Why Horses Go Through 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 is an area around the hooves of their anterior limbs. This area may sometimes be affected by an infection that causes irritation and therefore lameness which reduces their performance. This is however not a terminal illness and cannot disable a horse completely. It is just a syndrome that can easily be prevented or treated.

There are various other reasons why horses may be lame hence there are some specific tests that help to determine if navicular syndrome is responsible for the pain. There are some physical tests that must be done in addition to the radiographic ones so that the illness is not mistaken for another.

In order to know if a horse is experiencing lameness, its owner will realize that it stumbles when moving and also lands in a weird way that puts more pressure on the hind legs. When this has been noticed, there are various physical tests that must be carried out. For example, hoof testers can be used to examine the animal and check out its reaction to infliction. The size of hooves can also tell if the animal is affected because the front ones are likely to be smaller because of the less pressure usually exerted 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 illness has been correctly diagnosed, immediate medical measures must be taken. Correcting the shooing is the first thing that needs to be done. The caregiver must make sure that the shoe balances the hooves from all directions and that all of them have the same pressure. Later some medicines can be administered to the horse to ease the 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 all horses respond to treatments the same way. Some of them may even resist all the ones mentioned above and in such a case, other options should be considered. For example, the horse can undergo a surgical procedure that will help remove the unwanted ligaments that are the main cause of the nuisance.




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