When your horse is said to be suffering from navicular disease, you are likely to panic and avoid it because you do not understand the condition. The availability of scanty information about navicular syndrome does not mean that it cannot be managed. The condition requires early intervention before it gets worse and reduces the lifespan or competitiveness of your horse.
Recognizing early signs is necessary so that treatment can begin in earnest. There are various options available depending on the particulars of each horse. The positioning of the navicular bone, which is also known as distal sesamoid bone, is likely to aggravate the condition. There are soft tissues around this bone that make the condition very painful.
The distal bone and surrounding tissues wear out because of constant motion. This happens as the horse changes positions while in motion. The forward and backward bending of the hoof during motion eats away the tendons causing extensive damage and a lot of pain.
Wearing-out of bones and tendons results in a lot of pain. Pain may result from other conditions and therefore confirmatory tests need to be carried out. The hoof may be injured during training, racing or normal activities. Inflammation will also cause lameness. Performing horses are usually exposed to this condition.
There are breeds with more cases than others because of their disposition. They include Warm Bloods, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. There are more cases reported of these breeds than others. In most of these cases, the horses were aged between 7 and 14 years.
Caudal heel pain is mainly caused by such factors as broken forward or backward axis, under run heels and abnormality in the conformation of hooves. Shearing and contracting of heels also causes a lot of pain. Mismatched hoof angles and disproportionate hooves in horses are the other factors.
Lameness affects one leg before it spreading to the other. You will observe this because each leg is affected to a particular degree. The first signs are swapping of legs around the corner or at tight angles as well as shorter strides. When swapping the legs, the affected one is placed inside.
During movement observe how the hoof lands. The normal landing is heel-to-toe but for an uninfected horse. It will be toe-to-heel if it is sick. In order to make clear observations, you may record the horse on the track and observe the video in slow motion. You will notice the swapping of legs and changed landing style.
There are two common tests for diagnosis. The frog pressure test and the wedge test. In the two cases, pressure is exerted between the toes and the horse trotted for a while. The lame leg will get worse over time. A confirmatory test is required since other conditions may give similar signs.
The veterinarian may opt for aggressive or conservative treatment depending on severity of the hoof. It is important to restore balance but this should be done gradually. Shoeing helps to reduce uncertain ground contact and gradually restore balance. The veterinarian may use anti-inflammation drugs. Un-nerving of hooves is done through surgery.
Recognizing early signs is necessary so that treatment can begin in earnest. There are various options available depending on the particulars of each horse. The positioning of the navicular bone, which is also known as distal sesamoid bone, is likely to aggravate the condition. There are soft tissues around this bone that make the condition very painful.
The distal bone and surrounding tissues wear out because of constant motion. This happens as the horse changes positions while in motion. The forward and backward bending of the hoof during motion eats away the tendons causing extensive damage and a lot of pain.
Wearing-out of bones and tendons results in a lot of pain. Pain may result from other conditions and therefore confirmatory tests need to be carried out. The hoof may be injured during training, racing or normal activities. Inflammation will also cause lameness. Performing horses are usually exposed to this condition.
There are breeds with more cases than others because of their disposition. They include Warm Bloods, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. There are more cases reported of these breeds than others. In most of these cases, the horses were aged between 7 and 14 years.
Caudal heel pain is mainly caused by such factors as broken forward or backward axis, under run heels and abnormality in the conformation of hooves. Shearing and contracting of heels also causes a lot of pain. Mismatched hoof angles and disproportionate hooves in horses are the other factors.
Lameness affects one leg before it spreading to the other. You will observe this because each leg is affected to a particular degree. The first signs are swapping of legs around the corner or at tight angles as well as shorter strides. When swapping the legs, the affected one is placed inside.
During movement observe how the hoof lands. The normal landing is heel-to-toe but for an uninfected horse. It will be toe-to-heel if it is sick. In order to make clear observations, you may record the horse on the track and observe the video in slow motion. You will notice the swapping of legs and changed landing style.
There are two common tests for diagnosis. The frog pressure test and the wedge test. In the two cases, pressure is exerted between the toes and the horse trotted for a while. The lame leg will get worse over time. A confirmatory test is required since other conditions may give similar signs.
The veterinarian may opt for aggressive or conservative treatment depending on severity of the hoof. It is important to restore balance but this should be done gradually. Shoeing helps to reduce uncertain ground contact and gradually restore balance. The veterinarian may use anti-inflammation drugs. Un-nerving of hooves is done through surgery.
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