Tuesday, February 3, 2015

What You Should Know When Dealing With Navicular Pain

By Janine Hughes


This is a problem that is normally experienced by horses. Navicular pain is a symptom that points to soundness problems in horses. It is caused by the degeneration of the navicular bone and its surrounding tissues. This problem often occurs on the front feet and if pronounced can lead to disabling lameness.

There are a couple of reasons that are assumed to cause this problem. From recent research, toe-first landing can be a problem. It is considered a cause or at least a contributing factor. This is because it leads to misalignment of the lower joints. It can be caused by over trimming of the hooves. Long toes and poor shoeing can also lead to this type of landing.

Problems with circulation can also be an issue. When blood circulation to this area is not enough, the horse will show some kind of uneasiness. This will be due to blocked blood vessels. A while back this issue was considered a death sentence by farmers. The new treatments that have been discovered have given them hope.

A first sign to notice will be lameness in your animal. Movement when on rough terrain will also be tedious. The horse may also show reluctance to move when on such places. When your animal will be on soft land things will seem easier. You may decide to seek expert advice and take your animal for an x ray. However, this is not a sure way to identify the problem.

Difficulty in movement can also be observed. Stumbling while walking can be one such sign. Some animal breeds have a weight that they cannot handle. This subjects them to this kind of disease which causes much pain. Though you may think you know all the symptoms of animal disease, you should always seek an expert to tell you for sure.

There are various treatment to these problems. However, some horses have already reached a point of no return. This means the point at which their problem is cannot be reversed. The basic type of treatment involves correct shoeing. This just means taking care of the hooves of your animal. They should be balanced at all angles.

Drug therapy is also a form of treatment. Here drugs are used to dilate the blood vessels. This is said to increase the flow of blood to the navicular bone. Most horses are said to have responded positively to this type of treatment. However, just receiving it once is not enough. There have to be more visits to the vet to prevent the pain from reoccurring.

Exercise is said to be helpful too. It helps deal with problems that involve decreased circulation and trauma to the bone. These animals do at least thirty to sixty minute exercises. This is within a period of six days in a week. The riding is structured and the animal is taught to bear more pain on the hind legs. There is a way out to this kind of problem in animals.




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