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 is triggered by laceration as the horse ages while the lameness is mostly seen in nags. The syndrome affects all equine breeds but with varied extremes. The intensity is high in some breeds whereas in others is mild or insignificant. The intensity of the ailment is also influenced by excessive weight and minimized hooves sizes. These features place some horses at a higher risk of navicular syndrome and other related foot maladies.
Another conforming factor that increases the chances of a steed developing the syndrome is the use of an incorrect pastern angle that does not match with hoof angle. The mismatch causes the deep digital flexor tendon to be stretched excessively as it runs over the navicular bone. This creates an increased pressure on the bone as well as the cushioning bursa and other surrounding structures. The pressure is also caused by delayed hoof trimming and shoes resetting.
The palmar foot pain basically affects only the front feet but with varying intensities. This makes one foot to experience more pain than the other. This attribute is vital in that it enhances the visibility of lameness. It is clearly observed during short-striding where the horse negotiates sharp corners. This is examined through observing the landing posture of feet which should be the heel-to-toe landing and not its complement.
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 caudal heel pain syndrome can be managed to reduce the pain and significantly minimize the excessive stress that affects the deep digital flexor tendon. This management can be achieved by staging the equine in a layup period in a stall with a small paddock. This allows the painful structures to have a serene rest for their recovery. The equines should be kept at the correct body weight. Regular hoof trimming should be practiced to maintain the correct hoof angles and pasterns.
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 is usually featured by a slew of adverse signs that lead to discomfort of equines. They can, however, be well ameliorated by the use of therapeutic approaches. They tailored to offer a comfy state by relieving inflammation on the painful area.
The inflammation is triggered by laceration as the horse ages while the lameness is mostly seen in nags. The syndrome affects all equine breeds but with varied extremes. The intensity is high in some breeds whereas in others is mild or insignificant. The intensity of the ailment is also influenced by excessive weight and minimized hooves sizes. These features place some horses at a higher risk of navicular syndrome and other related foot maladies.
Another conforming factor that increases the chances of a steed developing the syndrome is the use of an incorrect pastern angle that does not match with hoof angle. The mismatch causes the deep digital flexor tendon to be stretched excessively as it runs over the navicular bone. This creates an increased pressure on the bone as well as the cushioning bursa and other surrounding structures. The pressure is also caused by delayed hoof trimming and shoes resetting.
The palmar foot pain basically affects only the front feet but with varying intensities. This makes one foot to experience more pain than the other. This attribute is vital in that it enhances the visibility of lameness. It is clearly observed during short-striding where the horse negotiates sharp corners. This is examined through observing the landing posture of feet which should be the heel-to-toe landing and not its complement.
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 caudal heel pain syndrome can be managed to reduce the pain and significantly minimize the excessive stress that affects the deep digital flexor tendon. This management can be achieved by staging the equine in a layup period in a stall with a small paddock. This allows the painful structures to have a serene rest for their recovery. The equines should be kept at the correct body weight. Regular hoof trimming should be practiced to maintain the correct hoof angles and pasterns.
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 is usually featured by a slew of adverse signs that lead to discomfort of equines. They can, however, be well ameliorated by the use of therapeutic approaches. They tailored to offer a comfy state by relieving inflammation on the painful area.
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