Goodwin's Neiv System of Shoeing Horses, 303 



where the animals, as it were, walked or stepped out of their hoofs' 

 The progress and result of these cases are very distressing; ; but on 

 any future occasion, and where a similar fate appears inevitable, 

 the slaughter-house is the only humane course for adoption. I 

 have heard of many similar cases in different parts of the country; 

 but, on the other hand, I see many fine and valuable horses at 

 work, that were of no use to the owner before the operation, and 

 have continued at severe work nov two years without any return 

 of lameness ; and I see no reason why thev may not be as effective 

 as they now are many years to come. It therefore becomes a 

 (]uestion with the owners of lame horses, \vhere no other remedy 

 offers to be of any advantage, whether they will work them lame, 

 sell them for little or nothing, or risk the chances of the nerve 

 operation. A determination of these alternatives will much de- 

 pend on the kind of work a horse under these circumstances may 

 be required to perform. If a lameness is not severe, ahorse may 

 do slow draught without having recourse to the operation ; but, 

 on the other hand, if a horse is required for quick draught or for 

 riding, I conceive there are few persons that would not risk the 

 chances of the operation. With stallions and brood-mares there 

 can be no necessity to risk it, except in extreme cases of lameness. 

 The two instances mentioned of failure in brood-mares that had 

 been some years previously lame, but on becoming sound again 

 never performed any sort of work, proves the experiment to have 

 been made under every favourable circumstance ; it however 

 shows, that success much depends on the state of the feet pre- 

 vious to the operation. 



"In lameness of very long standing, where a change of structure 

 has taken place to any considerable extent, and more particu- 

 larly on the state of the joints within the foot, if the disease does 

 not amount to a destruction of a joint, but a secretion of the 

 synovia or joint oil has been stopped, and the cartilaginous co- 

 vering of the ends of the bones is in a state of erosion, the ani- 

 mal is enabled, by the loss of sensation in the foot, to bear a 

 greater degree of weight on these parts than they have been for 

 a long time accustomed to ; by which means are brought on all 

 the distressing symptoms previously described. It therefore ap- 

 pears that the chance of success depends much on the length of 

 time the disease may have existed previously to the operation. 

 With horses with thin flat feet and weak lamiucC, the operation 

 is not so likely to succeed as with those where horn abounds. 

 The structure of the horse's foot is particularly favourable to the 

 success of this operation, as there are no muscles within the 

 horny box ; therefore, as the powers which put the foot in mo- 

 tion are situated at a distance, a division of the nerve going to 

 the foot has no effect in paralyzing any parts which arc neces- 

 sary 



