Tips For Managing The Navicular Syndrome
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.
For proper management techniques, it is important that every horse caretaker has the basic ideas when it comes to diagnosis of the condition. Generally, the vets rely on clinical diagnosis, most of which are observation based tests. In order to fully isolate the condition as the cause of lameness, radiography is done to support the clinical evidence. During radiography, x-ray images of the navicular bones are taken to look for changes. This test is important as it helps eliminate other conditions that can result to lameness. The most common ones are heel bruise, a bruise on the sole and the coffin bone crack.
Since the condition can result from one of the several pathologies within or close to the navicular bone, the radiographs show changes in the bone upon examination. However, the said changes can be observed and yet the animal does not develop the syndrome. This is why it may not be used as the only examination technique when buying a horse.
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.
In a suspected case, there are risk factors that can help the vet to build a stronger case in diagnosis. The fast one is the breed of the horse. The thoroughbreds and the quarterhorses are built in such a way that they have a massive body resting on small feet and are thus at highest risk. The onset of the syndrome is also more common at the ages of 7 to 14.
There are several methods that have shown some level of success in managing the condition. The first one is the Bute. This is a medication that helps minimize pain and inflammation and best used in the early stages of the disease. The second alternative is the injection with steroids reduces pain originating from the navicular bursa or the coffin joint.
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.
Corrective shoeing is also a common solution for chronic conditions where the shoe is trimmed to a particular specification. Alternatively, the chronic conditions are also rectified by neurectomy in which the nerve to the affected foot is cut above fetlock leaving the horse unable to feel its foot.
For proper management techniques, it is important that every horse caretaker has the basic ideas when it comes to diagnosis of the condition. Generally, the vets rely on clinical diagnosis, most of which are observation based tests. In order to fully isolate the condition as the cause of lameness, radiography is done to support the clinical evidence. During radiography, x-ray images of the navicular bones are taken to look for changes. This test is important as it helps eliminate other conditions that can result to lameness. The most common ones are heel bruise, a bruise on the sole and the coffin bone crack.
Since the condition can result from one of the several pathologies within or close to the navicular bone, the radiographs show changes in the bone upon examination. However, the said changes can be observed and yet the animal does not develop the syndrome. This is why it may not be used as the only examination technique when buying a horse.
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.
In a suspected case, there are risk factors that can help the vet to build a stronger case in diagnosis. The fast one is the breed of the horse. The thoroughbreds and the quarterhorses are built in such a way that they have a massive body resting on small feet and are thus at highest risk. The onset of the syndrome is also more common at the ages of 7 to 14.
There are several methods that have shown some level of success in managing the condition. The first one is the Bute. This is a medication that helps minimize pain and inflammation and best used in the early stages of the disease. The second alternative is the injection with steroids reduces pain originating from the navicular bursa or the coffin joint.
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.
Corrective shoeing is also a common solution for chronic conditions where the shoe is trimmed to a particular specification. Alternatively, the chronic conditions are also rectified by neurectomy in which the nerve to the affected foot is cut above fetlock leaving the horse unable to feel its foot.
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