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Navicular Syndrome Research Paper

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Navicular syndrome, or navicular disease, is a hoof problem in horses. Navicular syndrome is a degenerating bone disease that causes lameness in the horse. It deteriorates the navicular bone as well as the surrounding tissues. Navicular generally occurs on the front feet and happens when horses are between the age of eight and twelve. Navicular can lead to significant and even disabling lameness (“Navicular Problems: Symptoms and Treatment). The navicular bone is a small bone in a horse’s hoof that sits in between the coffin bone and the pastern. The bone is shaped like a canoe. This led to the name navicular bone. The prefix “nvicu” means small boat in Latin. The bone is also called the distal sesamoid bone
(“Navicular Problems: Symptoms and Treatment). Associated with the navicular bone are several structures of soft tissue. The collateral sesamoidean ligament is located on the upper side of the bone. This ligament attaches to the distal …show more content…

One of the most common ways to prevent navicular is proper shoeing and care of the feet, as well as adding joint supplements to feed. If a horse has navicular syndrome, corrective shoeing is an option. There are many types of shoes used when treating a horse with navicular. Some of these shoes are a wedge shoe, heart bar shoes, egg bar shoes, and steel shoes with a pad insert. Another form of treatment is anti-inflammatory drugs such as phenylbutazone. Most horsemen call it Bute for short. This drug can come in the form of oral paste or mix in powder. There is also coffin injections which help give the horse more cushion between the navicular bone and the coffin bone. A neurectomy, or denerving, is the process in which the nerves are surgically removed from the hoof so the horse has no more feeling to the foot. Studies show that almost 60 percent of horses with navicular will get a neurectomy (Navicular

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