Pets: How To Prevent Your Horse Going Lame From The Most Common Cause Of Lameness

How To Prevent Your Horse Going Lame From The Most Common Cause Of Lameness

Written by Andy Curry

There are lots of ways a horse can go lame. Perhaps repparttar

most common cause of lameness is a result of Navicular Syndrome. The fortunate thing is that it can be treated where repparttar 125783

horse gets complete, successful recovery if diagnosed and treated in it’s early stages. Here’s what you need to know about Navicular Syndrome.

First, there is a small bone between repparttar 125784 coffin bone and repparttar 125785 short pastern bone called repparttar 125786 navicular bone. This bone is important in that it distributes repparttar 125787 horse’s weight between repparttar 125788 coffin bone and repparttar 125789 short pastern bone. The result is that it reduces repparttar 125790 stress on both repparttar 125791 coffin bone and short pastern bone when repparttar 125792 foot lands to repparttar 125793 ground and weight is put on it. (Even though repparttar 125794 rear feet have navicular bones, it is repparttar 125795 fore feet that are most often affected)

The navicular bone also works with a tendon called repparttar 125796 “deep digital flexor tendon.” This tendon flexes repparttar 125797 coffin and pastern joints. It also absorbs shock when repparttar 125798 hoof strikes repparttar 125799 ground. When repparttar 125800 flexor tendon moves, it slides over repparttar 125801 cartlidge-covered navicluar bone which lowers repparttar 125802 work load of repparttar 125803 tendon when repparttar 125804 foot moves.

Thus, when repparttar 125805 horse’s foot lands to repparttar 125806 ground there is a lot of force on repparttar 125807 navicular bone. As repparttar 125808 horse’s weight is transferred over repparttar 125809 foot, repparttar 125810 bone is pushed against repparttar 125811 tendon. When this happens repeatedly, then damage to repparttar 125812 navicular bone and repparttar 125813 tendon can occur.

One thing that can happen is repparttar 125814 cartlidge can lose its slippery surface and friction can develop between repparttar 125815 navicular bone and repparttar 125816 tendon. Then repparttar 125817 tendon can become rough and make repparttar 125818 sliding motion on repparttar 125819 navicluar bone even worse. This ultimately leads to pain for repparttar 125820 horse and worse, lameness. Worse, repparttar 125821 blood flow to repparttar 125822 navicular bone and repparttar 125823 tendon could be decreased and it may not heal.

How can you tell if your horse may have navicular syndrome? One is he may not want to change leads. He may lose his suppleness or perhaps have a stiff and jerky gait. As this gets worse repparttar 125824 may show lameness where you may see short stride in one or both front legs. The horse will purposely try to step on his toe portion of repparttar 125825 foot because repparttar 125826 pain will be in repparttar 125827 back of repparttar 125828 foot. Thus, you will see his toe is worn more than any other part of repparttar 125829 foot.

Dog Coat Health

Written by Matthew Seigneur

Dog Coat Health

Keeping your dog’s coat healthy and clean is a very important to maintaining a healthy and happy dog. The largest organ on your dog’s body is his skin and hair. Keeping your dogs' coat in good health is paramount, after, of course, letting your dog know how much you love them!

Most dog owners know to look for parasites on repparttar skin but, what you may not know is that internal diseases such as liver disease, adrenal gland disease or thyroid gland disease can show itself through abnormal symptoms in repparttar 125782 dogs' skin and hair. So, it is very important to examine and groom your dog so you can detect any abnormalities early.

Regular grooming will help decrease such infections like skin and ear infections. And you will be able to notice any abnormal skin discoloring or irritations.

Bathing and brushing on a regular basis can help keep your dog’s skin and coat free from bacteria that can cause infection. Bathing with a 'natural' and very mildly antiseptic coat care lotion can also keep down your dogs' chance of flea infestations. Be also careful not to bath your dog too much or that could cause skin irritation, flaking and more.

If your Dog is ok (not himself, but his skin & coat!) with being bathed regularly, weekly bathing will keep down repparttar 125783 doggie odor, encourage a healthy coat and skin, and also get your dog use to bathing. If your dog loves repparttar 125784 outdoors and like to roam, then he may need to be bathed more than once a week. If he encounters a skunk while on his journey, he will need an immediate bath!

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