Belgian Horse Diseases

The Belgian draft horse stands 16.2 to 18 hands tall, weighs 1,800 to 2,200 pounds and pulls about twice its weight. This breed descended from the medieval black horses, which carried knights with their heavy armor into battle. Yet, a single gene or tiny pathogen can fell this mighty giant. The Belgian draft horse suffers from many of the same diseases as non-draft horses.

  1. Navicular Disease

    • Navicular disease, commonly referred to as navicular syndrome, or just navicular among horse owners, causes bouts of lameness following activity, which disappears after rests. Characterized by inflamed bursa, deep flexor tendon and navicular bone, navicular symptoms may disappear for a period of time, but navicular stays with the horse for life. The actual cause of navicular remains elusive and this disease affects both draft and non-draft horses. The gene, for this disease passes from the dam or sire to the offspring. Therefore, a foal with one or both parents with the disease has an increased chance of being diagnosed with the disease. Horses with deformed hooves also face a higher risk of navicular. Diagnosis of navicular takes an x-ray of the navicular bone. Once confirmed, treatment consists of treating the symptoms as no cure exists. Treatment includes rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, orthopedic shoeing and corticosteroid injections. Corrective shoeing makes the most progress in the comfort of horses suffering from navicular. Extreme cases require surgery.

    Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa

    • Junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) causes blistering of the skin and sloughing of the hooves. Sloughing, a medical term, means to shed or cast off dead tissue from living tissue. This accounts for the common name of red foot disease. Soon after birth, the disease becomes evident, and without intervention the foal succumbs to a severe infection. Even with immediate care, veterinarians usually end up euthanizing the foal. In Belgian horses, this disease results from a mutated recessive gene. This means that both parents must possess the gene for the foal to display symptoms of the disease. If only one parent passes on the recessive gene, then the foal becomes a carrier of the disease. Carriers do not display any symptoms. A DNA test determines whether a Belgian carries the gene. Breeding a carrier and non-carrier of the disease results in healthy foal, but half of the healthy foals will carry the disease.

    Equine Herpes Virus

    • The infectious equine herpes virus infects primarily young horses. About 80 percent of horses catch the infection while less than two years of age. The older horses may also catch the disease. This upper respiratory tract infection shows itself in water nasal discharge, loss of appetite, fever, lethargy, cough, labored breathing, and eye discharge. Treatment consists of medications for fever and inflammatory. Those with poor appetites require fluid-electrolyte replacement therapy. To prevent equine herpes virus, vaccinate your horse for EHV-1 and EHV-4. This greatly reduces the symptoms in foals and prevents equine herpes virus in the older horses. Boaster shots increase effectiveness.