Equine animal species usually experience a number of health conditions that are greatly affected by their activities. The commonly pronounced condition is the navicular horses syndrome which is a progressive condition involving the navicular bone. This special bone is usually located behind the coffin bone in the hoof. It also affects the bursa and the deep digital flexor tendon. It results in lameness and inflammation of the hoof due to the tension created as the stallion moves.
The inflammation mostly results from wear and tear as colt ages while the syndrome is most commonly portrayed in older ones. The condition affects all the breeds but the incidence is highest in Quarter horse breeds, Warm-bloods, and Thoroughbreds. However, colts with large, heavy body and relatively small hooves are often at a greater risk of the navicular syndrome as well as other foot problems.
Poor hoof care also fuels the chances of developing the ailment. This centers around the increased use of inappropriate pastern angle that mismatches the hoof shape and its angle. This mismatch is havoc and causes overstretching of the deep digital flexor tendon. As a result, pressure builds up over the scaphoid bone, the bursa, and other proximate structures. Delays in regular hoof trimming and resetting of shoes also pose the same risk of impacting pressure on that bone.
The caudal heel pain typically affects both front feet but in varied degrees making one foot to be more painful than the other. This feature is essential since it easily unveils the condition for easy visibility. It is vividly observed through short-striding in both limbs majorly when the horse is navigating tight corners or circles. This results to the foot landing in a toe-to-heel posture which is contrary to the normal heel-to-toe landing.
The owners and other personnel have ventured in the use of the radiographing technique in a quest to minimize the adversity of this condition. However, the process has piled continued failures over the decades since it does not account for the relationship between therapeutically altered bones and heel pain. Therefore, this has fueled the use of magnetic resonance imaging which clearly gives finer details of soft tissue structures surrounding the scaphoid bone.
The syndrome is managed with the aim of easing the pain and minimizing tension in the DDFT. This approach is done by offering the horse a resting period either in a stall or a customized paddock. This enables the painful points to rest and recover. The equines should be reared at an optimal body weight to avoid tension creating at the tendons. Regular hoof cutting should be adopted to establish correct angles of hooves and pastern.
Additionally, therapeutic shoeing also improves horse comfort by enhancing balancing and break over. Some lamed equines benefit from corticosteroid injections at the coffin joint. In some scenarios that are featured by severe and intractable pain, the owners may adopt neurectomy which involves severing the nerves of the affected region. This procedure allows the horse to work without discomfort.
Therefore, the navicular syndrome in horses is usually accompanied by irritating symptoms that discomfort the equines. The adverse condition can be calmly suppressed by use various management strategies. They are usually administered to make the hoofed animals more comfortable and decrease stress and inflammation in the affected structures.
The inflammation mostly results from wear and tear as colt ages while the syndrome is most commonly portrayed in older ones. The condition affects all the breeds but the incidence is highest in Quarter horse breeds, Warm-bloods, and Thoroughbreds. However, colts with large, heavy body and relatively small hooves are often at a greater risk of the navicular syndrome as well as other foot problems.
Poor hoof care also fuels the chances of developing the ailment. This centers around the increased use of inappropriate pastern angle that mismatches the hoof shape and its angle. This mismatch is havoc and causes overstretching of the deep digital flexor tendon. As a result, pressure builds up over the scaphoid bone, the bursa, and other proximate structures. Delays in regular hoof trimming and resetting of shoes also pose the same risk of impacting pressure on that bone.
The caudal heel pain typically affects both front feet but in varied degrees making one foot to be more painful than the other. This feature is essential since it easily unveils the condition for easy visibility. It is vividly observed through short-striding in both limbs majorly when the horse is navigating tight corners or circles. This results to the foot landing in a toe-to-heel posture which is contrary to the normal heel-to-toe landing.
The owners and other personnel have ventured in the use of the radiographing technique in a quest to minimize the adversity of this condition. However, the process has piled continued failures over the decades since it does not account for the relationship between therapeutically altered bones and heel pain. Therefore, this has fueled the use of magnetic resonance imaging which clearly gives finer details of soft tissue structures surrounding the scaphoid bone.
The syndrome is managed with the aim of easing the pain and minimizing tension in the DDFT. This approach is done by offering the horse a resting period either in a stall or a customized paddock. This enables the painful points to rest and recover. The equines should be reared at an optimal body weight to avoid tension creating at the tendons. Regular hoof cutting should be adopted to establish correct angles of hooves and pastern.
Additionally, therapeutic shoeing also improves horse comfort by enhancing balancing and break over. Some lamed equines benefit from corticosteroid injections at the coffin joint. In some scenarios that are featured by severe and intractable pain, the owners may adopt neurectomy which involves severing the nerves of the affected region. This procedure allows the horse to work without discomfort.
Therefore, the navicular syndrome in horses is usually accompanied by irritating symptoms that discomfort the equines. The adverse condition can be calmly suppressed by use various management strategies. They are usually administered to make the hoofed animals more comfortable and decrease stress and inflammation in the affected structures.
About the Author:
You can get the latest lowdown about navicular horses by referring to this website. For instant access to all the available resources, follow the link here http://www.naviculardisease.com.