Navicular disease in horses is also known as Navicular syndrome. The result is the inflammation or degeneration of the navicular bone and its surrounding tissues, typically in the front feet of the horse. This disease can lead to significant or disabling lameness of a horse
Equines in this country are commonly used for competitive show events or leisure recreational activities. It has been a long-time tradition for people to own horses and participate in various activities via horseback. Over the years, the number and variety of events offered for horses to compete in have expanded. The specific event an animal competes in determines the intensity of exercise and particular conditioning/training program the animal athlete needs to have put in place. Equine animals are very similar to human athletes as they must be conditioned and trained to participate and excel in their physical performance. Specifically, a very popular equine competition event that requires moderate intensity, medium duration exercise is western pleasure.
The working cow horse is a competition where a horse is to work a single cow in an arena where it is asked to perform specific maneuvers with the cow. They can be asked to circle the cow, turn it in specific ways, as well as performing certain reining patterns. What makes this competition unique in equine sports is that it requires both mental discipline as well as physical endurance as the horse is required to sustain elite agility and explosive performance. Over the course of a full performance, the horse will be asked to move at a variety of speeds from quick, agility movements, to high speed, short bursts of running. Each pattern will take about five minutes of constant movement and change in direction.
