Which Part Of A Horse Is Affected By Navicular Disease?
Navicular disease affects the front feet of horses causing a low grade bilateral lameness, that usually progresses slowly. The lameness might only occur from time to time or when the horse is exercised on hard ground or in a small circle.
Navicular syndrome is a chronic and often progressive disease affecting the navicular bone and bursa, deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), and associated soft tissue structures composing the navicular apparatus. This syndrome has long been considered one of the most common causes of forelimb lameness 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.
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.
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.
Navicular ‘disease’ is really a group of related conditions affecting the navicular bone and associated structures in the foot. There are several possible causes of pain in and around the navicular bone. The navicular bone is a small flattened bone, which lies across the back of the coffin joint.
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.
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.
Navicular syndrome is a chronic degenerative condition that can cause lameness in the front legs. It is most commonly seen in competition horses and quarter horses. It may be caused by repetitive mechanical stress on the navicular bone, resulting in degeneration of tissues and ligaments in the heel.
Diagnosing navicular syndrome in horses
They are likely to review the whole clinical picture, assessing the feet and shoeing, together with the way in which the horse moves, a well as performing flexion tests and nerve blocks to assess the affected area to see if this reduces the lameness.
Can a horse with navicular be ridden? Depending on the severity of the disease, it is possible to ride a horse with navicular, as long as your vet okays it. Pharmaceutical agents which can help alleviate pain and control inflammation such as Previcox and Tildren can be administered.
Type III, also known as cornuate or gorilliform navicular, is characterized by a very prominent navicular tuberosity resulting from bony fusion of the accessory ossification center with the tuberosity. Most cases are asymptomatic, but ANB may cause pain and tenderness in a small proportion (<1%).
Arthritis and true navicular disease don’t heal with rest. Signs may improve, but they return when the horse goes back to work. Changes to the bone can’t be reversed so treatment focuses on managing the condition to slow its progression and keeping the horse as comfortable as possible.
A: Navicular disease is an incurable degenerative condition that has similarities to osteoarthritis in people. Over time, the navicular bone and soft-tissue structures around it deteriorate, causing pain in the sole region of the foot. Horses suffering from navicular are often described as “walking on eggshells.”
Navicular syndrome is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 4 and 15 years of age. It is most common in Quarter Horses, Paint Horses, Appaloosas, Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds. The exact cause of navicular disease is unknown.
In many cases therapeutic shoeing may help those horses diagnosed with navicular syndrome. The egg-bar shoe has long since been the choice of many veterinarians to apply in cases of palmar heel pain. Unfortunately, one shoeing application does not work for all navicular syndrome cases.
The navicular bone is one of the seven bones which make up the tarsus of the Ankle and Foot. It is located on the medial aspect of the foot, next to the cuboid bone, anterior to the head of the talus and posterior to the cuneiform bones. It is one of the five bones of the midfoot.
Navicular Syndrome is a condition of the feet that results in lameness. It most commonly presents as a forelimb lameness in one leg, but on investigation is often found to be present in both front feet. Although uncommon, it can also occur in the hind feet.
Navicular syndrome does not normally present with heat in the hoof, an increased digital pulse, or the swelling so frequently found in other hoof lameness. If such symptoms are involved, they are generally subtle.
Supplements that May Lend Support
Prescription joint products such as Legend® and Adequan® are often administered to horses with navicular, and it may also be helpful to provide an oral joint supplement with similar active ingredients (i.e. glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid).
Corrective shoeing and hoof trimming can be as simple as balancing the foot, putting on a shoe with the correct amount of extension, backing up a toe, egg bar shoes with or without wedge pads and rocker toe shoes. Balance is the key to successfully shoeing a ‘navicular horse’.
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