The Navicular area is the region on the front feet near the hooves of the horses. Navicular disease in horses is not a terminal illness. It can actually be compared to an athlete who has bad feet. The bad feet do not mean that the athlete cannot run ever again. It can be cured helping them to get back to their normal level of performance. This disease can also be cured. This article looks at some facts about this ailment including the causes and treatment.
In order to identify if a stallion has this sickness, the vet typically uses radiographic proof and also the bodily observations. A chain of x-ray checks are usually carried out to show that the bodily signs are not as a result of any other causes of lameness. This can help the vet to avoid allocating the wrong medicines.
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 several tests that can be done physically on the horse to know if they suffer from this ailment. First, you can observe the behavior of the animal when landing. If it brings the front feet forward slightly so that the weight is more on the toe and not on their heel then it may have the illness. Hoof testers can be used to test the response to pain. You can also observe the size of the hooves as the sick one will be smaller because they must have been relieved from pressure for a while.
One can also detect this disease with the use of anesthesia. This medicine numbs the foot such that the horse will stop feeling any kind of pain. If the horses stops the abnormal behavior like limping then you will know that the problem is definitely in that area.
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.
Another way of treatment can be through exercise. The main cause of the illness is decrease of blood circulation in this area but adequate exercise will help to increase the circulation. The exercise can be done 30-60 minutes every day six times per week. This exercise involves training a horse to bear more weight in the hind legs to reduce the pressure on the front feet.
There are nonetheless some horses that rarely respond to the treatment methods mentioned above. In such a case, a surgical technique is usually applied to cut the hovering ligaments in the navicular area. It also includes neurectomy on the back digital nerve.
In order to identify if a stallion has this sickness, the vet typically uses radiographic proof and also the bodily observations. A chain of x-ray checks are usually carried out to show that the bodily signs are not as a result of any other causes of lameness. This can help the vet to avoid allocating the wrong medicines.
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 several tests that can be done physically on the horse to know if they suffer from this ailment. First, you can observe the behavior of the animal when landing. If it brings the front feet forward slightly so that the weight is more on the toe and not on their heel then it may have the illness. Hoof testers can be used to test the response to pain. You can also observe the size of the hooves as the sick one will be smaller because they must have been relieved from pressure for a while.
One can also detect this disease with the use of anesthesia. This medicine numbs the foot such that the horse will stop feeling any kind of pain. If the horses stops the abnormal behavior like limping then you will know that the problem is definitely in that area.
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.
Another way of treatment can be through exercise. The main cause of the illness is decrease of blood circulation in this area but adequate exercise will help to increase the circulation. The exercise can be done 30-60 minutes every day six times per week. This exercise involves training a horse to bear more weight in the hind legs to reduce the pressure on the front feet.
There are nonetheless some horses that rarely respond to the treatment methods mentioned above. In such a case, a surgical technique is usually applied to cut the hovering ligaments in the navicular area. It also includes neurectomy on the back digital nerve.
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