j///r NcrJininstcr Case 



5«; 



111 one foot, on which was a large sinus, ex- 

 tending from the coronet in front, in a vertical 

 line over the coffin bone and through the 

 sole, gi-eat maggots were crawling. 



^^'ith this miserable picture before me, I 

 asked the groom why some proper measures 

 were not taken to relieve the animal ; he re- 

 plied that the best veterinary surgeons in 

 the kingdom had seen the horse, and had 

 pronounced him to be incurably affected with 

 navicular disease. I then drove back to Mr 

 Martin, and asked to be allowed to treat the 

 horse, assuring him that I could give relief 

 Nothing was determined upon then, but be- 

 fore leaving York I wrote him a note, in 

 consequence of which Mr Day, the veterinary 

 surgeon, called upon me, and on Monda}- 

 the 14th October, we went together to Raw- 

 cliffe, and found the horse in the state alread}" 

 described. I proceeded with my instruments 

 to remove a great deformed growth of the 

 lioofs, which were overlapping below, and 

 turned up in front. This occupied me seve- 

 ral hours (the horse was lying and I was 

 oi^erating at great disadvantage in the kneel- 

 ing posture) ; and that work of relief was ac- 

 complished without giving even momentarily 

 increased pain, but such was his agony and 

 fear of being touched that he struggled con- 

 stantly. I adapted a shoe to one foot, which, 

 with the assistance of the smith, we applied. 

 I then dressed- his feet and his wounds gene- 

 rally, and left him, and from that moment he 

 was greatly relieved. I then gave instructions 

 as to the course to be pursued with him till 

 m}- next visit, which was on the week follow- 

 ing, when I found him vastly improved, and 

 made the necessary suggestions for future 

 management. On the 5 th of November I 

 again operated on his feet, still more reduc- 

 ing the abnormal hoofs. I found all the 

 aggravated symptoms had subsided, and the 

 horse at ease. On the 28th November I 

 ^ isited the patient again, repeated my treat- 

 ment, and by this time the horse had so much 

 improved that we walked him along the road 

 for a considerable distance ; it must be men- 

 tioned that he had for a month previously 

 been led out on the dry turf. He had now 

 gained flesh, his rest had thickened, his coat 



Avas blooming, he looked happy and well, and 

 his wounds were completely healed, -with one 

 important exception — viz., that of the pastern- 

 joint of the near fore-limb, which had been for 

 a long time opening and discharging. In order 

 to give support and protection to that joint, I 

 applied a starched bandage with pasteboard 

 splints and cotton wool, carbolic acid dis- 

 solved in oil being applied to the fistula of 

 the joint. By the next morning the starched 

 apparatus had consolidated into a hard and 

 light easily-fitting case, admirably accomplish- 

 ing the object I had in view. I gave direc- 

 tions, and left the horse in the most satisfac- 

 tory state. 



The foregoing is but a part of the historj- 

 of the case, but it is correct as far as it goes, 

 and embraces an important and critical 

 period. There is an antecedent historj^ of 

 the case, however, spreading over years, and 

 consequences still in progress, all of which, 

 with the description of the character of the 

 disease and its causes will from the subject 

 of another paper. 



The case of this horse, as it has been 

 described, was exceptional, in so far as it 

 was one of unusually chronic and com- 

 plex character, but as a case of foot disease 

 it was in its origin, course, and sequences, a 

 type of one of the most prevalent and com- 

 monly occurring of such affections. 



Eclipse was similarly affected to New- 

 minster in both fore feet, but less extensively 

 so, as I know by the opportunity which was 

 afforded me of examining the skeleton of the 

 former renowned horse, whilst of the state of 

 the latter I made myself well acquainted, 

 procured marked relief, and restored him 

 progressively to the extent my treatment was 

 pursued. 



Weatherbit, I was informed last autumn, 

 was also in a like state to Newminster, but 

 this horse, of which I only speak from report, 

 has since died or been destroyed. 



The stallion Augur, though not an old 

 horse when I saw him, about tAvo years before 

 he died, was far advanced towards the same 

 stage of disease of his fore-feet as New- 

 minster. 



It is rare to find any but stallions of the 



