the anterior limbs. This area may sometimes be infected by the navicular syndrome which may not be categorized as a terminal illness but can really affect the functioning of the horse. When a horse gets this disease, it does not mean that it will be disabled, it can be cured and return back to normal. There are various methods that can be used to prevent and also to treat the infection.
In order to successfully diagnose the disease, there are certain things that the vet can do. The diagnosing needs both physical and radiological evidence to properly conclude that it is the navicular illness. The radiological evidence is usually necessary because there are many other things that can cause the lameness. Jumping into conclusion may make the doctors issue the wrong medication thus complicating the problem.
There are various symptoms that horses with this syndrome demonstrate. First of all, the owner will notice some lameness on the front limbs. In some horses, one of the feet may be lamer but in others both feet get affected. When this happens, the care giver will notice that the horse stumbles when moving. The disease is usually popular on middle aged horses of between seven and fourteen years.
Physical tests can also be carried out to detect the problem. One of them is making observations when the stallion is settling down. An infected horse will try hard to put more weight on the hind limbs by extending the front limbs too forward. The infected horses also show a common physical sign of having the front hooves being smaller than the hind ones this is because they have probably been subjected to less pressure since the infection kicked in.
The veterinary physicians can also use anesthetic medications to verify if the horses have any problems. When the stallion is given the medication they will stop any abnormal actions because the drug will prevent them from feeling pain in any of the affected areas.
After the diagnosing of this illness, the next thing will be taking measures to reduce or stop it completely. Correct shooing is a good way of achieving this objective because it will help to balance the hooves from all the sides thus reducing the pain and enhancing comfort. The horses may also be put under medication to help in increasing blood circulation in the affected area. This treatment may however take long to work.
The care giver can also subject the horse to some exercises to help in enhancing blood circulation. These exercise routines should be done every day of the week for about an hour. By increasing the circulation in the affected area, the horse will be able to apply more weight on the affected region.
Nonetheless, there are some stallions that rarely react to the methods of treatment above. For stallions that show zero change after all the actions above have been taken, the doctors can decide to conduct a surgical process on them. This action is usually taken to remove the unwanted ligaments that mainly cause the pain.
In order to successfully diagnose the disease, there are certain things that the vet can do. The diagnosing needs both physical and radiological evidence to properly conclude that it is the navicular illness. The radiological evidence is usually necessary because there are many other things that can cause the lameness. Jumping into conclusion may make the doctors issue the wrong medication thus complicating the problem.
There are various symptoms that horses with this syndrome demonstrate. First of all, the owner will notice some lameness on the front limbs. In some horses, one of the feet may be lamer but in others both feet get affected. When this happens, the care giver will notice that the horse stumbles when moving. The disease is usually popular on middle aged horses of between seven and fourteen years.
Physical tests can also be carried out to detect the problem. One of them is making observations when the stallion is settling down. An infected horse will try hard to put more weight on the hind limbs by extending the front limbs too forward. The infected horses also show a common physical sign of having the front hooves being smaller than the hind ones this is because they have probably been subjected to less pressure since the infection kicked in.
The veterinary physicians can also use anesthetic medications to verify if the horses have any problems. When the stallion is given the medication they will stop any abnormal actions because the drug will prevent them from feeling pain in any of the affected areas.
After the diagnosing of this illness, the next thing will be taking measures to reduce or stop it completely. Correct shooing is a good way of achieving this objective because it will help to balance the hooves from all the sides thus reducing the pain and enhancing comfort. The horses may also be put under medication to help in increasing blood circulation in the affected area. This treatment may however take long to work.
The care giver can also subject the horse to some exercises to help in enhancing blood circulation. These exercise routines should be done every day of the week for about an hour. By increasing the circulation in the affected area, the horse will be able to apply more weight on the affected region.
Nonetheless, there are some stallions that rarely react to the methods of treatment above. For stallions that show zero change after all the actions above have been taken, the doctors can decide to conduct a surgical process on them. This action is usually taken to remove the unwanted ligaments that mainly cause the pain.
About the Author:
Navicular syndrome is common among ponies and horses. To learn more about this disease, take the time to read the posts here at http://www.naviculardisease.com.
