As a horse buyer, it is recommended that you have the horse examined by a veterinarian before you pay for it. There are several conditions the vets will be looking for, one of which is the navicular syndrome. Unknown to many, the disease is not terminal and if well managed, the horse can be able to perform as well as it used to before the lameness. Generally, the veterinarians are not able to pin down a single cause for this disease, and prefer to use "syndrome" to denote this fact. Just as the cause is difficult to determine, so is the diagnosis and treatment.
As such, your concern should be the techniques to manage the condition. But this cannot be possible unless you are in the position to isolate the syndrome and help the veterinarian to diagnose the disease. Normally, the clinicians resort to clinical tests in addition to radiography as the proper diagnostic procedures. While the radiography or x-ray images can be used to rule out other possible causes of lameness like a heel bruise, sole bruise, and coffin bone crack, it cannot fully diagnose the disease.
The radiography alone cannot give a conclusive diagnosis given that some horses have changes on their navicular bones, even if they are free of the diseases. When examining horses for sale, it has been observed that up to one third may have these changes even though most of them never develop the condition in their lifetime.
The clinical diagnosis involves several types of tests, including the selective nerve block test which is very common. In addition to this, the vet looks if there has been a history of lameness on the front limbs. If it is a gradual lameness, then it is a tale tells sign.
There are a number of risk factors that the vets look for in their diagnosis. These are the breed and the horse age. Generally, the horses with bigger bodies supported with small legs are at higher risk. These include the thoroughbreds and the quarterhorses. In regards to age factor, the disease onset is at the age of 7 to 14.
The management techniques are many, reflecting on the many possible causes. The use of Bute, for instance, is a common medication used for reducing the inflammation and the resulting pain. It works better if the disease is in its early stages. Alternatively, the horse may be injected with steroids as this reduces the pain associated with the coffin joint and the navicular bursa.
The vets also recommend boosting blood circulation to the affected region. There are ways to achieve this. The common ones are the use of the magnetic shoe, the use of anticoagulant warfarin and administration of Isoxsuprine. In case of Isoxsuprine, the horse should be closely monitored to avoid over-bleeding as the drug reduces the blood clotting ability.
The vet may also go for the corrective shoeing technique in chronic conditions where the shoe is trimmed to conform to started parameters. For the long standing chronic conditions, the vet may resort to drastic measures such as the neurectomy in which the nerve is cut above the fetlock. This means that the horse does not feel the foot and it might stumble a lot. It is not recommended for a very active horse.
As such, your concern should be the techniques to manage the condition. But this cannot be possible unless you are in the position to isolate the syndrome and help the veterinarian to diagnose the disease. Normally, the clinicians resort to clinical tests in addition to radiography as the proper diagnostic procedures. While the radiography or x-ray images can be used to rule out other possible causes of lameness like a heel bruise, sole bruise, and coffin bone crack, it cannot fully diagnose the disease.
The radiography alone cannot give a conclusive diagnosis given that some horses have changes on their navicular bones, even if they are free of the diseases. When examining horses for sale, it has been observed that up to one third may have these changes even though most of them never develop the condition in their lifetime.
The clinical diagnosis involves several types of tests, including the selective nerve block test which is very common. In addition to this, the vet looks if there has been a history of lameness on the front limbs. If it is a gradual lameness, then it is a tale tells sign.
There are a number of risk factors that the vets look for in their diagnosis. These are the breed and the horse age. Generally, the horses with bigger bodies supported with small legs are at higher risk. These include the thoroughbreds and the quarterhorses. In regards to age factor, the disease onset is at the age of 7 to 14.
The management techniques are many, reflecting on the many possible causes. The use of Bute, for instance, is a common medication used for reducing the inflammation and the resulting pain. It works better if the disease is in its early stages. Alternatively, the horse may be injected with steroids as this reduces the pain associated with the coffin joint and the navicular bursa.
The vets also recommend boosting blood circulation to the affected region. There are ways to achieve this. The common ones are the use of the magnetic shoe, the use of anticoagulant warfarin and administration of Isoxsuprine. In case of Isoxsuprine, the horse should be closely monitored to avoid over-bleeding as the drug reduces the blood clotting ability.
The vet may also go for the corrective shoeing technique in chronic conditions where the shoe is trimmed to conform to started parameters. For the long standing chronic conditions, the vet may resort to drastic measures such as the neurectomy in which the nerve is cut above the fetlock. This means that the horse does not feel the foot and it might stumble a lot. It is not recommended for a very active horse.
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Discover useful facts about navicular syndrome in horses by reviewing the posts online. Get access to the articles that relate to this disease at http://www.naviculardisease.com.
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