Friday 20 November 2015

Consequences Related To Navicular Disease

By Mattie Knight


It is one of the most common causes of chronic forelimb inside wound in horses. It is associated with swelling of the boat-shaped bone and leads to significant problem for the horses. Since there are various of dealing with navicular disease, infected horses can still head back to their normal health conditions.

A major sign of navicular ailment is that when the horse is walking, it tends to place its weight on the toes to avoid placing pressure in the heel area. This makes the horse to take long to stop strides taken. While standing, the horse tends to shift its weigh continuously to relieve pain. Another symptom of this illness is appearance of lameness on the shoulders. This is due to the weight exerted on the toes which makes the gait to be rough. However, this kind of pain disappears with rest. Long toes and under slung heels are also commonly observed in horses having this condition.

The main known cause of navicular ailment is interference with blood circulation around the scaphoid bone. Damage is mostly found in the deep flexor tendon, the burse and the bone tissues which causes pain. Horses with about five years or more have a probability of developing the symptoms of the disease. However, the illness can easily be treated.

Determination of scaphoid bone illness is conducted by veterinarians through physical observations and by use of x-rays. Physical determination is where a hoof tester is placed hard on the forward legs of a horse. Presence of navicular condition makes the horse to flinch when the tester is placed. The tester is as well placed on the hind legs to compare how the horse reacts. X-rays are mostly employed to cancel out the other causes of lameness in horses.

Controlling the illness can occur in different aspects. The first aspect is by use of correct shoeing. This is where balancing of both front and back legs is taken care of. Since the most known problem of horses possessing navicular condition is long toes, this can easily be corrected by trimming the front of the hoof making this a second aspect.

The third aspect of controlling scaphoid bone sickness is using drugs. A drug that has successfully been used is isoxsuprine. This drug helps in enlarging blood arteries surrounding the scaphoid bone hence allowing free flow of blood. Eighty percent of horses treated with isoxsuprine have responded to it. This is according to the latest studies conducted.

Exercising of horses by riding them at intervals of thirty to sixty minutes six times a week is a recommended way of dealing with scaphoid bone complaint. This highly improves blood circulation in the navicular bone. With this technique, horses are trained to use their back legs in supporting most their weight. The last way of dealing with navicular illness is through operation. Horses who fail to respond using drugs, exercise and correct shoeing, surgery is recommended.

To conclude, the illness is not terminal. With treatment and care, the large majority of the horses that have been diagnosed with this ailment can manage to go back to their normal level of performance. Creation of awareness among masses on how to manage the sickness is recommendable to ensure healthy horses.




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