Why Horses Experience Navicular Pain
By Ida Dorsey
Navicular infections are probably the main causes of lameness of the front limbs of many horses in the present day. This infection leads to navicular pain that mainly limits the way the affected horses perform. The main reason why this happens is not very easy to prove because pinpointing the exact source of the pain has been hard for many researchers. Over the past years, many horses have been misdiagnosed as many vets categorize front limb pain as being cause by navicular syndrome.
The navicular region can be found in the front legs of horses around their hooves. Sometimes, this area gets affected by some infection that makes them experience some distress which makes them perform very poorly. However, it is not a terminal disease and therefore cannot disable or kill the animal entirely. It is just a mild infection that one can easily prevent or treat.
There are many other reasons why stallions may be lame henceforth there are some particular tests that assist to determine if this syndrome is accountable for the distress. There are some bodily tests that should be done along with the radiographic tests so that the disease is not misguided for another.
There are several major signs that may help to determine if a horse gets lame. For example, they land in some unusual way since they want to exert more pressure on the hind feet than the anterior ones. Other bodily tests that may be used comprise the use of the hoof testers. These testers will help to detect how the horses react to pain. They may also check the bulk of their hooves since the ones with this illness have minor front hooves because they try hard to decrease the pressure put on them.
Anesthesia may also be the perfect medicine used to verify if a stallion has this infection. Once the anesthesia is injected on the legs, they will become emotionless and the stallion will not be able to feel anything. This implies that they will not act weirdly since they are not troubled anymore. This can be proof that pain is possibly the main reason behind their unusual behavior.
After the infection has been correctly detected, immediate medical actions should be taken. Correct shooing is the best thing to do. The caregiver should make certain that the shoe is balanced on all sides of the hooves and that all sides have equal pressure. Later some medications can be given to the stallion to ease their pain.
After the medication has been given, various physical tests can be done on the horse to help increase the blood flow of the front limbs. Better blood flow will help the horse to have better balance that will exert the same pressure on all limbs. These exercises should be done an hour every day of the week.
Not every horse has the same response to the treatments. Sometimes the horse might even be resistance to all treatments leaving the only option being a surgery. The surgery helps to cut out the extra ligaments that make the horse uncomfortable thus causing distress.
The navicular region can be found in the front legs of horses around their hooves. Sometimes, this area gets affected by some infection that makes them experience some distress which makes them perform very poorly. However, it is not a terminal disease and therefore cannot disable or kill the animal entirely. It is just a mild infection that one can easily prevent or treat.
There are many other reasons why stallions may be lame henceforth there are some particular tests that assist to determine if this syndrome is accountable for the distress. There are some bodily tests that should be done along with the radiographic tests so that the disease is not misguided for another.
There are several major signs that may help to determine if a horse gets lame. For example, they land in some unusual way since they want to exert more pressure on the hind feet than the anterior ones. Other bodily tests that may be used comprise the use of the hoof testers. These testers will help to detect how the horses react to pain. They may also check the bulk of their hooves since the ones with this illness have minor front hooves because they try hard to decrease the pressure put on them.
Anesthesia may also be the perfect medicine used to verify if a stallion has this infection. Once the anesthesia is injected on the legs, they will become emotionless and the stallion will not be able to feel anything. This implies that they will not act weirdly since they are not troubled anymore. This can be proof that pain is possibly the main reason behind their unusual behavior.
After the infection has been correctly detected, immediate medical actions should be taken. Correct shooing is the best thing to do. The caregiver should make certain that the shoe is balanced on all sides of the hooves and that all sides have equal pressure. Later some medications can be given to the stallion to ease their pain.
After the medication has been given, various physical tests can be done on the horse to help increase the blood flow of the front limbs. Better blood flow will help the horse to have better balance that will exert the same pressure on all limbs. These exercises should be done an hour every day of the week.
Not every horse has the same response to the treatments. Sometimes the horse might even be resistance to all treatments leaving the only option being a surgery. The surgery helps to cut out the extra ligaments that make the horse uncomfortable thus causing distress.
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