Navicular syndrome or disease is a problem affecting navicular bones of horses and other members of the equine family. The condition is caused when the bone and surrounding tissues degenerate or get inflamed. If navicular disease is not treated fast and effectively when the first signs occur, serious disabling lameness can be caused. One must first understand the equine forelimb anatomy to have a better grasp of this problem.
There are many signs of this problem in horses. One of the major signs is pain in the heel. Lameness begins mildly and intermittently and then progresses to serious levels. Lameness results due to several reasons including erosion of cartilage, increased pressure within the hoof, reduced blood flow, damage of bones and tendons, and inflammation of supporting ligaments.
One can notice if the animal is feeling pain by observing the walking posture. Some display a tiptoe gait because of hurting heels and stumble more frequently. Both front feet normally get affected with one being worse than the other. Lameness sometimes switches feet without any observable pattern. The situation is worsened if the horse walks in circles or hard surfaces. After months of pain, the foot experiencing most pain starts to change shape.
This condition is caused and contributed by many factors. Compression caused to DDF tendons over of navicular bones is the major cause. If the feet are compressed for months, cartilage degenerates. Cartilage loses its springy nature and fails to absorb shock because of flattening resulting from degeneration. In some situations, erosion also occurs to the cartilage. Some connection has been found between osteoarthritis and this condition by some researchers. This makes therapeutic regimes suggested for the two conditions to be the same.
Tension on ligaments that support the navicular bone is also a cause. Some professionals believe that inflammation and stress is caused in the impar ligament because of too much tension. The strain and inflammation causes blood flow from and to the bone to decrease. Blood flowing to the bone is less obstructed than that leaving because arteries are less compressed than veins. As a result there is a built up of blood pressure. Ligaments are torn and exostoses caused if tension is too great.
The third cause is toe-first landing. This event mostly happens due to misalignment of lower joints. The landings place a lot of strain on deep digital flexor tendon and bone and may culminate into modifications in the bones. Other causes for toe-first landing are over-trimming of frog and heel, long toes, and poor shoeing.
Major contributing factors are conformation, shoeing, work, and body weight. Conformational defects are major contributing factors especially those that promote concussion. Such defects include narrow and upright feet, long toes with low heels, small feet, significant downhill build, and upright pasterns. All these defects contribute to constant stress on the bones, tendons, and ligaments in feet. Jumping, galloping, and working on steep terrain is also a major contributing factor to development of the syndrome.
This disease has several treatment options. Trimming, exercise, medication, surgery, and hoof care are the major treatments available. It should be known that not all cases can be treated by any single treatment method. For complete recovery, some methods need to be combined.
There are many signs of this problem in horses. One of the major signs is pain in the heel. Lameness begins mildly and intermittently and then progresses to serious levels. Lameness results due to several reasons including erosion of cartilage, increased pressure within the hoof, reduced blood flow, damage of bones and tendons, and inflammation of supporting ligaments.
One can notice if the animal is feeling pain by observing the walking posture. Some display a tiptoe gait because of hurting heels and stumble more frequently. Both front feet normally get affected with one being worse than the other. Lameness sometimes switches feet without any observable pattern. The situation is worsened if the horse walks in circles or hard surfaces. After months of pain, the foot experiencing most pain starts to change shape.
This condition is caused and contributed by many factors. Compression caused to DDF tendons over of navicular bones is the major cause. If the feet are compressed for months, cartilage degenerates. Cartilage loses its springy nature and fails to absorb shock because of flattening resulting from degeneration. In some situations, erosion also occurs to the cartilage. Some connection has been found between osteoarthritis and this condition by some researchers. This makes therapeutic regimes suggested for the two conditions to be the same.
Tension on ligaments that support the navicular bone is also a cause. Some professionals believe that inflammation and stress is caused in the impar ligament because of too much tension. The strain and inflammation causes blood flow from and to the bone to decrease. Blood flowing to the bone is less obstructed than that leaving because arteries are less compressed than veins. As a result there is a built up of blood pressure. Ligaments are torn and exostoses caused if tension is too great.
The third cause is toe-first landing. This event mostly happens due to misalignment of lower joints. The landings place a lot of strain on deep digital flexor tendon and bone and may culminate into modifications in the bones. Other causes for toe-first landing are over-trimming of frog and heel, long toes, and poor shoeing.
Major contributing factors are conformation, shoeing, work, and body weight. Conformational defects are major contributing factors especially those that promote concussion. Such defects include narrow and upright feet, long toes with low heels, small feet, significant downhill build, and upright pasterns. All these defects contribute to constant stress on the bones, tendons, and ligaments in feet. Jumping, galloping, and working on steep terrain is also a major contributing factor to development of the syndrome.
This disease has several treatment options. Trimming, exercise, medication, surgery, and hoof care are the major treatments available. It should be known that not all cases can be treated by any single treatment method. For complete recovery, some methods need to be combined.
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