Addressing the Navicular Disease Syndrome in Horses
The history of man, dog, cat and horse have been intertwined since time immemorial. The question of when man domesticated these animals is never seemingly answerable, but the fact is that they have been together and living in a symbiotic manner with mutual fulfillment being the result. It is therefore imperative to say that man, being the homeowner, has always taken the queue of possession of these animals, being responsible for both their health and comfort. While the dog’s core strength is in companionship and security, the cat long took the places of pet and exterminator of such pests as rats and snakes. The horse, for man, has been a transportation medium, a sports animal and in other cases, a close companion. Just like with the other members of man’s family, the breeding and health of these pet and work animals are key and in setups where these aspects are well taken care of, unity of purpose and mutual fulfillment has been the greatest achievement.
Horses, just like the other animals that are selectively bred and reared by man ostensibly suffer deficiencies that affect their status of health. Experts in genetics make attempts to create breeds that are trouble free, but reality is that for every solution that one breed may have, deficiencies popped up, some of which have been acute. A solution for such eventualities ends up being the development of medications that aim to cure or reduce suffering due to individual handicaps. For many horses, the serious issue of navicular disease, often known as the navicular syndrome or otherwise the caudal heel syndrome is at the core. It is worth noting that science has little knowledge of what causes the disease that ostensibly brings about foot pain that often ends up in lameness of the affected horse. It is thought to be arthritis related in nature, affecting the navicular bone of the foot, through functional interdependencies with associated bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. In spite of many classical remedial approaches over generations, it has been quite difficult to arrive at remedies with positive curative abilities, and in severe cases it is normal to put down the affected animal as a last resort to end its misery.
A promising remedy for navicular disease syndrome right now is gallium nitrate. Right out of a pilot study, clinical tests have brought good results on affected horses. Over a period of reporting on a large number of horses in one study, there were good results, especially on pain reduction that came about in just a fortnight. Horses that stayed off the medication after a period only experienced mild returns of pain, pointing to possible curative abilities of gallium nitrate. It is noteworthy that the use of this medication in trials was successful for both different ages of horses and a broad number of horse breeds that to part in the clinical studies. This pointer has been good and guided the advice to put this drug on the shelves for purchase by horse owners in dire need for a lasting solution for the navicular disease syndrome.