Friday, August 1, 2014

Understanding The Navicular Disease In Horses

By Annabelle Holman


The navicular region refers to an area around the front feet of a horse near the hooves. Navicular disease in horses cannot be classified as a deadly ailment. It is just like a bad foot in human beings. The condition does not usually mean that a person will never walk again. The condition can be treated helping the person to feel normal again. This article explores some information about navicular ailments and how they can be treated.

In order to detect if a horse has this illness, the vet usually uses radiographic evidence and also the physical observations. A series of x-ray tests are usually done to prove that the physical signs are not caused by any other cause of lameness. This will help the veterinarian to avoid issuing the wrong medications.

There are different signs that show this ailment in horses. For example, the horse will demonstrate lameness on the anterior feet. Some undergo the lameness on all front feet with one foot being lamer than the other and for others it usually is one foot. If this takes place, stumbling will be witnessed during locomotion. The illness can be detected on horses of different ages but it is popular on horses between seven and fourteen years.

There are numerous tests that may be carried out tangibly on the horse so as to detect this ailment. You can first observe the actions of the horse when settling down. If it takes the front feet frontward a little to put more weight on toes and not the heels then it might have the ailment. Hoof testers may be used to assess its reaction to pain. You may also observe the magnitude of the hooves for the sick one is likely to be smaller since they could have been dismissed from weight for a while.

The test that will most definitely distinguish this ailment is the rough the use of nerve blocks. In this case, anesthesia that is similar to the one used by dentists is applied on the affected foot. This will numb the foot and stop the pain thus the horse will be seen moving normally again. This is because the lameness of foot will reduce and the horses will stop limping.

Correct shoeing is the simplest way of treating this ailment. The shoes used must be able to balance the hoofs well from back to front and also sideways. The ailment can also be treated with the use of drugs that dilate the blood vessels making the flow of blood to increase around the navicular area. Most horses respond well to this treatment but in varied periods of time.

The ailment can also be treated through some exercise routines that will help to increase the flow of blood in the affected areas. The exercise should be done at least six days a week for thirty to sixty minutes. The main need of the exercise is to train the horse to balance the amount of pressure applied on the front and hind legs.

There are however some horses that find it hard to respond to the treatments mentioned above. In this case, a surgical procedure is usually carried out to cut the suspended ligaments in the affected area. It also carries out neurectomy on the posterior digital nerve.




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