adovr_d87389c80da99bef8f38776d3f905184 Articles medical and health: Detecting And Treating Navicular Syndrome

Detecting And Treating Navicular Syndrome

By Enid Hinton


The news that your horse could be affected by navicular disease is confusing. Because of scanty information, it may lead to neglect. Persistent research has revealed excellent ways of dealing with navicular syndrome. This ensures that the condition does not worsen out of neglect or inaction. It will keep your horse competitive and extend its lifespan.

Treatment can only commence if the condition is detected early enough. Each case requires particular attention depending on the extent of infection. The condition is likely to be aggravated by the position of navicular bone. It is the surrounding soft tissues that make this condition extremely painful.

The distal sesamoid bone is the surface on which the joint at the foot grinds during movement. This grinding is necessary since the hoof must change angle depending on movement. It is the back and forth bending that eats away the tendons. The tissue gets damaged and very painful for the horse.

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 will be detected on one leg before it spreads to the other. This mainly happens because each leg is affected to its own degree. You will observe that your horse makes shorter strides and will swap legs when the angle is tight or at a corner. It will place the infected leg on the inside.

The landing of the hoof is another indicator that the horse is sick. A horse that is not infected lands from heel-to-toe. When lameness has begun, it will land from toe-to-heel. If these signs are not clear, it is advisable to record the movements and play it later in slow motion. The symptoms are easier to detect.

The wedge and frog pressure tests are carried out for the purpose of diagnosis. In both tests, the horse is trotted in a straight line with one leg held in the air. If the hoof is infected, lameness will increase. Diagnosis requires other tests that act as confirmatory.

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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