Treating Navicular Disease in Horses

By Patrick Cumiskey

The short explanation for Navicular Disease is that it affects the navicular bone and the tissues that surround it, causing pain, degeneration, and lameness.

Diagnosing Navicular Disease in Horses

When a diagnosis for Navicular Syndrome is rendered it will be after a veterinarian has examined the animal and looked at X-rays of the hoof. The X-rays are an important aspect in helping to rule out other possible reasons for lameness. Most vets look for the following:

1. Lameness in one or both front feet.
2. Stumbling or uncomfortable gait.
3. The horse will stand in such a way as to put more weight on the toe rather than on the heel.

Treatment of Navicular Disease in Horses

Treatment of the syndrome might incorporate the following:

* Corrective trimming
* Shortening of the toe
* Correction of the pastern axis

Aids Used in the Treatment

Egg Bar Shoes are characterized by the fact that they are actually larger than the horse's foot. Because of this more support is provided and the heel is encouraged to grow out and spread. In Navicular horses long toes and underslung heels are routinely seen. Unfortunately there are still farriers out there who hold to the idea that the shoe must fit the hoof. This is not always true, especially when it comes to treating navicular disease in horses. If the shoe is made to fit it will only result in the heel collapsing even further.

Another aid in treating this syndrome is to provide a raised heel. This helps to alleviate the pressure on the DDFT (deep digital flexor tendon), and in so doing also helps to alleviate the pain associated with Navicular Syndrome. It is important to remember however, that this should only be seen as a temporary measure and not as a permanent solution to the problem. The reason why raised heels are good on a temporary basis is because the pads ultimately encourage poor heel shape.

Frog support shoes, which were developed in Germany, have been met with positive acclaim. It is crucial to provide frog support, but most shoes that are used, including the aforementioned Egg Bar shoes, do not provide the support that is necessary. Because these shoes do provide that support their development is very exciting.

Other Treatment Options

Aside from the treatments already looked at, controlled exercise on a suitable surface is recommended. Navicular Horses actually recover sooner if they are exercised, in a limited and controlled manner, because this encourages blood flow to the area. It is important however that jumping is avoided.

Medications such as Metacam and Equipalazone certainly have their place, but they should be used judiciously. Isoxuprine Paste is no longer available in some countries due to the fact that it is rather controversial in nature. Nevertheless Isoxuprine Paste can be useful when treating Navicular Disease in Horses.

Navicular Bursa injections have also been used to some success. This is a useful treatment however, there is a level of risk involved if the horse were to suddenly move the foot during the treatment process, because the needle actually passes directly into the navicular bursa and can result in a tear to the deep digital flexor tendon.

A relatively new development in the treatment for Navicular Syndrome is Platelet Rich Plasma or Stem Cell Therapy. This is one treatment that is very beneficial in treating tears in the DDFT as well as the Navicular Bursa and the Coffin Bone. It promotes healing by using a concentrated solution of platelets taken from the horse's own blood. This concentrated solution is injected into the affected area and encourages the tear in the tendon to heal more quickly.

Horses with Navicular Syndrome should not be confined to their stables, but should rather be exercised in a controlled fashion. However, it is vital that a correct diagnosis is made, because if there is a tear in the DDFT it will be exacerbated by exercise, whereas Navicular Syndrome responds well to mild exercise. If a tear in the tendon has indeed been confirmed stable rest is most definitely recommended to prevent further damage.

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Thrush Tips and Cures

Smelly feet are more than an embarrassment for horses. A noxious rotting odor emanating from the underside of a hoof is a distinct sign of a fungal infection called thrush. The responsible organism,Spherophorus neaophorus, eats away at the tissues of the frog, leaving a blackish ooze on the surface. Thrush rarely causes lameness and poses no major health hazard. But if you encounter the condition in your barn, you will want to review--and probably revise--your management routine.Curing your horse of this smelly fungal infection doesn't take long when you use this simple treatment technique and make a few management changes.

Thrush thrives where horses are confined in filthy conditions. A horse who is exposed to "clean" mud that is more or less free of manure and urine isn't especially likely to develop thrush, but one who stands in urine-soaked bedding for most of the day is a prime candidate. Horses with overgrown or contracted hooves, those who wear hoof pads, and those who get very little exercise are also more susceptible to the condition. Likewise, a horse who is chronically lame as a result of another problem often develops thrush in the hoof of the affected leg.

Getting rid of thrush requires an attack on two fronts. First, you need to kill the invading fungus and-despite what directions on commercial products may say-pouring a thrush remedy over the frog will not get the job done. S. necrophorus lives in the many cracks and crevices of the hoof, and a simple splash of liquid will roll right over these hiding spaces. Packing a hoof with any product is potentially dangerous because excessive pressure can kill sensitive frog tissue.

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Here are four easy steps to treat thrush by delivering medication into the areas where it is most needed without damaging surrounding tissues. This technique, which is most effective if applied daily, is suitable whether you use a commercial or homemade preparation.

1. Make your own cotton swab by wrapping a wisp of loose cotton tightly around the end of a hoof pick

2. Soak the cotton in treatment solution. We are using a commercial preparation, but bleach also works.

3. Swab down the sides of the frog as if you were picking out the hoof. The goal is to get into all the cracks, so don't be afraid to apply a bit of pressure. (This hoof was recently shod. If there are flaps or shelves of compromised frog, have your farrier pare them away so the fungus is easier to reach.)

4. Swab the cleft of the frog and any other crevices in its surface. The swab will become darker as you work, a sign it is picking up exudates and dead tissue. Repeat the process, using fresh cotton, until the swab comes out of the hoof nearly as clean as it went in.

An ounce of prevention: Some horses are prone to thrush and have recurrent episodes no matter how clean their environment is kept. For these horses, a daily preventive swabbing can control the problem. Using straight bleach or a commercial thrush product every day can dry out the frog, however. Instead, make a gentler preparation of half bleach and half glycerin or glycerin-based hand lotion. Apply this solution to the hoof a few times a week using the hoof-pick swab technique.

The second--and most important--aspect of treating thrush: changes in the affected horse's living arrangements. Resolve to keep cleaner, drier stalls and increase your horse's exercise time. Better yet, try continuous turnout in a clean field. Not only will these changes help clear up a case of thrush, but it will prevent its return.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/hoof_care/eqthrush305/

The Importance of Using Equine Wormers

By Debbie Reade

When it comes to the health and well-being of your horse, it is very important to protect them from infection by worms and other parasites.

Worms are a parasite which can make their way into your horse's body and make them weak and sick. If not treated, a worm infection can even be fatal to a horse; especially if they are already old or frail. Other health problems, such as ill-fitting shoes, can be spotted immediately while it is much more difficult to tell if things are wrong with your horse internally.

You love your horses and they are like members of the family to you, so it is up to you to make sure that they are healthy and well looked after and that their health is not neglected. This is why a worming program with high quality equine wormers is so important.

Luckily, there are a number of cheap horse wormers out there and great deals of information online which will help you develop your horse worming treatment program.

Effective Worm Control is Unique to Each Horse

When it comes to developing a horse worming program, keep in mind that a generic equine wormers solution might notwork for every horse. Each horse is different and if wormers for horses are used too frequently or unnecessarily the worms can develop resistance to the treatment.

In order to get the best results you need to develop a complete worm control plan, including pasture management, diagnostic tests, a dosage schedule and more. There are a number of different horse wormers for sale in different forms such as liquid,powder, granules and paste so that you can find the type which works best for your particular horse. Follow the instructions on the equine wormers and create a schedule of worming treatments that you can stick to. Don't miss a treatment, or it can make the worming program much less effective.

Pasture Maintenance as Important as Medicine

Delivering a program of equine wormers regularly is an important step, but don't forget to also maintain the pasture where your horses graze. A pasture which is not regularly maintained can cause a horse to become re-infected with worms very quickly.

Good pasture management includes not overstocking the pasture, rotating the pasture with other animals and picking up the droppings from the field on a regular basis. You should also be keeping your stable very clean and never feeding a horse directly off the stable floor.

If you are introducing a new horse into the pasture, make sure that you give them the worm treatment when they arrive and keep them away from the other horses for 48 hours initially.

Treating your horses for worms with equine wormers takes a bit of hard work, time and planning but it is absolutely essential for their health.

Equine wormers are incredibly important to the health of your horse. Have you established a worming treatment program to protect them from infection?

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What Supplements To Give Your Horse in 2013

By Rob Domarkas

In this article I would like to share with you some useful information about horse supplements. More specifically I would like to give you a list of three different types of horse supplements that you should give to your horse in 2013.

The fact is that there are dozens, if not hundreds of different types of horse supplements. Some of them have been around for decades, whereas others are relatively new. The fact is that you can choose from hundreds of different types of horse supplements and this massive choice leaves a lot of inexperienced horse riders confused.

So what are the three supplements that you should give to your horse in 2013? Here they are.

Liquid garlic

Garlic has been used for centuries by humans and over the past few decades it became very popular supplement to add to regular horse's feed. Why? Because of it's anti-inflammatory properties. Garlic is great not only because it has anti-inflammatory properties, but also because it acts as a insect repellent, it acts as an oxidant and it improves horses respiration. In other words it's a great supplement to give all year round throughout 2013.

Feed balancers

In addition to garlic supplements, you should also supplement your horse's diet with a high quality horse feed balancer. One of the main reasons why some horses are underweight and they have poor skin and coat condition is because of nutrient deficiency. Horse's that don't get as many different vitamins, minerals and nutrients as their bodies need don't feel and look as good as they should and this is where feed balancers come into play.

Horse feed balancers are packed with all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your horse needs to be healthy and strong.

Joint supplements

If you have been riding horses for some time already you have probably noticed that majority of the horses suffer from one joint problem or another at some point in their lives. If you want to make sure that your horse's joints remain healthy, you have got to take the right preventative measures and you want to act early. As a horse owner you want to do whatever you possibly can to strengthen and support your horse's joints and this is where joint supplements come into play. Joint supplements are packed with all of the essential active ingredients such as glucosamine and MSM which will not only aid in renewal of connective tissue in and around the joint, but will also provide with the building materials which are needed for cartilage repair.

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Supplements-To-Give-Your-Horse-in-2013&id=7456361

The Truth About Equine Hoof Abscesses

By Patricia Morgan Wagner

It's commonly believed that horizontal cracks appearing in the hoof wall are caused by injuries at the hairline (coronary ridge) that is growing out. However, a crack or rather split in the wall that develops as a result of trauma at the hairline will typically be "vertical" and nearly always becomes a permanent fixture of the wall.

Short (inch to 2 inch) horizontal cracks are most often caused by abscesses (affecting the whiteline) that rupture at the hairline and migrate with the wall growth to eventually get trimmed off. In some hooves, such as drafts, I've seen abscess ruptures as wide as several inches.

Abscesses generally affect hooves that have been neglected, or that are trimmed regularly, but incorrectly, shod or unshod.

The hoof wall, if allowed to flare creates leverage on the connective tissue (lamina/whiteline) between the wall and the sole of the solar (bottom) hoof that can cause stretching of the whiteline. That connection can only stretch so far before we see separation which causes the death of the connective tissue and may allow foreign matter to invade the hoof at this point. The formation of pus (dead tissue) tracks up the inside of the wall leaving a trail of dead lamina in its wake as it takes the path of least resistance to the soft hairline.

The abscess tracks up the wall into the narrowing space just below the hairline, where the abscess pain will be at its worst as pressure builds, and just prior to rupture. Lameness usually ensues to varying degrees.

Lameness caused by WL abscesses is frequently misdiagnosed because it's difficult to identify an abscess until it ruptures. Radiology and even MRI often will not pick up the track, but abscesses can be usually be located with thermal imaging.

After rupture, as the wall grows out, well-connected lamina develops above the "crack" and takes the place of the damaged tissue. Lameness soon subsides. As the crack gets closer to the ground, the area below the crack may snap off due to the detached lamina below the rupture site. This doesn't require soaking or special shoes, just time to heal and frequent trims.

The bars of the hoof are an extension of the hoof wall. So abscesses can develop in the whiteline of the bars, tracking up to rupture at the hairline of the heel bulb - often described as mystery lameness. The resulting horizontal splits in the back of the hoof are typically misinterpreted as injuries caused by forging and other misstep type injuries.

Bar abscessing is more serious and painful than wall abscesses as invasion of the WL of the bars can spread and affect areas of the solar connective tissue (papillae) causing eventual detachment of sole and in severe cases, permanent damage to the solar papillae. Mistaken assumptions are made that abscesses are caused by trauma to the sole. Sharp objects may impact the sole of a soft-soled hoof, but the result will be a wound that will remain localized usually.

Abscesses and wounds to the bottom of the hoof are different conditions and we need to distinguish between sole trauma and whiteline abscesses to avoid confusion.
In severe cases a hoof can be fully engulfed in several abscesses at one time causing severe lameness and if left untreated (untrimmed) the hoof may eventually lose all of its attachment tissue.

Lameness in a shod hoof is frequently caused by abscesses at the apex of the bar/heel (seat of the corn) which can be difficult to locate until the hoof has been indefinitely unshod and trimmed correctly and regularly.

There is no actual treatment for an abscess once the whiteline has been invaded, the condition has to run its course. Epsom salt soaks may help soften the coronet band, while pain meds and padded boots can offer relief post rupture.

Skilled veterinarians have been known to drill tiny holes in the outer wall in the path of the abscess causing discharge and relieving pressure and pain, but even if we can drain an abscess, it will still rupture at the hairline in most cases. To dig into the sole is a common approach to relieve pressure, but that procedure most often only causes further trauma to a hoof rather than relieving pain. Digging into an abscessing hoof only adds further time to the healing process.

Preventing abscesses of the white line is as simple as making sure that your horse's hooves receive correct trimming at regular and frequent intervals. Healing an abscesses hoof requires trimming at 4 week intervals. It can take many months, or years to grow out new hoof material to replace the abscessing connective tissue. Patience is main requirement when rehabbing abscessing hooves.

Overall, for optimum hooves, trim scheduling should be at 4 to 6 intervals. Trimming strategies should produce healthy hoof horn (no flare) and well maintained bars with tight, connecting tissue (laminia/whiteline) which will reduce or eliminate abscesses.

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Cushing’s Disease in Horses

By Jayne D. Wilson

Cushing's Disease, or Cushing's Syndrome, is often thought of as a disease that only afflicts older horses, however, it has been known to occur in horses as young as eight years old.Cushing's Disease: Symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment of this disease which mostly affects older horses.

Symptoms of Cushing's Disease
Horses with Cushing's Disease can be easily recognized by their coarse, wavy coat that often fails to shed out in the summer. A gelding at the barn I used to board at suffered from Cushing's Disease, and even in the heat of a Houston summer, he had a thick coat of wavy hair.

Other symptoms are excessive thirst, combined with excessive urination. A normal horse will drink in the region of 5 - 8 gallons per day, whereas a horse suffering from Cushing's Disease will drink as much as 20 gallons per day. Affected horses often have a pot-bellied appearance, combined with a loss of muscle on the topline. In addition, horses with Cushing's Disease are often more susceptible to other diseases because their immune system has been compromised.

What Causes Cushing's Disease?
Cushing's Disease is caused by a tumor of the pituitary gland, which is the small gland at the base of the brain which regulates the rest of the horse's endocrine systems. As the tumor grows, it puts pressure on the nearby hypothalmus, which is what regulates the body temperature. This is believed to be the primary cause of the distinctive coarse, wavy hair coat. As cells in the pituitary gland become overactive, they excess quantities of a peptide called pro-opiolipomelanocortin (POLMC, for short) causing the entire endocrine system to go out of balance.

Treating Cushings DiseaseDiagnosing Cushing's Disease
Even though the clinical symptoms are often very obvious, a number of tests have been developed over the years to positively diagnose Cushing's Disease in horses. These include the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) stimulation. In addition, a test which combines the DST with a thyroid stimulating hormone release test, or TRH was developed by a team at the University of Tennessee to eliminate the overlap of the values of normal horses with those with pituitary tumors which was occurring in a number of cases.

The good news is that once Cushings Disease has been diagnosed, treatment is simple, if long term, and in many cases allowing the horse to return to normal health.

Bromocriptine mesylate, a dopamine agonist, is one of the drugs used to treat Cushing's Disease. It mimics dopamine to inhibit overproduction of activating peptides, and it has been shown to mildly decrease plasma ACTH and cortisol levels. There are problems in absorbtion which limit it's practical use, however, and there are reported to be a number of side effects.

A more successful drug in the treatment of Cushing's Disease is cyproheptadine, a seratonin blocker. This is available in tablet form, which is easily absorbed into the horse's system, making it a much more practical treatment.

The simplest way to monitor the horse's improvement is to watch the water intake over a 24 hour period. The drug levels are slowly increased till the water consumption returns to normal. Once the horse has shown maintained improvement for a month, the dosage of the drug is decreased until a maintenance dosage is reached.

It is important to note that while these drugs treat the symptoms, they do not treat the pituitary tumor itself. Horses with mild Cushing's Disease may be returned to good health for a number of years, but eventually the tumor will compromise the horse's life and euthanasia becomes the kindest option.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/illnesses_injuries/cushings/

White Line Disease in Horses

By Rakhi Sinha

The hooves are the most used parts of a horse's body. They are ever vulnerable to the wear, tear, and various other fatal infections. One such fungal infection is the White Line disease. It is also known as Hollow Foot, Seedy Toe, and Wall Thrush. Medically, the White Line disease is termed as Onychomycosis (Latin: onyx means nail, myke means fungus, and osis means condition).

Description of the Disease

The hoof wall has 3 layers - external, middle, & internal. External wall forms the outer covering. The middle layer consists of the horn tubules providing speed and elasticity to the hoof. The internal layer consists of 600 tissue extensions, interlocked with the sensitive lamina called stratum lamellatum. This lamina protects the coffin bone, sensitive cartilages, and the other sensitive parts of the hoof. White Line or Zona Lamellatum is the junction between the hoof wall and the sole. The bacteria or fungi attack the horn tubules, which are distant from the blood vessels. This sets in the infection. Consequently, the hoof wall is separated from the sensitive lamina resulting in:

The reduction of weight support between the hoof & the hoof wall

The other hoof complications, like bulging, swelling, etc.

Causes

The bacterial or fungal infection attacks through a crack or a fissure in the hoof. The hot and humid environment allows the fungi to survive for long, causing more damage, like:

Tear in the medium layer from Laminitis

Acute trauma from forward extended toes, which causes lamina tissues to extend and become unhealthy

Sole or toe bruising adjacent to the white line, causing blood clots

Loss of shoe

Improper trimming

Poor nutrition

Symptoms

Separation between the hoof and the sole

Partial removal of the hoof

Tenderness or flattening in the sole

A hollow sound of the hoof

Diagnosis

The disease is diagnosed with the help of X-ray examination.

Treatment

The affected external layer or the outer hoof wall is removed to expose the wound fully to light & air

Damaged tissues are removed fortnightly until a solid junction forms between the lamina & the hoof wall

Medicines like Betadine, fungi dye, merthiolate, etc., can be applied to the wound.

Metallic shoes are used to bandage or protect the affected hooves. The shoes are screwed to the outer hoof wall.

Precautions

Timely hoof care

Employing the soaks of Clorox, copper sulfate, etc.

Ensuring enough sunlight & cleanliness in the stable or ranches

Disinfection of the trimming instruments

Proper nutrition of the horse

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