Library
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When a farrier shoes a horse, accurate placement of each nail through the insensitive epidermal laminae of the hoof is essential. The nail must penetrate deep enough to hold firm, but not deep enough to penetrate the sensitive laminae of the hoof.
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Navicular 'disease' is really a group of related conditions affecting the navicular bone and associated structures in the foot. There are several possible causes of pain in and around the navicular bone.
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Osteochondrosis (OCD) is a failure of the bone underlying the smooth articular cartilage inside the joints, i.e. the subchondral bone, to form properly from the skeleton's cartilage template.
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Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, previously known as Equine Cushing's Disease) is a complex condition associated with abnormal function of a small, hormone-producing organ, the pituitary gland, that lies at the base of the brain.
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Polysulfated glycosaminoglycan is an injectable disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD) used to treat non-infectious and traumatic arthritis in dogs. It is also used off-label in cats and small mammals. If administering this medication at home, follow your veterinarian’s instructions and dispose of the needle and syringe appropriately. Side effects are rare when given according to label recommendations and at prescribed intervals. Do not use this medication in pets with a known hypersensitivity to it, in pets with known or suspected bleeding disorders or immune-mediated arthritis, or in pets with severe kidney or liver disorders.
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The horse's hoof is a very complex structure. The tough outer wall surrounds layers of sensitive laminae ('leaves') that support, nourish with blood and, in turn, cover the underlying pedal bone.
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Infection in the foot is by far, the most common cause of acute (sudden), single-leg lameness in the horse. Infection results in painful inflammation and pus (abscess) formation.
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Quittor is an old term for a condition that involves death and destruction (necrosis) of the collateral cartilages of the foot (see our information sheet on sidebones), following an infection in the foot (see our information sheet on pus in the foot).
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Ragwort is a tall plant with yellow flowers which contains a poison (toxin) that is also found in some other plants, such as Lantana and some Heliotropes.
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Rain scald is a bacterial infection of the skin that results in the formation of matted scabs usually affecting the back and rump but occasionally the lower limbs.
