26 June, 2015

How To Deal With Navicular Disease

By Francis Riggs


Navicular syndrome is a term referring to soundness issue affecting horses. The typical complications involve swelling or erosion of navicular bone and the surrounding matter on the feet at the front. Navicular disease most of the time leads to severe and debilitating lameness.

The factors that have been identified to cause this include conformation, genetics, diet and activity level of the horses. Horses which are used to compete in sports have a higher risk to suffer compared to those utilized for recreational purposes only.

The indicators that an animal is suffering from the condition include increased pressure and decreased blood flow within the affected hoof because of strain. Also inflammation of navicular bone supporting ligaments contributes to this. Heel pain commonly occurs in the affected animal and the lameness may be mild at the beginning but later progress becoming severe.

In an effort to transfer weight onto the toes, animals suffering from this disease usually land on their toes rather than the heel. Stumbling or loss of coordination may be observed too. The lameness can be seen in both feet but sometimes may be switching from leg to leg periodically from overcompensation. The pattern of occurrence may not be consistent.

Lameness is best picked during the animal workings on a surface that is stiff. Having it move in circular motion can be helpful in picking any limping or overcompensation tendencies. After the condition has been present for months, the feet may change shape. This is most evident on the foot severely affected. It becomes a lot more upright and narrowing occurs.

The method used to deal with this condition traditionally only work to alleviate symptoms for a short while. Their ability to reverse or bring to a stop the syndrome degenerative effects is limited. No structural progress is evident with this method too. It only focuses to enhance the austerity of a horse and coping mechanism temporarily. The physiological derangements brought about by the condition still go on.

If the animal is experiencing bone complications, equi-bone should be given to supplement nutrients used to build bones in the body. As the nutrients reach the required levels, more of calcium mineral will be absorbed into the bone improving the density of bones. This makes it stronger and also less sensitive as it goes through rebuilding process. While rehabilitation from erosive diagnosis or injury is underway, the loading rate of supplement is fed for a 5 month period and a switch to maintenance therapy thereafter made to support the achieved results.

After equi-bone feeding loading phase has been successfully achieved, the effect it has produced should be maintained. Given that the animal is faced with remodeling the affected bone on its own, supplementation of ability to enhance the remodeling consistently is of importance. This is in order to minimize the chances of recurrence of the disease in future. This is to be done by feeding the animal a scoop of equi-bone twice daily as maintenance regimen to achieve the best outcome in ensuring the horse remains healthy and sound.




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