What is the best treatment for navicular disease?

Nonsurgical treatment of navicular syndrome consists of rest, hoof balance and corrective trimming/shoeing, and medical therapy, including administration of systemic antiinflammatories, hemorheologic medications, and intraarticular medications.

How do you test for navicular in horses?

Clinical signs of navicular disease include a short, choppy stride with lameness that worsens when the horse is worked in a circle, as when longeing. Frequent stumbling may occur at all gaits, even the walk, or when horses are asked to step over short obstacles such as ground poles.

What are the symptoms of navicular in horses?

Horses with navicular usually have a history of subtle onset of lameness. The horse may just look stiff early on in the course of disease and stumble frequently. The lameness may seem inconsistent and switch from one (front) leg to another. Putting the horse on a circle or a hard surface can make it worse.

How serious is navicular in horses?

Navicular disease in horses is also known as Navicular syndrome. The result is the inflammation or degeneration of the navicular bone and its surrounding tissues, typically in the front feet of the horse. This disease can lead to significant or disabling lameness of a horse.

Can navicular disease be cured?

Navicular disease can be treated but rarely cured. Corrective trimming and shoeing is important to ensure level foot fall and foot balance. Often a rolled toe egg bar shoe is used to encourage early break over at the toe and good heel support.

Can navicular be managed?

Navicular can’t be cured, but it can be managed. Trimming and shoeing techniques are paramount, so a farrier trained in recent advancements is crucial.

Is navicular disease curable?

Is navicular a death sentence?

Horses that develop navicular syndrome can often be maintained with this sort of treatment. It is not a death sentence for the horse. The classic stance of a horse with navicular syndrome is to point the foot that hurts the most. This puts the weight more on the toe and off of the heel.

Should you ride a horse with navicular disease?

Turn your horse out in a pasture or paddock all day every day, if possible, and limit his time in the stall. If he’s still sound enough to ride, try to do so only on soft footing. Depending on the severity of his condition, you might also want to avoid riding him on circles or longeing.

Is navicular disease painful?

Lameness is the classic sign of navicular syndrome. This can appear suddenly, but a more common pattern is mild lameness that becomes progressively worse over time. A horse with navicular syndrome feels pain in the heels of the front feet, and its movements reflect attempts to keep pressure off this area.

How bad is navicular?

At present, the exact primary cause of Navicular Syndrome is not known. Damage to the navicular bone may occur due to interference with blood supply or trauma to the bone. Damage can occur to the deep flexor tendon, navicular bursa, or navicular ligaments all resulting in pain and lameness.

What do you need to know about navicular disease?

As established in Navicular Disease – Part 1: Background, navicular disease is damage to tendon, cartilage, and bone at the interface of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT or DFT) and the navicular bone as the consequence of heat generated from friction.

When do veterinarians diagnose navicular disease in horses?

Many veterinarians diagnose navicular syndrome or just plain “navicular” in situations where they see pain in the caudal (rearmost) portion of the hoof they can’t otherwise explain, and diagnose navicular disease whenever they see caudal hoof pain coupled with any sort of radiographic anomaly with the navicular bone.

Is there a cure for navicular bone disease?

Navicular bone disease was once thought to be caused by only one factor. Today however, veterinarians now understand this is not true and actually has a lot of components contributing to the cause. It is a degenerative disease that only worsens once it starts and unfortunately, there is no cure. You can manage the condition in your horse though.

Where is the navicular bone in a horse?

Navicular disease is a bone and tissue disorder that occurs in the front hooves of horses. The navicular bone is a tiny bone in the foot that sits just under the deep flexor tendon, next to the coffin and lower pastern bones.

What is the best treatment for navicular disease? Nonsurgical treatment of navicular syndrome consists of rest, hoof balance and corrective trimming/shoeing, and medical therapy, including administration of systemic antiinflammatories, hemorheologic medications, and intraarticular medications. How do you test for navicular in horses? Clinical signs of navicular disease include a short, choppy stride with lameness that…