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Treatment of navicular disease |
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Page 1 of 2 PODOTROCHLOSIS (NAVICULAR SYNDROM) REVISITED
NEW ASPECTS OF NAVICULAR SYNDROME
NEW ASPECTS OF LAMINITIS (Abridged)
NEW METHODS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NAVICULAR DISEASE
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More than 15 years of research and experience with the treatment of navicular disease have revealed that pressure on the navicular region, as a result of excessively long bars and heels, leads to a painful inflammation of the corium adjacent to the navicular bone and, therefore, clinical lameness. The enlarged cavities in the navicular bone, demonstrable by X-ray diagnosis, are not painful and therefore are not related to clinical lameness. They are the result of congestion of the digital arteries caused by an unphysiological position of the navicular bone as a result of high heels and bars. In the last 3 years, the course and healing of navicular syndrome was documented on more then 53 horses of various breeds. The shoes were removed, the living conditions of the horse changed to more closely approximate the natural amount of movement of a horse each day, and the shape of the hoof capsule was, over the course of months, returned (close) to its natural form through proper trimming. Depending on the length of time the problem had been in existence, and how far living conditions could be optimized, the return to full use of a horse diagnosed with "podotrochlosis" can take a few weeks to nine months.In the course of several decades of observations, it was found that, through the pressure of blood vessels congested by the contraction of the hoof through shoeing, bone mass is reduced. This means that the passageways of blood vessels in the navicular bone and coffin bone, in a shod horse or one with contracted heels (no circulatory pump in the hoof capsule), are significantly enlarged when compared to a horse with a sound foot and proper movement.
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